The game wasn’t pretty, but the San Diego State Aztecs, led by B.J. Davis, pulled off a late win as they defeated the San Jose State Spartans 81-68 on Tuesday night at the Providence Credit Union Events Center.
A season in which the Aztecs trailed by 21 points at Viejas Arena and 17 at the Valley didn’t need two comebacks, the Aztecs (8-4, 2-0 Mountain West) led the Spartans (5-8, 0-2) for much of the game but never felt completely comfortable until the end.
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Davis went into attack mode in the second half, scoring 15 of his 18 points, while Pharaoh Compton came off the bench to score 11 points and a San Diego State-high six rebounds. Miles Byrd scored 11 points with four steals, and Reese Dixon-Waters added 10 points in the closing seconds with two triples.
The Aztecs defense, wearing scarlet uniforms, put up a stop sign at the end of the second half. Leading scorer Colby Garland hit a jumper to tie the game at two with 8:52 left, but that would be SJSU’s only score until a game-deciding layup with 26.8 seconds left.
San Diego State mounted its final drive in the final five minutes, with Davis scoring eight consecutive Aztec points and 10 of his 12 points in a three-minute span to extend the 63-59 lead to 75-62.
San Diego State limited the Spartans to 2-for-16 shooting over the final 13 minutes, forcing the Spartans to shoot from the outside late in the final 20 minutes, giving up just five offensive rebounds and seven second-chance opportunities. In the second half, SJSU scored just 17 points from the field and 13 from the free throw line.
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The teams combined for 23 turnovers in the first 20 possessions, with the Aztecs forcing 13 turnovers from the Spartans, 10 of which came in the first 12 minutes.
San Diego State went on a 10-0 run to take an early lead just four and a half minutes into the game, but San Jose State went on a 9-0 run eight minutes later, 1 minute and 11 seconds later, to stay within shouting distance for the remainder of the half.
The Redblacks’ opening 20 minutes were all about balance, with all 11 players scoring at least one field goal, with Magoon Gwath’s seven points the most on the team. That balance is reflected on the boards as well, with every player having at least two rebounds and seven other players having at least one assist.
Gervase was whistled for a technical foul in the first half, and after the Spartans fouled him, he threw the ball in the direction of Japhet Mupadele in frustration, sending SDSU to the free throw line for a one-on-one. Gervais sat out the final 98 seconds of the first half and was on the bench, then played just six minutes in the second quarter.
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In addition to Garland’s game-high 30 points, the Spartans also got 13 points from Melvin Bell Jr. and 10 points from Jermaine Washington, but those three shot 14-of-42 from the field. San Diego State held SJSU to 34.5 percent shooting, but the home team was able to stay in the game for much of the second half thanks to 13-of-15 shooting from the charity stripe.
This is the final Mountain West matchup between the Aztecs and Spartans, and SJSU will not travel to Mesa this season due to an unbalanced schedule. During the Mountain West period, San Diego State won 22 of 23 games.
SDSU will host the Boise State Broncos at Viejas Arena on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network with local broadcast coverage on San Diego Sports 760 AM.