The San Diego State men’s basketball team dominated the Fresno State Bulldogs, 74-47, on Wednesday night at Viejas Arena.
The 27-point victory was the second-largest margin of victory for the Aztecs in series history.
The Aztecs (12-2) had three scorers in double-figures led by Jaedon LeDee with 21 points, his eighth 20-point game this season.
Lamont Butler and Micah Parrish both added 11 points in the victory. Parrish also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds and Butler also had a game-high four assists.
“I try to be aggressive, I have to play with my instincts. I know the right reads to make and what passes to make,” Butler said. “I am trying to do that consistently and be aggressive and get to the rim, get to the paint and create plays for myself and others.”
SDSU shot 53% from the field, holding Fresno State to only 35% shooting. The Aztecs dominated the glass, too, finishing 39-28 in rebounds with 31 coming on the defensive end.
Fresno State (7-7) put points on the board first, but the Scarlet and Black came back and responded with a 9-0 run to put themselves in front by eight.
From then on, San Diego State never gave back the lead, entering halftime with a 13-point lead.
Parrish spoke on the energy throughout the night, and the tone that was set for the team to compete at a high level.
“It is the first game of the conference, so all of the coaches were on edge letting us know that this is when the season really starts,” Parrish said. “It’s important for us to win these conference games, especially at the beginning of the schedule.”
Just like in the first half, the Bulldogs scored first out of the break, but the Aztecs again responded with another huge scoring run to give them a 20-point advantage by the first media timeout of the second half.
The lead never dropped under 20 the rest of the night as the Aztecs cruised their way to a 74-47 win for their ninth-consecutive victory over Fresno State.
The win marked the largest margin of victory over the Bulldogs since Jan. 6, 1940, the second-ever meeting between the two programs.
Head coach Brian Dutcher spoke on the performance of the team overall and the highlighted play from LeDee.
“Today we executed well. We ran our stuff at a high level and made open shots. We made open threes and then, of course, Jaedon LeDee got going,” Dutcher said.
“He’s capable of creating his own shot outside of the offense – just flash up to the elbow and go one-on-one with a spread floor, and he’s dangerous. The combination of good offense and good players allowed us to score enough points to make it comfortable.”
San Diego State will host its next home game soon against UNLV on Saturday.
Tip-Off from Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena will be at 1 p.m.
