Aztecs advance to MWC Championship after nail-bitter finish in Las Vegas
Credit: Mountain West
SDSU Aztecs escape with a 64-62 win over the New Mexico Lobos as BJ Davis hit the game-winner with 2.1 seconds remaining
Thomas & Mack Center – Las Vegas, Nevada
The San Diego State Aztecs and New Mexico Lobos battled for the Mountain West Tournament Semifinals. There is no better representation of Mountain West basketball than this rivalry. It is a shame that this ends after this season.
“Just another epic battle between San Diego State and New Mexico,” head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “All three games were that way this year. We made a timely basket to beat them at our place, they got us at their place, and this was an epic battle between two teams that have the most Mountain West titles between us. Credit to UNM and their staff, coach Olen, that is a really, really good basketball team.”
“We had to play very well to win. I thought our defense was as good as it has been. We had enough rebounding, good, hard-nose defense, and found a way to win. BJ (Davis) made an important play. We want to ball in his hands at the end of the game.”
Dutcher issued the same starting lineup that he used against Colorado State. Tae Simmons played very well as the starting four, and Dutcher did not want to remove the physicality. The decision proved to be beneficial.
First Half
The senior Sean Newman Jr. scored the first bucket of the game in transition after he stole the pass. After another forced turnover, Miles Byrd scored on the fastbreak to give SDSU an early 4-0 lead.
New Mexico had three early turnovers, but Deyton Albury would hit the first triple for New Mexico. Tomislav Buljan then scored, plus the foul, to tie the game at six. UNM used a 9-0 to get in front.
Simmons and Newman Jr. would score on back-to-back possessions to give SDSU the lead once again, 10-9. Newman Jr. had six early points for the Aztecs, continuing his solid play this week in Las Vegas.
The strong defenses from both teams started to dial it in. Both sides went on scoring droughts of roughly three minutes, but the Lobos were able to see backup guard Tajavis Miller hit a deep ball to take a 16-11 lead. The UNM fans were in full force, playing a major factor in this game. There were certainly more Lobos fans in this arena compared to Aztecs fans.
Taj DeGourville would give SDSU an 18-16 lead with their first made triple of the game. The Aztecs were 1-5 to begin, while the Lobos started 3-7.
The Lobos controlled the boards once again in a major way. They jumped out to a 14-7 advantage with seven offensive boards in roughly 10 minutes of play. The ball was finding the Lobos on almost every missed shot in the first half. SDSU would make it closer, however, as the half went on. UNM would end up finishing with three more rebounds, but had 20 offensive boards in the game.
With Miles Heide picking up two fouls in the half, Jeremiah Oden saw first-half minutes. Oden did not contribute in 4:45 of play.
San Diego native Luke Haupt hit another triple for the Lobos to tie the game at 21 each. Then, Uriah Tenette re-gave UNM the lead on the fastbreak.
This game was as back-and-forth as it can get.
Reese Dixon-Waters hit his first shot of the game from the corner three spot. It should not have taken him 15 minutes to score his first point. The Aztecs needed his scoring badly. The team needed to see more from their senior in the final 20 minutes; however, that did not happen. The senior only finished with five points.
Magoon Gwath played incredibly in the first half, earning a 3-point play for his 10th point while blocking a shot on the other end. SDSU led 30-25 with 3:48 remaining in the half.
“I feel like I went out there and played hard and not pressed my game too much,” Gwath said postgame. “My teammates were finding me for some good looks, and yeah, I just played harder.”
Deyton Albury picked up his 3rd personnal foul of the half, which was a massive advantage for the Aztecs. SDSU tried to take advantage with him off the floor, but they were only able to lead by four at the half. UNM shot 33% in the half while the Scarlet & Black shot a decent 41%. Gwath’s 10 points led the Aztecs. Jake Hall also had three in the half.
Both teams missed out on many opportunities in that half.
Second Half
Neither team performed well at the start of the second half. SDSU had only four points in four minutes to kick off the second half, while the Lobos had six. The defenses were electric all game, especially in those short minutes. Compton then picked up his fourth foul after two on the same possession. He did not return, playing only seven minutes in this game.
The Aztecs may not have realized that Hall and Albury both had three fouls. The team did nothing to attack those two players in the second half, other than on one or two possessions when Hall couldn’t foul. Dutcher needed to make sure that his players were attacking those two in the final eight minutes, but it didn’t happen.
UNM regained the lead, 54-53, after Albury converted on a layup, but the Aztecs responded right back as Simmons and DeGourville saw their shots to fall. DeGourville even took Albury’s ankles with him on that mid-range bucket.
Watch your step.
📺: @CBSSportsNet #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/nvPJRE6ZzK
— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) March 14, 2026
Both defenses continued to force the other team into tough shots. Neither team was shooting above 40% with 2:24 remaining in the game. SDSU led 60-58 with the biggest two minutes of the season following.
Up four, Gwath almost iced the game with a triple that went inside the cylinder, but rimmed out. With 1:02 remaining, SDSU retained possession. The Aztecs would then turn the ball over, and Albury was fouled on the other end. He made both to cut the deficit to two. 54.2 remained.
Albury, who scored 20 points for the Lobos tonight in shades, tied the game with 30 seconds remaining. That is when Davis clutched up and won the game for SDSU.
BJ DAVIS GIVES SDSU A 2 POINT LEAD
2.1 remaining. Lobos ball pic.twitter.com/S8uUKtTzJY
— Chris Spiering (@Clutch__Chris) March 14, 2026
“We knew we only needed one shot,” Davis said postgame. “So, just kinda waited until the time went down, and I wanted to drive to the basket and not shoot just to put that pressure on the defense and the refs. So, got to the basket and made a bucket.”
“I seen a little opening,” Davis said about what he has seen this season from these situations. “Just wanted to attack the space. Just growing up, you know, you always envision those types of scenarios when you are out there by yourself. I feel like it’s a testament to all the work we have put in. I can’t do it without my teammates.”
With 2.1 seconds left, UNM threw a bad pass that would have ended the contest; however, Gwath grabbed it and stepped out. With 0.6 seconds remaining, the Lobos somehow had a chance to tie or win the game. Up 40-ish feet closer, the three-pointer would not fall for the Carlsbad, California native, Jake Hall. The 2025-26 MWC Freshman of the Year finished with just three points on 1-10 shooting.
The Aztecs will now take on the Utah State Aggies for a chance to go back to the NCAA Tournament. The game starts at 3:00 PM on CBS.
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.