Aztecs host cross-town rivals at Viejas Arena for first time since Toreros’ 73-61 win in 2018

When the 2024-25 schedule released during the offseason, Wayne McKinney III circled this contest on his calendar.

The senior played three seasons as a Torero and improved each year he was there. Last season, McKinney III averaged 13.5 points at about 30.1 minutes per game. This year, he is playing at 19.9 minutes per game and is averaging 8.3 points. He is seeing fewer minutes but, for the most part, has made the most of his time on the court.

Against Fresno State, McKinney III scored 12 points, all of which came in the second half. He played just three first-half minutes but 14 in the second half to help propel SDSU over the Bulldogs.

The Aztecs could not pull away in the first half in Fresno. They led by just five after Alex Crawford hit a buzzer-beating triple to close the half. However, once the second half started, you saw a different team out there. Magoon Gwath, BJ Davis, and McKinney all elevated their game late to win by 22 points.

Gwath proved to be the only player who saw any success in the first half of that game. Despite the lead late, he kept running the floor and saw himself wide open for dunks in transition. He took advantage of the lazy defense from the Bulldogs and had a breakout game.

Led by Gwath, the Aztecs are aiming to keep their momentum going with a win in front of their home crowd. Their last win at home this season came against Occidental.

San Diego State will host a Steve Lavin-led Torero team who is hoping to turn the tide in the new West Conference era after Gonzaga leaves for the Pac-12 in 2026.

Getting to Know the Toreros

USD is 3-5 on the year and just lost to Arizona State, 90-53 on Tuesday night. The Toreros played a competitive first half against the Sun Devils, just as Fresno State did against SDSU. However, ASU pulled away and scored 50 second-half points en route to a blowout win.
Kjay Bradley Jr. led the team with 15 points but the Toreros had little to no help from the bench as they scored just 12 points on 5-23 shooting.

Bradley Jr. leads the Toreros in scoring and is the only player to average north of 10 points per game. He is averaging 16.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.4 steals per game.

Kody Clouet is second on the team in scoring at 9.0 per game but shoots just 26.4% from the field. He must figure out a way to hit shots at a higher rate, or else he won’t help the team late in games.

Santiago Trouet is a sophomore from Argentina. At 6-foot-10, he leads the team in rebounds grabbing 8.1 per game, and shoots 51.7%. He is tied with Clouet in points at 9.0 per game and also averages 1.0 blocks. Trouet will have a tough task defending 7-footer Gwath.

At the center position, Steven Jamerson II will need to help Trouet as much as possible. They need to use their length to not allow Gwath to get easy shots off. Jamerson II is second on the team, averaging 6.4 rebounds.

Tony Duckett, a freshman from Carlsbad, California, is fifth on the team in points at 8.8 per game. The local product is a two-time All-CIF First Team player and was even a McDonald’s All-American Nominee. The Toreros have a bright star in their program, and he could make some noise for them this season.

USD averages 67.5 points per game and allows 72.3. They shoot 41.7% from the floor compared to SDSU’s 47.5. USD averages 34.9 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 5.4 blocks, and 8.5 steals per game. The only stat that is better than SDSU’s is the steals per game, as the Aztecs are at 7.0.

Player to Watch: Kjay Bradley Jr.

Bradley Jr. is the go-to man for the Toreros. Not only can he score at a respectable pace, but he defends at a very high level. His 2.4 steals per game is 39th in the nation.

The junior is aggressive in the passing lanes with two four-steal games this year. On the other end of the court, Bradley Jr. has three games scoring at least 24 points including 28 in the win over Boston U on November 8. In the win over Boston U, he also added five rebounds, seven assists, one block, four steals, but turned it over six times.

Turnovers have been an issue for him, and if he isn’t careful, SDSU will expose that.

KJAY FROM DOWNTOWN PHOENIX 🌆

📺 https://t.co/vRr9sLrRtB
📻 https://t.co/IQuGmu59Ar #GoToreros pic.twitter.com/LzSt1oRxgL

— San Diego Men’s Basketball (@usdmbb) December 4, 2024

Key to the Game

The key for this game is to limit turnovers. The Aztecs turned it over 14 times against Fresno State, which is a few too many. Head coach Brian Dutcher said earlier in the year that good teams turn it over a dozen times or fewer. SDSU thrives when its defense causes turnovers, but when they give up the ball and allow fast-breaks, it is hard to build momentum.

The Toreros don’t have many threats to score. Bradley Jr. is really the only one who can score at a consistent level. A few others may hit some shots, but there is nothing the Aztecs need to be afraid of on the defensive end. SDSU will have many chances to create steals of their own and force USD to make mistakes, and when possession is in the Aztecs hands, they must find a way to get a shot off.

This game against USD can be seen on the Mountain West Network.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.