SAN DIEGO, CA – FEBRUARY 16: San Diego State guard BJ Davis (10) celebrates with guard Miles Byrd (21) and forward Elijah Saunders (25) in the first half of a college basketball game between the New Mexico Lobos and the San Diego State Aztecs on Friday, February 16, 2024, at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California. (Photo by Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Since the start of the 2022 college basketball season, the Aztecs are 28-1 at Viejas Arena. That one loss? It came in January of 2023 to New Mexico.
San Diego State got their revenge on Friday night.
The Aztecs took down the Lobos 81-70, running their home record to 13-0 and giving themselves something that a loss would not have afforded them: a chance at another regular season Mountain West Conference championship.
All-American candidate Jaedon LeDee scored a game-high 23 points but he's been so good this year we almost expect that kind of night. The real difference maker was the SDSU bench.
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When sophomores Elijah Saunders and Miles Byrd come off the bench they bring a palpable energy. Byrd only took two shots and made one (his only 3-point attempt) but handed out six assists and blocked four shots.
The Aztecs led by double digits for much of the game but six minutes left the Lobos had whittled the lead down to 62-57. That’s when Saunders took over, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers then throwing down a dunk on a beautiful lob from Byrd to pump the lead back up to 11 points. New Mexico never threatened again.
The Aztecs next outing is Tuesday night at Utah State and it’s a big one. The winner will be in 1st place in the Mountain West.
