This one, they needed.
San Diego State has largely sputtered through the Mountain West schedule, winning a few in a row here, losing a tough one, regaining positive traction, then spinning their wheels again as their NCAA Tournament hopes started slipping as well with opportunities for resume-building victories dwindling.
This one, in many respects, was their final such opportunity of the regular season.
This one, they needed.
And got, 73-65 on Tuesday night against first-place New Mexico before a Viejas Arena crowd eager to push and prod them along.
The victory doesn’t put the Aztecs (19-7, 12-5) back in the conference title race. New Mexico (22-6, 14-3) and Utah State (14-3) will decide that over the final three games.
But it did avenge their most lopsided loss of the season – 62-48 in Albuquerque on Jan. 11 – and repair their egos, which were bruised along with their bodies.
“New Mexico is one of the most physical defensive teams you’re going to play,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “I told the guys, ‘We got big-brothered in Albuquerque and we’re not going to get big-brothered at home. We’re going to meet force with force.’
“That didn’t mean New Mexico backed down at all. It just means we did a better job responding to their physicality tonight.”
Miles Heide, who started in place of injured Magoon Gwath, had a more succinct explanation: “Let’s go punk them, let’s go bully the bully.”
Points in the paint at The Pit: 32-20, Lobos.
Points in the paint at Viejas: 30-26, Aztecs.
Heide equaled career high with 10 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists. Jared Coleman-Jones had 12 points, the first time he’s been in double figures in eight games. Pharaoh Compton had eight, giving them the kind of production from their bigs that has been absent for much of the season from guys not named Magoon Gwath.
“Our bigs were really valuable tonight,” said Dutcher, who had considered going small in Gwath’s absence with a four-guard lineup but stuck with two posts for most of the night. “I’m proud of all of them. They all contributed at a high level.”
Coleman-Jones had three blocks. Compton had two. Heide had one.
“Even with the kid (Gwath) out,” New Mexico coach Richard Pitino said of the nation’s No. 5 shot-swatter, “they blocked a lot of shots. That bothered us for sure at the rim.”
Point guard Donovan Dent showed why he’s the frontrunner for Mountain West player of the year, finishing with 26 points and seven assists on 9 of 20 shooting. The problem: New Mexico’s other four starters were a combined 6 of 30.
“He’s one of the best guards in the country,” Dutcher said of Dent, who had 17 points in the final 16 minutes. “We just tried to switch his ball screens and keep a body in front of a body. Even with that, he goes in there and he’s an elite finisher. He (really) started going at the end. Thank God the time ran out when he was really starting to hit a rhythm.”
SDSU’s point guard, Nick Boyd, got going as well, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes. He became just the third Aztec since 2013-14 with at least that many points, rebounds and assists, ing Malachi Flynn and Winston Shepard.
His step-back 3 pushed the margin to nine after the Lobos had halved a 12-point deficit. Three minutes later, his twisting reverse layup made it 69-59.
“Every time we step out (on the court), we should feel like our season’s on the line,” said Boyd, who is averaging 18.2 points and 5.0 rebounds over his last five games. “That should be the urgency now. It should feel that way.”
The win probably doesn’t definitively secure an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, but it might provide a cushion should the Aztecs falter in one of their three remaining games: Saturday at Wyoming, Tuesday at UNLV and March 8 here against Nevada.
More importantly, they offer SDSU a chance to get off the 11 seed line and avoid the dreaded First Four play-in game in Dayton on the Tuesday or Wednesday after Selection Sunday. Winning the conference tournament would assure that as well, but the idea is to be playing with house money when they arrive in Las Vegas in two weeks.
New Mexico should have known it was in trouble when the Aztecs lost 79-71 at Utah State on Saturday night. The Aztecs are now 38-4 in their last 42 games following a loss, 37-1 when the next game is at home.
“We had a gut punch in Utah,” Boyd said. “To respond in this fashion, and to play with this much energy and focus, is a step in the right direction. I felt we played well in Utah and had a chance to win. I feel like we’re trending in the right direction.”
Notable
Darren Collison was supposed to be the analyst on the Fox Sports 1 telecast but never arrived at Viejas Arena in an apparent scheduling mix-up. Instead, Trent Rush called the game from courtside while Casey Jacobsen provided analysis remotely from a studio
• Former SDSU running backs Marshall Faulk and DJ Pumphrey were both in attendance. That’s 10,994 combined college rushing yards.
• Former SDSU defensive end Akbar Gbaja-Biamila led the “I Believe” chant. AGB played five years in the NFL, but is perhaps best known as commentator and co-host of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.” …
• A sign in the student section: “Who punched Shane?” It’s in reference to walk-on guard Shane Douma-Sanchez, who claims an unidentified Lobos teammate punched him on a charter flight to a November game.
• The Lobos shot 35.5% in the first meeting and 34.4% on Tuesday. Both teams made nine 3s but the Lobos needed 28 attempts to SDSU’s 21.
• New Mexico had an 18-3 edge in offensive boards in Albuquerque and 14-6 in Viejas.
• Mustapha Amzil returned for New Mexico after missing the last two games with a foot injury. He started but finished with three points and three rebounds in 15 minutes.
