San Diego State looked to rebound from their upset loss to Utah State three days earlier with a matchup against the University of New Mexico Lobos (8-14, 1-9 Mountain West Conference).
Head coach Brian Dutcher said this was a critical game for the Aztecs.
“After Utah State, it was important we came out and we played well,” Dutcher said. “We know what’s down the road ahead with Colorado State on Friday, so this was a critical game for us to try to build a little momentum going into that game.”
The Aztecs (12-5, 4-2 MWC) got on the board early and often. After capitalizing on two New Mexico fouls three minutes into the game, the Lobos would commit nine fouls in the first half, and 16 for the whole game.
Senior Adam Seiko made a difference early in the first half as well, sinking two 3-pointers and an and-one to help maintain the early lead. Seiko and senior Matt Bradley would be productive in the first half with seven points apiece with junior Keshad Johnson pacing the Aztecs with 10 points in the half. That coupled with the Lobos shooting a measly 32% resulted in a 36-20 halftime lead for SDSU.
Dutcher said an increased tempo is what sparked the Aztecs offensively.
“Our sense of urgency, getting the ball up, trying to work at it more in practice,” Dutcher said. “Trying to keep the ball up, trying to kick off corner-threes.”
The Aztecs got off to a fiery start to the bottom half going on a 7-0 run that increased their already crazy 11-2 run going into the half. The Aztecs cooled off a bit following that run, but sophomore Chad Baker-Mazara made his presence known scoring eight points with a pair of 3-pointers and an extra shot.
The Scarlet and Black maintained a lead of more than 20 points throughout the rest of the game en route to getting the rebound they were looking for, taking down the Lobos 72-47.
Johnson said it felt good to get back on track after falling to Utah State.
“(Versus) Utah State, we weren’t playing like ourselves,” Johnson said. “It was great to get back to ourselves the whole time.
