SAN DIEGO – BJ Davis made the game-winning jump shot with 10 seconds remaining, but it was the defensive wizardry by Miles Byrd that helped the San Diego State Aztecs hang on for an 83-79 win over the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday evening at Viejas Arena.
Byrd had two of his career-high tying four blocks for the game and one of his three steals in the final minute and 51 seconds, as he led the Aztecs (13-4, 7-0 Mountain West) with 21 points to survive a furious second half rally by the Lobos (14-4, 5-2).
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Reese Dixon-Waters hit a pair of free-throws late to ice it after a UNM miss, scoring 10 points for the game, while the Scarlet and Black also had double-digit efforts from Pharaoh Compton (12 points) and Taj DeGourville (11 points).
After the Scarlet and Black lead grew to as much as 15 points on an early second half triple by Byrd, New Mexico got another early barrage from downtown before they fed the ball inside to forward Tomislav Buljan to chip back into the game. Buljan scored 18 of his 20 points and grabbed 10 of his 14 rebounds in the second half.
An early 10-0 run by the Lobos made for a white-knuckling effort the rest of the way, as UNM pulled within 1 point five times and even twice over the last 12:15.
Byrd had his third block of the game, rising to deny Antonio Chol on a 3-point try from the right wing, then again in the paint on Tajavis Miller. But Buljan had a steal and jam for a 79-77 lead at 1:11, first UNM lead since 8:04 of the first half.
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Miles Heide made a pair of free-throws with 56 remaining to tie the game, and then Byrd’s steal set up the game-winning shot heroics by Davis, who pulled up and banked home a tough jumper.
Davis had picked up his fourth personal foul just before the 11 minute mark, as Byrd also played the final 2:22 with a pair of fouls.
SDSU did not shoot free-throws until the 7:47 mark of the second half on a tough drive by Byrd, as they went 6-for-8 from the stripe in the second half and 22-of-30 for the game. New Mexico made 15-of-21, with a 7-for-10 advantage in the second half.
In the early going New Mexico seemed to knock down every open 3-pointer, knocking down four in a row and eight of their first 16 from the field. Chol hit 3 of 5 in the opening half, but his make from the left corner at the 2:45 mark was the only additional long ball that fell over the final 10 minutes—he finished with 12 points.
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It was the eighth time this season SDSU has allowed 10 or more 3-pointers in a game, improving to 6-2 in those games, which included the overtime games against Troy and Boise State.
The defense keyed the Aztecs swinging the game, as they forced seven of the Lobos nine first half turnovers after the midway mark. It helped spark a 12-0 run that saw Byrd score six of his 10 points in the opening half by knocking down all six of his free-throws over the stretch.
As a whole the SDSU offense focused on getting to the basket and taking open midrange jumpers that the Lobos left open. DeGourville scored 9 points in the opening 20 minutes, including making a triple from the tip of the spear with 102 seconds before halftime that gave the Scarlet and Black their first double-digit lead.
The rim attack helped generate a major advantage at the free-throw line as well, with SDSU making 16-of-22 in the opening half while New Mexico, who took 19 of their 29 shots from beyond the arc, made 8-of-11 from the stripe in the first 20 minutes.
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Magoon Gwath played just five minutes in the first half, leaving the game early after a collision while setting a screen just 2:25 into the game. He finished with just 10 minutes played for the game.
The win, coupled with Grand Canyon knocking off No. 23 Utah State 84-74 earlier in the day, put San Diego State alone atop the Mountain West Conference. A showdown with the Lopes is up next on the slate for the Aztecs, who will travel to Global Credit Union Arena for an 8 p.m. tip off on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The game will be televised on FS1, with radio coverage locally on 760AM.
This story will be updated.
