Saturday’s matchup between Boise State and San Diego State at Viejas Arena had huge implications coming in. Both teams entered at 9-4 in Mountain West conference play, and the winner would take a huge step towards solidifying their resume towards a NCAA Tournament bid.
Boise took an early 9-4 lead, with the Aztec offense struggling, but that turned around quickly once shots started to fall. SDSU took a 19-18 lead and did not look back after that. A huge reverse dunk from Jared Coleman-Jones may have kicked the Aztecs into another gear, as the dunk was part of a 14-0 run that spanned into the first minutes of the second half.
Boise State found some rhythm in the second half after they went on a 12-0 run to pull within 11, but that was as close as they got. The Broncos shot 33.3% overall on the night, attributed to suffocating defense from the Aztecs, which included 10 blocked shots. SDSU shot 54.2% in the win.
SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher said he wasn’t a fan of the team’s 15 turnovers, but the overall performance pleased him.
“I liked the way we played, I liked our aggressiveness,” Dutcher said postgame, via Sports 760. “Obviously Nick Boyd had a magnificent game for us tonight. Been waiting for that kind of performance from Nick.”
Three players finished in double figures for the Aztecs, led by a career-high 24 points from Boyd. Another double-figure scorer for SDSU was Wayne McKinney lll, who also surpassed 1,000 career points with a three in the second half.
That winner was SDSU, and they won rather comfortably 64-47 and did so with incredible first-half defense.
Dutcher said postgame that McKinney lll has taken great pride in coming off the bench even after starting many games at USD.
“Wayne’s been magnificent. He came here to win, and that’s what we’re doing with him.”
The win moves San Diego State into a tie for third in the conference with Colorado State, and keeps them within striking distance for the top spot in the conference. The Aztecs will have their chance to make serious ground in the next two games, as they will face Utah State and New Mexico (the first and second place teams in the conference) within their next three games.
Before those two important matchups, San Diego State will welcome Fresno State to Viejas Arena on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 8 p.m. PST.
