Aztecs dismantle Fresno State Bulldogs with 83-60 win
Credit: Don De Mars/EVT Sports
SDSU sweeps the Bulldogs on the season and inch closer to NCAA Tournament bid
Steve Fisher Court – Viejas Arena – San Diego State University
With Guy Fieri in attendance, the San Diego State Aztecs and Fresno State Bulldogs met for a Mountain West matchup on Tuesday night. It was a late 8:00 pm tip-off, but the Aztecs had plenty of energy. SDSU controlled the game from the very start and cruised to a massive win over the Bulldogs. Fresno State did not see a single bit of success on Tuesday night as the Aztecs flat-out dominated them for all 40 minutes.
“It was a good team win tonight,” head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “I was nervous about this game. We were going to see zone for a long period of time. We had a game plan that I thought was really effective. We wanted to get into the paint with high post touches and dunks around the basket. So, I thought our zone offense was really, really good for not having played a lot of it during the course of the season.”
The Aztecs improved to 18-6 on the season and 11-4 in conference play. They remain in a tie for third place alongside Colorado State. As for the Bulldogs, they fell to 5-22 and 1-15 in MW play.
Senior Nick Boyd converted on the first shot attempt of the night for the Aztecs, hitting from beyond the arc. He picked up where he left off after a massive performance in the win over Boise State. The Aztecs put pressure on the Bulldogs right away by aggressively attempting three-pointers. That was a huge key for the Aztecs facing a zone all night long. The Aztecs jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead.
“There is freedom within it,” Dutcher said about playing against a zone. “You know, when you are running set plays in man-to-man, you know what you are going to get. But as a coach when running zone offense, the plays are different than what you have ran all year. It takes it out of the coach’s hands, so I was nervous about that. That we would turn the ball over too much.”
The Bulldogs committed eight turnovers in the first eight minutes. They struggled to find any sort of consistency. SDSU stole the ball three times in that span and had 14 points in the paint. The Aztecs found a way to hide the bigs in the zone, and it paid off. Jared Coleman-Jones, Magoon Gwath, Miles Heide, and Pharaoh Compton all scored early on. Compton had four points off two dunks as the Fresno State players were not paying any attention to him.
The Aztecs led 19-10 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
Kimo Ferrari checked into the game and immediately nailed a triple from the corner.
KIMOOO
@CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/3pHaqArO3q
— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 19, 2025
Boyd continued to shine for the Aztecs. He scored 11 first-half points and surpassed 1,000 points for his career. His team dominated the first half and extended the lead to 19 with 4:23 remaining, thanks to a 13-2 run. The Aztecs were shooting 54% from the floor and held the Bulldogs to 37%, and they committed 11 turnovers.
The Aztecs finished the half just as strong. They extended the lead to as big as 23 but led by 20 at the break. Boyd ended with 13-first half-points.
San Diego State started the second half even stronger. Their lead reached 25 points as Gwath nailed two shots from deep. McKinney III started the second half over BJ Davis and brought the needed energy by scoring, rebounding, and assisting on two buckets. One of his assists was a smooth one to Miles Byrd for the alley-oop.
BYRD IS FLYIN’
— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 19, 2025
SDSU’s lead reached north of 30 points, and it seemed as if the Bulldogs had already checked out of the game. The Bulldogs are notorious for never quitting, and Dutcher even mentioned that post-game, giving them credit. However, it seemed as if the Bulldogs stopped hustling, attempted bad jump shots, and played loose on defense. With eight and a half minutes remaining in the contest, the Bulldogs had turned it over 15 times and were shooting 38% from the field. SDSU led by 32 points.
The game was over but the Aztecs still had to finish the game. Dutcher put in Demarshay Johnson Jr., Ryan Schwarz, Cam Lawin, and Desai Lopez, who all finished the contest. It was great to see them get action during conference play. The bench played very well for the Aztecs and were highlighted with 40 points, led by McKinney III.
“It means a lot,” Gwath said postgame on seeing the bench shine. “A lot contributed that played. It’s great to see that.”
McKinney II spoke postgame about what went well on Tuesday night.
“I think it was just about the way we come out and play,” he said. “We got on them from the jump. We had a game plan, and we executed it very well, defensively and offensively, and that helped us get the win. We had a lot of motivation coming into tonight and we just wanted to get it done.”
The Aztecs certainly got the job done. Up next for the Red & Black is this Saturday night on the road in Logan. SDSU will battle with Utah State, aiming to get revenge for their loss at Viejas Arena earlier in January.
News & Stats
- Davis left tonight’s action with an illness. He played 2:32. WM3 started the second half.
- Boyd led with 19 points and added 7 assists
- Gwath finished with 14 points, 6 boards, and 3 blocks
- McKinney had 15 off the bench and added 2 assists
- Byrd ended with eight points but had five steals and 1 block
- SDSU shot 54% from the field compared to Fresno State’s 44%.
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.