Aztecs prevail down 21 to defeat San Jose State at home, 71-68
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Credit: Don De Mars/EVT Sports
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SDSU comes back down 21 points to stun San Jose State in front of a sold-out crowd
Steve Fisher Court – Viejas Arena
The San Diego State Aztecs hosted the San Jose State Spartans for the final conference game of the month of January.
In what ended up being a classic in America’s Finest City, the Aztecs feel the sweet victory in front of their crowd. The fans at Viejas Arena proved to be a factor late in this game, as the Spartans could not get many shots to fall in the noise.
“Heck of a basketball game,” head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “I’ve always said from the start of the year that this is a gritty team. They have a lot of grit about them, and they had it again tonight. They got 21 down and found a way to fight back to 11 at halftime. Played even in the second half and then went on a run in large part to how they played.”
San Diego State improved to 14-5 on the season and 7-3 in conference play. That keeps them in 4th place. San Jose State fell to 10-12 and 3-7 in the conference.
Miles Heide started tonight’s contest in place of Jared Coleman-Jones, who was scratched due to a shoulder injury. Heide started the scoring with a dunk off the assist from Magoon Gwath. Then, San Jose State went on a quick 8-0 run ended with a Nick Boyd three-point play in transition.
It was all San Jose State to start.
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The Spartans started the game 4-6 from beyond the arc. Their star player, Josh Uduje, started 3-4 from deep with 11 points and gave his team a big push early in this contest. The Spartans led 14-8 at the first TV timeout.
Taj DeGourville and fellow freshman Pharaoh Compton checked into the game and immediately made an impact with an alley-oop, assisted from DeGourville.
The Aztecs could not stop Uduje early. He scored 16 of their team’s first 19 points. San Jose State led 19-10 after yet another 8-0 run. Uduje would score only five points the rest of the way.
The turnovers proved to be a nightmare for SDSU. They turned it over 10 times through nine minutes and shot below 35%. The Spartans extended their lead to 19 as the Aztecs failed to score in over eight minutes.
That was one of the worst 8-minute stretches you will ever see in basketball. SDSU couldn’t even get close to making a shot. It’s amazing how they found a way to come back. In large part because of their elite defense. DeGourville finally ended the eight-minute Aztecs scoring drought with a mid-range jumper.
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Gwath then had back-to-back dunks, including a massive slam on the fast break. SDSU needed that energy. The Spartans still led 33-16.
Gwath kept the scoring going with a deep three to cut the deficit to 14. Viejas Arena was very loud.
Degourville made it a 9-0 run for SDSU after two made free throws. The deficit was 12. Boyd added a layup and cut it to 10.
The Spartans hit a couple more shots down the stretch and kept their double-digit advantage. San Jose State took a 12-point lead into the locker room. They hit 9-16 shots from deep as they kept hitting good looks. Gwath’s 14 points kept his team in the contest.
San Diego State had one of the biggest second halves of the season on deck.
BJ Davis started the second-period scoring with a mid-range pull-up jumper. SDSU trailed by 10. On the next possession, Gwath hit a shot plus the foul. He made the free throw to cut the deficit to just seven. Spartan’s Donovan Yap Jr. responded with a triple.
Then, Gwath hit yet another three-pointer for his 20th point of the game. SDSU still trailed by 10, but without Gwath, the Aztecs would have been getting blown out by this point. The Aztecs needed to start getting consecutive stops on the other side of the floor. The Spartans kept making open looks and started the second half 2-3 from deep.
San Jose State extended their lead. They could not miss. Their lead reached 16, and the contest looked like it was over. Byrd made his first basket of the game, and then the Spartans responded immediately with two more points.
The Aztecs felt like they needed a miracle to take place in order for them to come back. Did that miracle happen?
Wayne McKinney III made a layup, and DeGourville assisted on another alley-oop to Compton to cut the lead back down to 12. If the Aztecs wanted to win this game, then they needed big plays and strong defense to do so.
Nick Boyd hit a clutch three to cut the deficit to seven points with seven minutes remaining. SDSU had life but needed to force more stops on the defensive end.
Byrd hit a deep three from the logo to cut the deficit to four. Then, after a Gwath lay-in, Byrd responded with another triple to give SDSU their first lead since the opening basket.
𝙀𝙇𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙍𝙄𝘾
@CBBonFOX pic.twitter.com/dSVX3kizQm
— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 29, 2025
Viejas Arena was shaking. The Aztecs came back, but over five minutes remained. A lot of game left to play.
Boyd converted another and-one to give SDSU a 16-0 run. Gwath extended the lead to six. Uduje then scored his 21st point off another triple. SDSU led by three with under two minutes remaining.
SDSU didn’t make it easy on themselves. Byrd missed a free throw that would have sealed the game and instead, San Jose State had one last chance to tie the game. McClendon’s three-pointer fell short, and the Aztecs escaped with a 3-point win.
It did not come easy, but the Aztecs survived. The Spartans played one of their better games of the season and fell short. They upset New Mexico earlier in the season and almost had their biggest win in years against SDSU. These two teams will meet again in a few weeks in San Jose.
Byrd talked about how to stay composed during a competitive game like this.
“It’s easy to stay composed,” Byrd said postgame. “It’s easy when everything is going your way. For me, just staying with it in the first half, fighting through frustration. A lot of the teams in the league are starting to play me physical and it’s led to me starting slow the past couple of games. I just gotta stay with it and trust my teammates.”
Next, the Aztecs will be up against Wyoming this Saturday at 5:00 pm.
News & Stats
- San Jose State’s 15 made threes were the most SDSU has allowed in a game since Syracuse did it in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
- Gwath ended with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
- Byrd ended with 13 points (all in the second half), 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 rebounds
- Boyd had a huge game with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal
- Uduje finished with 21 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds in 35 minutes
- Latrell Davis had 23 points off the bench for the Spartans
- SDSU shot 51.9% from the floor and 36.8% from deep
- SJSU shot 41.2% from the floor and 48.4% from beyond the arc
- SDSU had 18 turnovers compared to the Spartan’s 10
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.