Aztecs sweep Boise State with tough 62-58 win
SDSU Athletics
Viejas Arena- San Diego, California
On senior night, the San Diego State Aztecs finished their Boise State Broncos sweep with a 62-58 win.
All five seniors were celebrated on Friday for their final home game of the 2020-21 season. Given the pandemic, the seniors can return for an additional year if they want to, but they were celebrated anyway.
Today it’s all for these 5 men.
The best way we can think to say thanks? Sharing our favorite memories of these impactful student-athletes for them to read after today’s game.
Share yours below ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/wqVP2vhGcm
— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 27, 2021
“I take great comfort in having five seniors in the starting lineup,” head coach Brian Dutcher said.
With the win on Saturday, there is now a clear path for the Aztecs to win the Mountain West Conference title for the second straight year. With the forfeited games from New Mexico, SDSU just needs to win on the road against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. Last season, UNLV spoiled San Diego State’s perfect season, so they’ll be looking to spoil SDSU’s conference title this time.
A big story in this game ended up being the referees, who seemingly called a foul anytime there was contact.
Senior forward Jordan Schakel ended up on the wrong end of the calls early, so he missed the majority of the first half and a decent portion of the second half. Still, Schakel led the Aztecs with 17 points.
“I just gotta stay ready,” Shackle said. “Everyone off the bench stays ready for when their number is called.”
And our sniper @jordanschakel follows up with his own step-back THREE. pic.twitter.com/NhCnfUVQi7
— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 27, 2021
No other Aztecs finished with double-digits in points.
In total, there were 39 fouls called, with 22 of them going against San Diego State. Each team shot over 16 free throws, with Boise State finding more success than the Aztecs at the charity stripe.
No other Aztecs played with foul trouble. Keshad Johnson did foul out, but he committed two late fouls on purpose.
Matt Mitchell struggled to score all game. He only made two shots from the floor on 11 attempts and only shot 50-percent at the free-throw line. Boise made it a priority to limit him after his 24 points on Thursday.
Terrell Gomez did not produce a ton offensively Saturday. However, he started the second half hot with seven straight points when no other Aztecs were scoring.
Three straight buckets from @terrelgomez3 — he has all 7 of our points so far this half. pic.twitter.com/jdIiV4IXTT
— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 27, 2021
The other two seniors, Trey Pulliam and Joshua Tomaic gave solid minutes as well. Tomaic did not miss from the floor, and Pulliam added six points with four assists and no turnovers.
San Diego State will end the regular season on Wednesday in Las Vegas against UNLV. After that, the Mountain West Conference Tournament will also be played in Las Vegas starting March 10.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”