Viejas Arena packed with SDSU students for NCAA Championship title game. Photo by Chris Stone
(Photo by Chris Stone/Times of San Diego)

Try as they might, the Aztecs could not gain any traction against New Mexico Saturday, falling 62-48 on the road.

San Diego State, which only led in the first 90 seconds of the game, trailed 30-20 at the half. And they mounted a brief offensive in the opening minute of the second half, cutting the Lobo (14-3, 6-0 Mountain West) lead to five.

But the Aztecs (10-4, 3-2 MW) didn’t help their cause down the stretch, going well over eight minutes without a field goal as New Mexico’s advantage ballooned to 19 points. Nick Boyd broke the spell on a three-pointer with 5:15 to play.

Neither team shot well – New Mexico held a slight advantage, 36% to SDSU’s 35% – but the Lobos left the Aztecs in the dust on the offensive glass with 18 to San Diego State’s three. They also outscored SDSU on second-chance points, 14-1, and capitalized on 14 Aztecs turnovers, dropping in nine points.

Head coach Brian Dutcher conceded that “we gave in a little bit.”

“We lost in ways that we can’t lose,” he told San Diego Sports 760. “The way we beat the last two teams (Boise State and Air Force) is how they beat us.” 

Donovan Dent, after a sluggish first half, paced the Lobos with 16 points, including a team-high 12 in the second half. He added five assists and three steals.

Tru Washington scored 13 points and added five rebounds as the Lobos stretched their win streak to seven games.

The Aztecs were led by Miles Byrd, with 14 points and three steals, though he failed to score after he was hobbled while making a three-pointer with 13:57 to play. Trainers worked on him and he remained on the court for most of the game.

Jared Coleman-Jones added 10 points and two blocks.

The team has a quick turnaround, playing again Tuesday and Dutcher wants them to shake the New Mexico setback off quickly. “You can’t let one loss cost you two, cost you three,” he said.

Coleman-Jones said the team has evolved, absorbing lessons along the way, including from November’s loss to Gonzaga.

“That’s the next step we have to take, just growing … ” the forward told Sports 760. “This is a learning thing for us.”

Something that might ease the sting of the loss – SDSU has the promise of two straight games at home. Both teams they will welcome played each other Saturday afternoon.

First up at Viejas, Colorado State at 8 p.m. Tuesday, followed by UNLV next weekend. The teams shared a 9-6 record going into their Saturday contest, which Colorado State won easily, 84-62.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Updated 8:30 p.m. Jan. 11, 2025