SAN DIEGO – Miles Byrd and Nick Boyd had 14 points each, but it was not enough as No. 20/20 San Diego State dropped a heartbreaker 67-66 to Utah State in its conference home opener at Viejas Arena on Saturday.
The Aztecs (8-3, 1-1 Mountain West) snapped their five-game win streak, which started with a 73-70 victory over No. 6/7 Houston on November 30.
Utah State (12-1, 2-0 MW) wins its second straight road game against elite competition following a win over the Saint Mary’s Gaels in UCU Pavillion in Moraga, California, last Sunday.
San Diego State was dominant in the first half. The Aztecs scored the first seven points of the game, capped by a Byrd three-pointer. After Utah State got within four points just inside of 16 minutes, the Aztecs raced back ahead with Byrd draining another three to go up 25-12 with 8:31 remaining in the half. SDSU kept pushing as a Jared Coleman-Jones free throw put the team up 40-22 with just under two minutes left until halftime. The Aggies closed the half on a run, scoring five points in the final nine seconds of the first half to make it a 43-32 game at the break. Byrd had 12 of his 14 points in the first half while Falslev had 11 of his 16 in the opening 20 minutes.
The second half was a different story. The teams traded jumpers with Byrd scoring his final points of the game with 18:22 remaining. Utah State scored the next eight points to make the score 45-42 with 15 minutes left. Boyd responded with two straight buckets, but the Aggies went on a 14-6 run to take their first lead of the game, 56-55, with six minutes remaining. Each team made a pair of free throws before the Aztecs scored eight straight points to go up 65-58 with 1:56 to go. After grabbing an offensive board, the Aggies drove towards the basket and made a layup. A foul was called against Byrd on a close play, sending Utah State to the line, where it made a free throw as well. The Aggies made a three with 1:16 left to make it a one-point game before Nick Boyd got to the line and made a free throw to put the Aztecs back up two. Utah State made another three with seven seconds left to take the lead. Wayne McKinney III took a shot with three ticks left on the clock, but the ball bounced away as the clock struck zeroes.
Boyd and Byrd were the two Aztecs who finished in double figures. Boyd and Coleman-Jones had five rebounds each while Magoon Gwath paced the team with seven. BJ Davis did a good job distributing the ball, finishing with a career-high four assists, all of which came in the first half.
Utah State was led by Ian Martinez (17 points, five rebounds), Mason Falslev (16 points, four assists), Tucker Anderson (14 points) and Deyton Albury (11 points, five rebounds). The other six players that saw playing time combined for just nine of the team’s 67 points.
San Diego State shot better from the free throw line (90.9%-71.4%) while Utah State was better from beyond the arc (28.6%-25.0%) and the field (44.0%-38.5%). The Aztecs won the rebounding battle (31-27).
THE NOTE
The Aztecs made at least 20 free throws with a 90% (20-of-22, 90.9%) or higher free throw percentage for the second time since February 2011 (SDSU shot 22-of-23 [95.7%] from the line at Air Force on January 21, 2023).
The Aztecs are off during the week before a road game at Boise State next Saturday at noon MT/1 p.m. PT. It will be televised on CBS with the radio call on San Diego Sports 760.