Colorado State defeats San Diego State 68-63
Credit: CSU
Colorado State takes down San Diego State in Fort Collins on another Saturday night of Mountain West hoops.
The San Diego State Aztecs had yet another big game on Saturday night. They traveled to Colorado for a battle with the Rams. This was not a football game, but the game was won in the trenches. Colorado State’s rebounding proved to be too much for the Aztecs when the time was needed to generate stops. As a result, the Aztecs fall to 8-4 in conference play. CSU improves to 9-3 and are alone in third place in the conference. The Aztecs drop to 5th.
The Aztecs struggled out of the gates once again. They began 1-10 from the floor and had zero success on offense in the first five-ish minutes.
Colorado State controlled the boards early 13-6. Despite that, SDSU didn’t let the Rams pull away. The buckets started to come and, mostly from second-chance points. Seven of the first 11 points came on second chances for the Scarlet & Black.
The Aztecs slowly crept back. Jared Coleman-Jones returned to action after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury. He came off the bench in this one and played very well for his team. He tied the game at 19 with a transition triple.
SDSU did not turn the ball over until just over six minutes remaining in the half. Rams’ Nique Clifford stole the ball and slammed it home for his first points of the night. He finished the first half with 11 on 4-6 shooting.
The game continued with a back-and-forth pace.
JCJ gave SDSU its first lead of the game from the charity stripe. Then, Clifford regained the lead from beyond the arc. SDSU led for about five seconds.
After the Rams gained a five-point advantage, Magoon Gwath finished the half strong. He euro-stepped his way to a bucket and then, in the following possession, hit an 18-foot mid-range jumper from the top of the key.
7-footer with the EURO @Aztec_MBB pic.twitter.com/qhyG7BGoOx
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 9, 2025
Gwath ended the first half with nine points and four rebounds. When the 7-footer is playing like that, there is no stopping him.
SDSU trailed 38-35 at the break. The Rams shot 50% from the field compared to the Aztecs’ 41%. SDSU was just 3-10 from deep, and that needed to change in the second half. Clifford started to come alive and needed to be contained in the second half as well.
San Diego State started the second half strong. Gwath and BJ Davis gave the Aztecs the lead once again, 40-38. Clifford then tied the game at 40. He missed his first two shots and then made five straight.
Davis connected with another triple, and then Taj DeGourville hit one to give SDSU a 46-42 advantage. Just as mentioned above, the three-point shooting needed to improve, and it did to begin the second half.
Clifford kept the Rams in the game. He evened the game at 50 with a step-back three with Gwath defending. CSU then regained the lead on the following possession. SDSU proceeded to go on another brutal offensive stretch.
Byrd picked up his third personal foul but continued to guard Clifford. The fact that he continued to defend the Rams’ top player and risked picking up his fourth foul tells you everything you need to know about the player that Miles Byrd is.
CSU saw a lot of success midway through the second half. They added to their lead because the Aztecs kept fouling. They led 55-51 with under 11 minutes remaining in the game.
The Rams then extended their lead to eight, but Wayne McKinney III trimmed the deficit right back down to four. Just under six minutes remained and it was anyones ballgame.
SDSU’s defense kept them in the contest.
Byrd got elbowed by Clifford on the defensive end and it resulted in Clifford being wide open for a trey. He nailed it to put the Rams back up eight with 3:02 remaining.
There just was not enough time for the Aztecs to come back in this one. Davis hit another three to bring it back to within five, but then the Aztecs failed to get stops on the other end. CSU kept grabbing offensive board, totaling 17 for the game. The Rams found a way to win the game with their elite rebounding. They dominated the boards in total 44-35.
Next up for the Aztecs will be this Tuesday, February 11, on the road in San Jose. They will take on the Spartans at 8:00 pm for another late tip-off.
News & Stats
- SDSU loses their first game of the season when Gwath scores in double figures
- Gwath led with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks
- Byrd had just seven points on 2-11 shooting
- Clifford ended with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 steals
- SDSU shot 38% from the floor and 35% from deep
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.