It wasn’t pretty, but San Diego State held on to beat Fresno State 45-43 Wednesday, despite troubles from the field and at the line.
The team (21-5, 12-2 MW), which remains in first place in the Mountain West, rose to No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 this week and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
But in trailing Fresno State (9-16, 5-9 MW) 25-23 at the half, they did not look like that team, shooting just 33%. It was much the same after the break.
Their stumbles were perhaps best exemplified by a Matt Bradley steal and pass to Keshad Johnson, who muffed the dunk. The Bulldogs then took the ball back up court to score on an Isaiah Hill three-pointer.
It happened yet again late in the half on a Darrion Trammell pass that Nathan Mensah failed to convert.
After the half, San Diego State immediately converted a turnover by Hill that Lamont Butler took to the basket for a layup. They slowly built a lead, which grew to seven on a Bradley three that put the Aztecs up 40-33.
But Fresno State bounced back with an 8-0 run to put them up by one with just under five minutes to play.
Yet the teams hadn’t established an offensive rhythm the entire game, and neither could right the ship in the final minutes. San Diego State made its final field goal with 3:43 to play and Fresno State did so with 2:42 left on the clock.
The Aztecs pulled away on free throws, though they were shaky from the line as well. Jaedon LaDee made two of his four shots down the stretch – one of which put the Aztecs up for good – while Mensah made one of four.
The Bulldogs had even more trouble, shooting 31%, which included an abysmal 2-for-25 from long distance. Hill, dogged by Butler at half court, tried a three for a buzzer-beating win, but it bounced off the rim and SDSU escaped with the win.
“We find a way to win. That’s it, end of story,” head coach Brian Dutcher told San Diego Sports 760.
Meanwhile, Bradley was named the conference Player of the Week as he averaged 17.5 points and five rebounds during Aztec wins against Utah State and UNLV last week.
This is the third MW weekly honor for an SDSU basketball player this year, the second for Bradley this season and the fourth in his two-year Aztec career.
The team has the weekend off as it heads into its final four games of the regular season, then returns to host Colorado State (11-14, 3-9 MW) at home. Tipoff is 8 p.m. Tuesday.
