San Diego State rushed out of the gate Saturday against Fresno State and never let up, running away from the Bulldogs 73-41.
Jaedon LeDee neared a double-double in the first half alone, as the No. 19 Aztecs (21-7, 10-5) established a 42-16 lead by the break over the Bulldogs (11-16, 4-10).
Fresno State, badly hampered by injuries, trailed by 20 after 10 minutes of play and the gulf expanded to 30 with just under three minutes in the half. The Bulldogs suffered through a seven-plus minute scoring drought while SDSU enjoyed two 12-0 runs, the first to open the game.
LeDee finished the half with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jay Pal and Reese Waters added seven points each.
The message in the locker room at the break? “The first four minutes we gotta put ’em down,” LeDee told CBS Sports.
Done. The Aztecs picked up where they left off, as first Darrion Trammell, then Micah Parrish hit from long distance to push the lead to 31.
The Bulldogs never cut the deficit to less than 23 – and they did that in the opening moments of the half – as they fell to the Aztecs in lopsided fashion for the second time this season.
What head coach Brian Dutcher saw, he told San Diego Sports 760, was a team playing at “maximum efficiency.”
The defense held Fresno State to 25% shooting and had nine blocks. SDSU took care of the ball, with just five turnovers and moved the ball around, with 13 assists.
“We should be playing at our best right now,” Dutcher said.
LeDee ended the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Pal had 14 points, five rebounds and a lightning quick dunk off an inbound pass from Lamont Butler. With the win secured, reserves also logged some game time – BJ Davis, Demarshay Johnson Jr., Cade Alger, Cam Lawin and Ryan Schwarz finished the game.
San Diego State, with three games left in the regular season, trail Utah State and Boise State in the Mountain West. The Broncos loom – SDSU closes out the campaign at home on March 8 against Boise State.
Meanwhile, LeDee had a big week, with honors coming in from the conference and beyond.
Fresh off being named the MW Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, the senior was one of five players on the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week list. This is the second time LeDee received the distinction this season.
LeDee, a 6-9 forward, led San Diego State to a 2-0 record last week with victories over Colorado State and New Mexico, for what would be a temporary share of the lead in the conference standings.
In two games, he averaged 25 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1 assist and 0.5 blocks. He shot 70.8% from the field (17-of-24), 50% from beyond the arc (1-of-2) and 68.2% from the line (15-of-22).
The Aztecs come home at 8 p.m. Tuesday to host San Jose State (9-19, 2-13 MW) at Viejas Arena.
