San Diego State University

San Diego State basketball holds off UC San Diego in season opener for both teams

The Aztecs beat the Tritons 63-58 in a matchup between two crosstown foes at Viejas Arena

After back-to-back Sweet 16 runs in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, San Diego State got all they wanted from UC San Diego in the opening game of the season.

The Aztecs used a late 12-0 run to rally past the Tritons Wednesday night at Viejas Arena. Before the game, SDSU unveiled a Sweet 16 banner from the previous season.

UCSD led by 6 with under nine minutes to play, but the SDSU offense finally found a flow that pushed them to a narrow win.

SDSU took a 24-22 lead into halftime thanks to a late three-pointer by Nick Boyd. The transfer from Florida Atlantic scored 11 points in his SDSU debut.

Junior wing Miles Byrd led the Aztecs in scoring with a team high 20 points.

The Tritons leading scorer was Tyler McGhie with 21 points. McGhie had five of the Tritons 10 three-pointers.

SDSU blocked eight shots — four by Byrd and three by 7-foot freshman Magoon Gwath.

UCSD hosts Pepperdine on Nov. 9 in the Tritons' home opener.

SDSU's next game is Nov. 12 at home against Occidental.

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