TUCSON, Ariz. – In their first exhibition game of the 2026-27 season, the San Diego State men’s basketball team outshot the Arizona Wildcats, but a huge disparity on the boards, in bench points, and at the free throw line, spelled doom in an 82-67 loss at McHale Center on Friday evening.
Four Aztecs scored in double figures led by 17 points from Isaiah Sy who was 7-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long range. Tae Simmons and Chance Gladden each finished with 15 points and Bear Cherry was a rebound shy of a double double with 12 points and nine boards.
SDSU shot 40.0 percent (24-of-60) from the field, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from long range and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the line compared to 34.7, 26.5 and 75.0 percent for Arizona. However, the Wildcats went to the line 28 times and made 21 while San Diego State was 14-of-17 from the charity stripe.
On the boards, Arizona outrebounded the Scarlet and Black 49-to-38, which included a 20-to-8 advantage on the offensive glass which it used to lead in second chance points 19-to-8.
Simmons scored the first bucket of the game, a layup at 19:43, after Cherry deflected the opening tip to Gladden.
At the first media timeout, the Wildcats led 11-7 on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, led by Motiejus Krivas’ six. Arizona took advantage of the size of Krivas, 7-2 to score early in the paint and he went on to lead his team with 17 points.
Arizona had its biggest lead of the first half, 10 points at 19-9 with 11:34 to go before the break, but a 19-3 run for the Aztecs over the next 5:15 put SDSU up 28-22. The Wildcats responded with an 18-4 spurt to close the half and led 40-32 at the break.
San Diego State cut the deficit to five points twice early in the second half, the latest came on a Gladden triple at the 16:06 mark, but from there the Wildcats pried open the game, leading by as many as 19 points, 70-51, with 8:16 left on the clock. SDSU got it down to 11 points, with 5:57 to play but could get no closer in the 15-point loss.
Entering the contest, Arizona had played five times, including a scrimmage, against an Aztec team that had yet to face an opponent other than themselves. And while the SDSU starters outscored the Arizona starting five, 63-57, the bench points were in the Wildcats favor 25-to-4.
San Diego State has two more exhibition games, both at Viejas Arena, before the regular season opener against Cal State Fullerton on November 3. SDSU will host Southern California on Friday, October 23 and Wednesday, October 28, against Long Beach State.