The San Diego State Aztecs took over during the second half to win big over the Stanford Cardinal 74-60.

Jaedon LeDee’s 11 second-half points and the Aztecs’ elite defense proved to be too much for Stanford. The Aztecs are now (3-0) this season against Pac-12 teams. You could say that was a proper send-off from San Diego State, as the conference is on the verge of dying.

The Aztecs had a nightmare start to the game as Jaedon LeDee received his second personal foul in the first two minutes of action. He did not return to the floor until the start of the second half. Despite not having his presence, the Aztecs played well enough to have a lead heading into the break.

Elijah Saunders earned his second foul just after halfway through the first half. Brian Dutcher was without his starting frontcourt for what was a majority of the first 20 minutes.

Luckily for the Aztecs, Micah Parrish and Lamont Butler started to settle in. Both had seven points 13 minutes in to get the offense going.

Miles Byrd gave the Aztecs a huge lift off the bench with eight points and nailed two three’s and a clutch layup in transition near the end of the half. His energy was needed as the offense struggled to get into a rhythm.

It was a back-and-forth battle to start the contest. The Cardinal showed up early, allowing them to keep pace with the Aztecs for the entirety of the first half. They led for a majority of the action as they defended well, keeping the Aztecs to just 38.2% from the floor at the break. The Cardinal, on the other hand, shot 45.8% from the field and ended (8-9) from the charity stripe.

Maxin Raynaud led the charge for Stanford with eight points on (3-3) shooting and five boards in the first half. Parrish ended the half with 10 points on (4-8) shooting. Reese Waters had a tough half going (0-5) from the field.

Darrion Trammell did what he does best before the half, and that is hit clutch shots. For the 4th time this season, Trammell nailed the shot at the buzzer to end the half.

TRAMMELL BEATS THE BUZZER 💥 @Aztec_MBB

📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/P1HlGnegTW

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) December 22, 2023

SDSU led 34-32 at the break.

The second half was all SDSU. They dominated to restart the action. Carrying over from the first half, an 18-3 run propelled them to a monster half, where they separated themselves from the Cardinal. Dutcher made sure that LeDee was the focal point of the offense, and he certainly was, scoring five quick points. Waters nailed three mid-range jumpers to get back into his flow and there was nothing Stanford could do to stop them to start the half.

You can count on the Aztecs defense to step up when it matters. They held Stanford to just two buckets in the first seven minutes to begin the half. To add to the flair, Butler had a chase-down block to really emphasis the energy they were providing on the defensive end.

.@lamont_butler1 gets the crowd on their feet 📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/1FwGXXybvc

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 22, 2023

Jay Pal swished two three’s on back-to-back possessions to extend the lead to 15. The Cardinal defense started to crumble.

AGAIN ‼️ @JayPal_22 📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/bVuJzX8Wsl

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 22, 2023

Just after halfway through the second half, you could tell that things were starting to get sloppy offensively for Stanford. They started to heave long balls, and they were not falling. The Cardinal were 3-17 from deep with eight minutes remaining in the game.

The Aztecs shot 52% during that same span and that was really there turning point of the game. From then on, SDSU ran away with the game, and the Cardinal continued to struggle.

Lamont Butler got back on track offensively tonight. After a rough start to the season, he ended with a game-high 18 points on (7-13) shooting. Before Tuesday’s action against St. Katherine, East Village Times wrote on Butler and how he will be just fine.

The Aztecs improved to (9-2) on the campaign, and Stanford fell to (5-5).

Up next for SDSU, they take on No. 15 Gonzaga on the road in Spokane on Friday, December 29 at 6:00 pm on ESPN2. After the loss to Grand Canyon back on December 5, the Aztecs responded with three wins in a row ahead of their biggest game of the season.

News & Stats

• LeDee, Butler, and Parrish combined to score 42 of the 74 points.
• Butler ended with four steals and four assists to go with his 18 points.
• SDSU had 20 points off the bench.

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.