San Diego State easily outpaced San Jose State Friday, winning 77-52, three days before another key conference matchup on the road, this time against Wyoming.
The Aztecs (18-7, 10-4 Mountain West) bounced back after their their difficult loss to Boise State Tuesday, while a tough season continued for the Spartans (8-20, 1-15 MW)
SDSU led almost wire-to-wire. The advantage grew to 11 at the half, bolstered by a circus play by Lamont Butler, who off a steal, passed the ball between his legs, football-style, to feed Matt Bradley for a bucket.
San Diego State padded their lead over San Jose State after the break despite both teams enduring extended scoring droughts.
Four Aztecs scored in double figures, led by Chad Baker-Mazara with 16 – at one point, he had accumulated 13 in just 15 minutes on the court.
Nathan Mensah grabbed 13 rebounds and scored eight, while Trey Pulliam, who at times has had trouble finding his footing since illnesses in December and January, added 13 points.
SDSU also harassed San Jose State, which turned the ball over 19 times.
Coach Brian Dutcher acknowledged to XTRA 1360 that the Spartans played shorthanded, and that he directed his team to take advantage to tire their opponents out.
But with the Aztecs spreading the scoring around – and continuing to deal with a logjam of February games due to January’s COVID pause – he noted that his strong bench allows SDSU to “play at a high level without wearing down.”
San Diego State, with three games remaining before the conference tournament, takes on the Cowboys (22-5, 11-3 MW) at 6 p.m. Monday in Laramie. Wyoming, in second place in the MW, plays Nevada Saturday.
