LOGAN, Utah – The San Diego State men's basketball team took a 10-point lead into the second half at Utah State on Saturday afternoon, but saw Aggies go to the free throw line 20 times in the second half, knock down 17 attempts, were able to erase the Aztecs lead, and earn a 64-59 win in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
It was the second consecutive loss for SDSU, which had not suffered back-to-back defeats in its last 48 games dating back to March 6 & 9, 2019. Before being snapped the streak was tied for the third longest in Division I.
The Aztecs (9-4, 3-3 Mountain West) got nearly half of its 59 points from two guards who came off the bench. Senior Terrell Gomez led SDSU with 16 points and freshman Lamont Butler finished with a season-high 13 points. Add senior guard Jordan Schakel's 11 points to the 29 from Gomez and Butler, and the threesome totaled 67.7 percent of the team scoring (40-of-59 points).
In addition to his season-best 13 points, Butler, who is the only Aztec freshman to appear in every game this season, played 25 minutes and had a game-high five steals, both season bests for the Moreno, Valley, Calif., native.
Senior forward Nathan Mensah and sophomore forward Keshad Johnson led SDSU with five rebounds and senior guard Trey Pulliam finished with seven points and two assists.
After struggling from the floor two nights earlier, San Diego State outshot the Aggies 41.1 percent (23-of-56) to 37.3 percent (19-of-51), including going 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) in the first half. The Aztecs held Utah State (11-3, 8-0 MW) to a season-low 22 first half points. But with a 12-2 run to open the second half, Utah State tied the game at 34-34 with 16:28 to play.
The game was back-and-forth over the succeeding 13 minutes with eight lead changes, five ties and neither team able to generate more than a four-point lead. Finally, at the 4:28 mark, the Aggies took a lead which it would not relinquish on its way to its 10th straight win. In the final 4:32, Utah State went to the line 10 times and made nine of their attempts and the Aztecs were 2-of-3 over the same time frame.
Utah State's Steven Ashworth led all scorers with 17 points. Brock Miller totaled 11 points and Neemias Queta chipped in with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Men's Hoops Falls 64-59 At Utah State
