LOGAN, Utah – A combined 29 points by Nick Boyd and BJ Davis were not enough for San Diego State men’s basketball to push past Utah State on Saturday night, and the Aztecs fell 79-71 to the Aggies in a hard-fought contest at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Despite multiple scoring runs that kept them within striking distance, the Aztecs (18-7, 11-5 Mountain West) could not overcome the Aggie offense, which shot 40.7 percent from three-point range.
Utah State (24-4, 14-3 Mountain West) moves within a half game of New Mexico at the top of the Mountain West standings.
Nick Boyd led the Aztecs with 15 points. It’s the 17th time this season the senior has scored in double figures.
With a career-high four three-pointers, BJ Davis finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
Utah State’s Akanno Dexter led all scorers with a career-high 26 points, 21 of which came from beyond the arc. Ian Martinez and Deyton Albury each added 18 for the Aggies.
Utah State jumped out to an early lead in what was a low-scoring first half. The Aztecs struggled to get their offense going after Magoon Gwath went down with a leg injury less than three minutes into the game. Pharaoh Compton was able to spark the offense with SDSU’s first field goal at the 14:49 mark.
Six first-half threes from Utah State had the Aztecs behind 29-15 with four minutes to go, but after piecing together an 11-4 run, the Scarlet and Black entered the half down 33-26.
The Aztecs stayed hot out of the break, scoring the first eight points of the second half to quickly take a 34-33 lead, fueled by two three-pointers from Davis.
With the help of 14 second-half points from Dexter, the Aggies were able to regain the lead, which they held on to until the final five minutes. The Aztecs scored seven straight points to lead 69-65, but were unable to hold on. The Aggies closed out the game on a 14-2 run.
San Diego State returns to action next Tuesday, hosting New Mexico at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena, scheduled to tip at 8 p.m. on FS1.