In a Mountain West showdown, SDSU comes out on top and further submits their NCAA Tournament resume.

Steve Fisher Court – Viejas Arena – San Diego State University 

The San Diego State Aztecs welcomed the New Mexico Lobos on Tuesday night for a premier Mountain West battle. The arena was packed and loud as it had been all season long. The Aztecs were able to get the job done and earned one of their biggest wins of the campaign. 

“This was a tough, gutty win tonight,” head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “You know, playing our first full game without (Gwath), Heide stepped up and played great, (Coleman-Jones) played great, and then (Compton) played great off the bench. Our bigs were really valuable tonight. I’m proud of all of them. They all contributed at a high level, and we beat a very good New Mexico team.” 

New Mexico has dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season as they fell to 22-6 and 14-3 in Mountain West play. SDSU improved to 19-7 and 12-5 in the conference. The Aztecs are in fourth place in the MW and one game behind Colorado State.  

Miles Heide started in place of Magoon Gwath, moving Jared Coleman-Jones to the four. Heide brought the needed energy early as he was all over the place, grabbing an offensive board, assisting on a deep bucket to Nick Boyd, and even had a steal.  

“He was just being a dog,” Boyd said postgame about Heide’s intensity early on. “He was ripping rebounds away, and that is one of the best rebounding teams in the conference. We got punk’d at their place. We just had to bully the bully, and that is what (Heide) did. His energy was contagious and he is one of the biggest reasons why we won tonight.” 

BJ Davis started the scoring with a wide-open triple assisted by Boyd. SDSU led 8-5 as the first TV timeout arrived. New Mexico responded quickly by taking their first lead of the game off of back-to-back three-pointers. Then, Boyd nailed another triple to put SDSU back on top, 13-11. 

The contest kept going back and forth. Both sides used their strengths to create momentum. New Mexico started 4-6 from deep, and 12 of their first 16 points came from beyond the arc. SDSU used its strong defense to run in transition and create open looks. SDSU had four steals and five assists in the first 10 minutes. 

San Diego State used the energy from the crowd to go on a run. Pharaoh Compton slammed home an emphatic dunk to erupt Viejas Arena.

Compton goes coast to coast! @PharaohCompton | @Aztec_MBB pic.twitter.com/Ombj1gKaDW

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 26, 2025

Then, Miles Byrd stole the ball and was fouled on the dunk attempt. Upon review, the call was overturned to a flagrant one foul. Byrd made both at the line to extend the lead to nine. 

SDSU struggled to find the back of the net to end the half but kept their advantage. SDSU ended the half 1-7 from the floor but led by four points at the break. Boyd led the way with nine points, five rebounds, three assists. 

The Aztecs started the second period 3-4 from the field and increased their lead to nine. Davis started with another triple, and both Heide and JCJ hit shots. 

SDSU went on a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought that ended off a jumper from Wayne McKinney III. That was a needed bucket to end a scary stretch. New Mexico had trimmed the lead back down to five thanks to clutch jumpers from Jovan Milicevic. Milicevic started the contest 5-5 from the field with 13 points, including three made triples. 

SDSU led 47-40 with 11:49 remaining in the contest. 

Donovan Dent, the current favorite to win Mountain West Player of the Year, started to really get going for the Lobos. He reached 18 points off his first three-pointer of the game. He trimmed the lead down to five. New Mexico kept fighting back. They saw a lot of success drawing fouls. SDSU committed 18 fouls to this point. 

Byrd nailed a three-pointer to put the Aztecs back up eight points. Then, an offensive foul on the Lobos allowed the Aztecs to have a chance at a double-digit advantage. 

Chaos arose with under five minutes remaining. Just when SDSU seemed to run away with it, leading by 12, New Mexico stormed right back and cut it to six. However, Boyd hit another triple to put SDSU back up nine. JCJ followed with a bucket and the foul to give his team the momentum right back. 

That’s big man basketball

@CBBonFOX pic.twitter.com/EpmIA5f12j

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 26, 2025

After the free throw from Coleman-Jones, the Aztecs led by 10. They had just three minutes left to hold on for the massive victory. Dent scored a few more times late to make it a close finish. However, the Lobos ran out of time. The Aztecs survived with one of the biggest wins of the season. 

“Desperate, the vibes were desperate,” Boyd said postgame. “This was an important game. (Gwath) went down, and we wish him a speedy recovery. We’ll look forward to having him back soon. We stepped up with urgency, and we were desperate tonight. We keep that attitude; the sky is the limit.” 

Up next for the Aztecs will be on the road this Saturday night at Wyoming. The contest is at 5:00 PM and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. 

News & Stats

• Boyd is playing elite basketball right now. He ended with 17 points, 7 rebounds, & 6 assists
• Byrd elevated his game tonight with 13 points, 8 boards, 3 steals, and 1 block 
• Heide had the dagger dunk and 10 points/7 boards 
• Coleman-Jones ended with 11 points & 3 blocks
• Dent scored 26 for NM
• SDSU held Nelly Junior Joseph to 6 points, but he grabbed 16 boards
• Milicevic had 16 points off the bench for the Lobos

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.