SAN DIEGO – Redshirt freshman Magoon Gwath, who recorded his third career double double and nearly averaged one for the week, is the Mountain West Freshman of the Week for the week ending on February 2. The announcement came from the league office in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday morning.
The forward from Euless, Texas, averaged 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds as well as 2.5 blocks and 1.0 assists in a pair of victories last week: versus San Jose State and Wyoming to propel the Aztecs to an 8-3 league record so far this season.
For the week, he shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the floor, 36.4 percent from distance (4-of-11) and 85.7 percent from the line (6-of-7) in an average of 36.0 minutes per contest.
In the two games, 12 of his 14 defensive rebounds ended the opposition’s possession with a single shot and one of his four offensive boards resulted in two Aztec points. His two assists were on five SDSU points and his four turnovers turned into zero points from SJSU and Wyoming. His five blocks turned into two points by him going the other way and limited the opponent to two single-shot possessions.
In the team’s 71-68 win over San Jose State, Gwath finished one point shy of his career-high on 60.0 percent shooting (9-of-15). He assisted on the opening score of the game and his first bucket of the contest reduced the Spartans lead from six to three points at the 16:58 mark. Then, down 21 points with 7:03 to play in the half, Gwath went on a personal 7-0 run in a little over a minute and a half to trim the deficit to 14 points and after a pair of free throws, with 2:33 remaining, sliced the disadvantage to 11 points.
Early in the second half, Gwath put up six straight points to keep SDSU within a 10-point margin (37-47 w/ 16:02 to play). Then, in the midst of an 18-0 run after trailing by 12, Gwath hit a layup to draw the Aztecs to within two points (60-62) with 5:55 on the clock. His layup three and a half minutes later gave the Aztecs a six-point cushion, 68-62, en route to the team’s 71-68 win.
Against Wyoming, in a 63-61 rock fight, Gwath recorded the third double double (14 points & 11 rebounds) of his career. After missing his first two shots, he scored to give SDSU a six points lead with 8:07 left in the half, to that point the largest lead for either team, but just two and a half minutes later, with SDSU down by a point, his jumper put the Scarlet and Black back in front 22-21. Later in the half, with 57 seconds on the clock, he scored on another jumper to give SDSU a 26-25 lead.
Early in the second half, and with the game tied 28-28, Gwath knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Aztecs up 31-28. Trailing 44-50 at the 5:34 mark, and in a 5-0 run, Gwath hit three free throws to reduce the disadvantage to one point, 49-50, and with 3:27 his bucket gave San Diego State a 3-point lead 53-50. Those points were part of a 20-0 run which eventually led to the Aztecs fourth straight win and a 63-61 win.
This is Gwath’s second Freshman of the Week honor of his career and the sixth for an Aztec this season.
San Diego State returns to action on Saturday, February 8 at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo., when it takes on Colorado State at 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. (PT). The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.