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San Diego State 74, No. 15 Mew Mexico 64: Aztecs Top Lobos in MWC Opener
San Diego, CA (Sports Network) – Malcolm Thomas scored 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds as San Diego State upended 15th-ranked New Mexico, 74-64, in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
D.J. Gay had 12 points for the Aztecs (12-3, 1-0 MWC), who have won four in a row since losing to Arizona State on December 19. San Diego State leading scorer Billy White suffered a sprained ankle in the first half and didn’t return. He finished with eight points.
“I’m very proud how we competed, how we delivered, how we played extra-tough when Billy White went down with the high-ankle sprain, and we won because we defended,” San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. “You feel good when you win and you feel better when you play well against a good team.”
Dairese Gary had 15 points for the Lobos (14-2, 0-1), the defending conference champions. Roman Martinez and Darington Hobson each had 12 points, with Hobson also having nine rebounds. Phillip McDonald registered 10 points in defeat.
“We didn’t shoot very well in the second half and have to give San Diego State credit,” New Mexico coach Steve Alford said. “They did a good job defensively. Their size bothered us. Malcolm Thomas was really good in the second half. I thought he dominated our big men in the second half. That and our inability to make shots had an awful lot to do with the outcome of the game.”
Jamal Fenton’s free throw had the Lobos within 48-47 with 12:34 remaining, but Tim Shelton went 2-of-3 at the charity stripe and Kelvin Davis followed with a three-pointer for a 53-47 margin. A jam from Thomas made it an eight-point contest with 10:17 left, and San Diego State was up by at least six the rest of the way.
New Mexico led by as many as six in the first half, but the Aztecs bounced back later with an 11-1 spurt for a 32-28 edge. Davis capped that spurt with a three-ball and it was 38-36 in favor of the hosts at the half.
The Aztecs won for the ninth time in 10 games and will play at Wyoming on Saturday…New Mexico hosts UNLV Saturday…San Diego State is 14-76 in the Division I era against AP top-25 teams, but is 4-3 in its last seven games against nationally ranked opponents and has won four of its last five against MWC teams ranked in the top 25 at game time. This matches the highest- ranked team SDSU has defeated since an 82-80 overtime win over seventh-ranked Brigham Young on February 18, 1988…San Diego State has won 22 of its last 23 home games.
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