SAN DIEGO, CA – FEBRUARY 01: San Diego State guard Nick Boyd (2) dribbles in the second half of a college basketball game between the Wyoming Cowboys and the San Diego State Aztecs on February 1, 2025, at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California (Photo by Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Brian Dutcher needed players to step up, and that's exactly what happened Tuesday night. Four Aztecs reached double figures in San Diego State's 73-65 win over first place New Mexico.
With star seven-foot freshman Magoon Gwath sidelined by a hyperextended knee, SDSU entered the night shorthanded. Nick Boyd spearheaded the effort, finishing with 17 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists.
Senior forward Jared Coleman-Jones contributed 12 points, five above his season average. He scored five consecutive to put the Aztecs ahead 22-16 with 7:55 to go in the opening half. New Mexico played from behind the rest of the evening.
Miles Byrd had a bounce-back performance. The sophomore guard averaged 9.4 points over their last nine games, after putting up 14.2 on the season prior to that stretch. Byrd finished an alley-oop for a three-point play to give the Aztecs a 43-32 cushion with 16 minutes to go. A step back three with 7:39 remaining helped keep UNM at bay.
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Byrd ended the night with 13 points.
Miles Heide started in place of Gwath and put up 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Dutcher's team has been living on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and suffered a second loss to Utah State over the weekend. The win over the first place Lobos splits the season series and gives SDSU a 5-5 record in Quad 1 games. With three games remaining against teams below them in the Mountain West standings, a perfect record the rest of the way should provide some security ahead of the Mountain West Tournament.
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They visit Wyoming Saturday.
