The Aztecs’ NCAA Tournament hopes weakened after a tough 5-point loss to the Lobos on Saturday afternoon.

New Mexico hosted San Diego State for a crucial Mountain West conference bout. This game had major NCAA Tournament implications as the winner gained a much better chance of receiving an at-large bid. Just two games remained after this; this was really the last chance SDSU had to make a statement.

Now, after the tough loss, the Aztecs must win the final two regular-season games and make their way to the Mountain West Championship game to have a chance at an at-large bid. A loss in the championship game may not even be enough.

Magoon Gwath and Elzie Harrington remained in the starting lineup. Dutcher said after the Utah State win that Gwath would continue to start as long as he practiced fully.

First Half

The Aztecs got off to a thundering start as Miles Byrd stole a pass and slammed home a dunk on the fastbreak. SDSU started 0-4 from the field, but then scored six quick points from their other leaders, Reese Dixon-Waters and Magoon Gwath.

After the 0-4 start, SDSU hit 8-11 shots to take a solid 18-9 lead with just over 12 minutes to go in the first half. San Diego State needed to control the first half in this tough road environment. The Aztecs’ 10-0 run was a huge momentum builder.

New Mexico had a quick-paced offense. They were pushing in transition, attempting to score quick buckets, something SDSU thrives in.

With 11 minutes to go in the half, Lobos’ backup bigman JT Rock had a hook & hold flagrant 1 foul called against Taj DeGourville. DeGourville went to the free-throw line for two shots and missed both. SDSU retained possession, but didn’t get a shot to fall. They missed a big opportunity for a 4+ point possession. They still led 20-12.

Dutcher’s offense continued to play well early on. They were shooting 50% from the floor at this point in the game, scoring seven points off of New Mexico’s four turnovers. SDSU had a 27-17 lead until Tomislav Buljan scored his 4th point of the night to cut the Lobos’ deficit back under 10 points.

Dixon-Waters kept the flamethrower in his bag. After not making his first two deep balls, the senior kept firing and drained a corner triple to take an 11-point lead. He had five points, one assist, and three rebounds to this point.

Reese sinks one from the corner#GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/5hPfyPyQEr

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 28, 2026

Tae Simmons picked up his second foul of the half with 5:18 to go. He was not happy with the foul call and was seen being visibly upset heading to the bench. You have to admire the passion of the freshman. The Lobos were already in the bonus.

New Mexico ended the half playing much better, while the Aztecs started turning the ball over. The Lobos brought the score within four points off a 7-0 run. Buljan and Uriah Tenette played a big part in that run. Byrd ended the run at the line after being fouled at the rim after the Lobos’ turnover; however, he only went 1-2.

Buljan started to take over for New Mexico. He scored his 10th point and had seven rebounds. He was on pace for a monster afternoon and ended the first half controlling the paint. After trailing by as much as 11, the Lobos used a 17-7 run to trail by just one at the half.

SDSU blew their momentum in the same way they did at Utah State at the end of January. The Aztecs could have easily had a double-digit lead, but mistakes cost them what was a solid beginning to the game was. Nonetheless, the Lobos shot 36% from the floor, demonstrating that the Aztecs’ defense showed up at The Pit and played well.

BJ Davis led the Aztecs with 11 points at the half, thanks to 3-5 shooting from deep. Buljan was on pace for 20 points and 16 boards for UNM. SDSU was 1-4 from the line in this game. Not only did the Aztecs need to hit their free shots, but they also needed to get to the line much more in the second half. That, of course, did not happen. SDSU would end the game just 13-22 from the charity stripe.

Second Half

The scoring was back and forth at the start of the second half. Buljan grabbed his eighth offensive rebound to give his team their 12th second-chance point. His domination was key to the Lobos staying in this game. The Aztecs needed to find a way to contain him badly, but they couldn’t.

Luke Haupt gave New Mexico the lead from the line as the Aztecs had a lot of work to do to gain that momentum back. 15 minutes remained.

The way the Aztecs regained the lead was incredible. Sean Newman Jr. stole a pass and dropped an alley-oop jam to Pharaoh Compton.

YES SIR @PharaohCompton!

📺 @CBS pic.twitter.com/JhkwfiEBrP

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 28, 2026

Buljan and the Lobos continued to respond, not letting the Aztecs gain any sort of momentum. Dutcher needed to call a timeout with just under 13 minutes to go in the game. New Mexico led 52-49 with possession.

Newman Jr. would assist another lob to Gwath moments later, out of the timeout. The senior guard earned extended minutes in this one, and his passing was crucial for his team to stay close.

After missing just two free throws all season, Newman Jr. missed the front end of two shots as the Aztecs continued to struggle from the line. After Miles Byrd made two in a row, SDSU was just 6-12 in the game. Unacceptable in a game with this magnitude. The game was tied at 54 with just under 11 minutes to go.

New Mexico held control, but the Aztecs would not let them run away with it. UNM led by five until Miles Heide and Harrington scored on back-to-back possessions to bring the score to within one. Eric Olen called a timeout. Just 6:21 remained for the Aztecs to retake control of the game and leave The Pit with a massive victory.

Byrd hit a clutch three-pointer to bring the score back to within one again, but the Lobos drained another deep ball a few possessions later. Every time SDSU got close, the Lobos would expand the lead once again. UNM led 72-68 with 3:00 minutes after the Dutcher timeout.

Newman Jr. continued to play late minutes. He hit a deep ball to give SDSU hope. Then, Byrd tied it with another triple possession later. Just when you thought New Mexico was going to command a late win, the Aztecs silenced the crowd.

Luke Haupt, the San Diego native, then hit a clutch three-pointer to take a 3-point lead with 40 seconds left. Then, Tae Simmons went to the line and made both to cut it own to one, 77-76. 35 seconds remained, so SDSU needed a quick steal, or they had to foul.

UNM inbounded the pass to Tenette in the corner, and the SDSU trap was almost successful. Dutcher reviewed the out-of-bounds call, but it was unsuccessful. It looked as if Tenette lost the ball out of bounds for a turnover. The referees did not see enough evidence. That would have been New Mexico’s first turnover in the last 13:48 of the game. They were playing very sound offensively.

32 seconds remained for the Aztecs. Zero timeouts remained for both teams.

The final seconds were not executed by the Aztecs. They had a chance to tie the game, but BJ Davis rushed a quick off-balance three that wasn’t close to hitting the rim. 10 seconds remained, and the Lobos took advantage and won the game by five. Those nine missed free throws by the Aztecs and nine offensive rebounds by Buljan really hurt them in this loss.

The Aztecs will now travel to Boise State on Tuesday night in another must-win game. This upcoming game is still a Quad 1 opportunity.

SDSU and UNM are now tied at 13-5 in the conference for second place. If (13-4) Utah State loses on Saturday night to Grand Canyon (again), there will be a 3-way tie for first place.

News & Stats

• Buljan ended with 24 points/ 18 rebounds/ 1 block
• Haupt scored 17 and had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals
• Davis ended the game with 11 points, not scoring at all in the second half
• Byrd had a team-high of 17 with 7 rebounds and 1 steal
• Newman Jr. had a season high of 9 points
• UNM outrebounded SDSU 42-36 and had 14 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points

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.