SAN DIEGO – Redshirt freshman Magoon Gwath, a forward on the San Diego State men’s basketball team, has been named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week for the week ending on February 16. The announcement was made at the Conference office in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday morning.
In two wins, 69-66 at San Jose State and 64-47 against Boise State, he averaged 7.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 blocks, 1.0 steals and 0.5 assists, while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from distance in an average of 31.5 minutes per game.
Gwath’s six blocked shots against Boise State are an SDSU freshman record, match an Aztec Viejas Arena record as well as a program record in a Mountain West contest, and was one off the program single-game mark.
In the two contests, his one assist was on a game-tying bucket at San Jose State. Six of his seven defensive boards limited the opposition to single-shot possessions and his three offensive rebounds led to six points, including four for himself while his two steals resulted in four points for SDSU.
At San Jose State last Tuesday, Gwath scored seven points on 50.0 percent shooting, grabbed four rebounds, had a steal and assist and blocked four shots. He opened the game with a pair of blocks and when he got on the board, it was off his own offensive rebound and putback with 10:19 to go in the opening half. At 7:47 his next offensive board led to a pair of SDSU free throws and his turnaround jumper in the lane at 6:14 reduced the Spartans lead to five points at 24-19.
Down 37-20 coming out of the half, the Aztecs put together a 17-0 run to open the period, and a Gwath triple from the top of the arc got SDSU to within a bucket, 37-35 with 16:53 to play. His third block of the game resulted in a pair of free throws, of which one was successful. Then down two, 57-55, his assist on a Miles Heide score tied the game 57-57. With 2:36 to play, his steal and Boyd runout going the other way gave SDSU a four-point lead, 66-62 in the 69-66 victory.
Against Boise State on Saturday night in Viejas Arena, he had eight points on 66.7 percent shooting from the field, pulled down a team-high six rebounds with a steal and six blocks. He won the tip, grabbed an offensive rebound on the opening possession of the game and scored on the putback. At the 18:10 mark, he stole the ball which led to a Nick Boyd run out. His bucket at 10:52 tied the game 10-10 and later he grabbed the defensive board, was fouled and scored on a layup.
At the opening of the second half, his defensive rebound led to a Boyd bucket which put SDSU up 36-23 and after his own layup at 8:09, SDSU led 48-35. With 6:55 to go and SDSU up 15, he blocked two Tyson Degenhart shots on the same possession, en route to the team’s 17-point victory.
This is the third Mountain West Freshman of the Week honor for Gwath and the seventh of the for an Aztec this season.
San Diego State returns to the floor on Tuesday, February 18 at Viejas Arena against the Fresno State Bulldogs. The tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.