San Diego State men’s basketball came out with a defeat at ExtraMile Arena, against the heavy-hitting Boise State, 67-66, on Saturday, Jan. 20.

The Aztecs (15-4, 4-2 Mountain West) and the Broncos (13-5, 4-1 Mountain West) are ranked top 5 in the conference, both teams looking to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament this year.

The Broncos got out to a 5-2 lead, but 3 minutes in, both defenses began to settle and scoring became tough. Both defenses are highly ranked in the Mountain West and D1 overall.

Historically the Aztecs are 4-7 in games played at Boise, but own the 17-11 advantage all-time in the Mountain West era.

It was a relatively quiet start for the Aztecs, still down 16-18 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half.

Up to that point in the game, the 16 points were scored by different players. 

Jaedon LeDee was assessed a flagrant foul and forward Tyson Degenhart made both free throws for Boise.

Forward Andrew Meadow made a corner 3-pointer to extend Boise’s lead to 10, up 26-16. An 8-0 run forced SDSU to call a timeout.

The Aztecs responded with a run of their own, capped off by an off-balance floater by LeDee. 

SDSU still trailed 29-27.

Entering halftime, the Broncos retained the 34-31 lead.

LeDee had a quiet first half, scoring only 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. LeDee is top 10 in the country in scoring average at 21.6 points-per-game. 

The first points of the second half weren’t scored until over 3 minutes in, with a layup by Degenhart.

This game was an uphill battle for the Aztecs, their last lead up to that point was 8-7 in the first half. 

Darrion Trammell’s 3-pointer put the Aztecs back within 3, still 15 minutes left to play. This matchup was a tale from the outside, with the Aztecs shooting from 3-point range 2-of-11, good for 18%. The Broncos were shooting much better, 7-of-17 shooting, for 41%.

Reese Waters adds to that percentage with a 3-pointer of his own for the Aztecs. Heading into a timeout, SDSU held Boise scoreless for the last 4 minutes, but still down 2.

A layup by Miles Heide on one possession, then fouled on the next, gave the Aztecs a chance to take the lead. He knocked down 1-of-2, but the Aztecs led the game 43-42.

It was a back-and-forth between both teams, each trading baskets. For a period, the Aztecs and the Broncos made all their baskets, collectively shooting 7-of-7 with Boise maintaining a 53-50 lead.

Both teams entered the bonus early, with free throws being shot still 7 minutes left in the game.  

A 6-0 run for Boise gave them a 59-52 lead. Boise was not allowing LeDee to get any free baskets, doubling him on most possessions he had the ball.

With 3 minutes left and down 7, Boise began to pull away. Micah Parrish fouled guard Chibuzo Agbo shooting a 3-pointer, to which he made 2-of-3 from the line. 

Forward O’Mar Stanley was the star for the Broncos, blocking LeDee on a layup down the stretch, and then securing a pivotal offensive rebound for his team.

The Aztecs full court press in the final minute allowed them to whittle their way back, but came up short. 

“We didn’t get the stops we needed down the stretch and they did. We have to get stops. It’s a hard thing to do. It’s easy to say it’s a hard thing to do,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “We need to get timely stops and close games. I don’t want to put down our defense like it wasn’t good. It was good. It wasn’t good with the game on the line. It wasn’t what it needed to be to win on the road.”

A huge 3-pointer by both Waters and Lamont Butler brought them within 1, but it was the clock that beat them in the end. 

LeDee finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting. He had 8 rebounds as well. 

Waters finished with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 2-of-3 from downtown. Waters also finished a game-high +11 in the plus/minus statistic. “I just try to do my best. Everybody on the team tries to do their best at whatever their job is to score and on defense as well,” said Waters.

Stanley ended the game with 17 points for the Broncos on 6-of-10 shooting, 3-of-3 from past the 3-point line, and snagged 7 rebounds.

“It’s going to be hard whatever team we play given that we’re San Diego State. We take pride in that. In this conference, anybody can win on any given night, depending on how you play, so we’ve got to come out more prepared and ready to play,” said Waters.

The Aztecs return home to play Wyoming at Viejas Arena, on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.