San Diego State met the challenge of one of their biggest games of the year with one of their best performances, rolling over Utah State 81-67 Saturday at Viejas Arena.
“They played hard, and they played with great energy and found a way to beat a good team today,” said head coach Brian Dutcher.
It was a big game atmosphere. The Aztecs, now 17-5 and 6-3 in the Mountain West, were facing the top team in the league in the No. 17 Aggies (19-3, 7-2 MW). The contest was televised on national TV on Fox, just one of several clashes Saturday between top-ranked teams.
The Aztecs were coming off a 79-71 loss on the road at Colorado State. History was on their side as the Aztecs were 25-3 in their last 28 games following a loss, and when a loss was followed by a home game, the Aztecs had won 32 in a row.
But SDSU started slow, and were back by as many as six points early in the first half. Senior guard Micah Parrish kept them in the game with two baskets and a three-pointer. The Aztecs eventually took their first lead, 17-16, thanks to a three from senior guard Darrion Trammell.
The Aggies answered to take a 24-19 lead, but forward Jay Pal electrified the crowd with a steal and a dunk. After a media timeout, the Aztecs tied the game at 26-26 after a Trammell basket. Pal hit another three-pointer during the ensuing 7-0 run.
A foul on Trammell helped the Aggies keep the score close when guard Ian Martinez sank all three free throws to cut the deficit to one. LeDee pushed the lead back up when he missed on a second free throw attempt, but rebounded the ball and put it back in to give the Aztecs a 36-32 lead.
They kept their advantage as junior guard Reese Waters hit a corner three pointer to give the Aztecs a 42-36 lead at halftime.
After the break, the Aztecs came out firing. Forward Elijah Saunders hit a corner three pointer. Then LeDee, who scored his 1,000th career point in the loss to Colorado State, hit back-to-back three pointers and was followed by Parrish, who hit a three of his own, giving the Aztecs a 59-48 lead with about 14 minutes to go.
They held onto that lead, with Pal hitting his second three of the game. The Aggies tried to climb back, but the Aztecs kept pushing, with Saunders going up for two under the basket and then hitting a corner three to give his team its biggest lead, 70-58, with 5:36 to go in the game.
The Aztecs kept up the pressure, with guard Lamont Butler driving and slashing for two points and Trammell hitting a jumper for two in the closing seconds. With about a minute to go, fired-up fans started chanting “overrated” at the visiting Aggies.
Pal and LeDee led the team in scoring, with 16 points each, and LeDee added nine rebounds. The Aztecs finished shooting 47% on field goals and 45% on three pointers.
Dutcher welcomed the team’s three-point shooting, which has been absent for most of the year.
“I’m happy it came,” he said.
Dutcher credited fans, calling the crowd incredible.
“It’s the home court that gets you playing more aggressive,” he said. “The crowd gets behind you. They inspire you. And you just play at a higher level at home than you do on the road.”
NOTES: The Aztecs’ next game is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Air Force (8-13, 1-8 MW) and is scheduled to be broadcast on FS1 …The Aztecs held a moment of silence for actor and former SDSU football player Carl Weathers, who died Friday … A slew of former Aztecs players were introduced at halftime as part of Alumni Day, including Adam Seiko, part of the 2023 NCAA Tournament run.
