San Diego State surged back to take a late lead against Boise State Tuesday, but couldn’t hold on, falling to the Mountain West leaders for the second time this season, 58-57.
It came down to free throws – Matt Bradley, with seven seconds left, missed his. Abu Kigab, with 1.7 second left, did not.
With the loss, the Aztecs (17-7, 9-4 MW) missed a chance to pull even with Boise State (22-6, 13-2 MW) in the loss column.
They played furiously in the second half though, overcoming a 12-point deficit to tie the game at 44 with seven minutes to play.
It was back and forth the rest of the way, but nearing the frenetic final minute of the game, Chad Baker-Mazara hefted a three-pointer to give the Aztecs a 55-53 lead, their first advantage since going up 12-9 early.
But the Broncos beat a SDSU double-team on Kigab, who fed Emmanuel Akot for a three that put Boise State back up.
San Diego State answered, getting the ball to Bradley. He lobbed a high pass to Nathan Mensah, who slammed it home to again give the Aztecs a one-point lead.
With 24 seconds on the clock, the Broncos put the ball into the hands of Marcus Shaver Jr., known for his late-game heroics. But his attempt from long distance caught only air, and Bradley grabbed the rebound – followed by a Kigab foul.
Head coach Brian Dutcher told XTRA 1360 it was “the stop that I thought would win the game.”
Better yet, it gave Bradley, their offensive leader and an 80% free-throw shooter, two shots. Dutcher called him “the guy I want at the line.”
But the senior missed both shots, and worse, back on the Boise State side, Mensah slipped. His legs tangled with Kigab’s, and the refs called the foul.
The Bronco made both shots to snatch back the lead, and with just 1.7 seconds remaining, Bradley made a desperation shot from half court that fell far short.
Dutcher told XTRA simply, “We didn’t close.”
The loss – their second in 2022 to Boise State, which logged a 42-37 win at Viejas Arena last month – ended the Aztecs’ five-game win streak. Kigab led all scorers with 21, while Mensah, who fouled out, had 13, and Bradley, 12.
SDSU returns to Viejas at 8 p.m. Friday to face San Jose State (8-19, 1-14 MW), ahead of another conference showdown, this time against Wyoming, which trails only Boise State in the conference.
