The San Diego State Aztecs men’s basketball team took on the Utah State Aggies and won 81-67 at Viejas Arena on Saturday, Feb 2.
The Aztecs (17-5, 6-3 Mountain West) looked to bounce back on their home court after losing to Colorado State on the road, and the AP-ranked No. 17 Aggies (19-3, 7-2 Mountain West) wanted to continue their dominant season thus far.
“This league is loaded. We have to approach every game like it’s ‘win or go home’ and that’s been our mindset. We’ve adopted that as a team,” said Darrion Trammell after the win.
The story of the game was the forward battle between Jaedon LeDee and Utah forward Great Osobor. Both players are leading their team in scoring, and both are among 10 finalists for the Karl Malone Award, an honor for the best power forward in the nation.
“I thought (LeDee) did a better job in the first half of drawing a double and moving it, and creating space. He’s a good player, and has to make those decisions on the floor,” said Brian Dutcher, head coach of the Aztecs.
Headed into this game, history favored SDSU’s matchup against Utah State, who were 9-1 in games at Viejas Arena, and 18-6 overall in the Mountain West era.
From the start the Aztecs used a full-court press, using their well-known, on-ball, man-to-man defense. A LeDee floater put San Diego State on the board. LeDee, averaging 20.5 points per game this season, went right at Osobor for another bucket.
A Jay Pal dunk assisted by LeDee, put the score at 7-6 Aggies. Both teams made the NCAA Tournament last year and have strong cases this year.
Guard Darius Brown II made a 3-pointer plus the foul on Trammell, and made the free throw, which gave the Aggies a 16-11 lead.
A block by Miles Byrd gave the Aztecs energy, and they held Utah State scoreless and 0-of-4 shooting in the 2-minute time frame before a media timeout was called. The Aggies still led the ballgame, 16-14.
Micah Parrish led players in scoring 10 minutes through the first half, with 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Osobor made a spinning layup after a slow start, he finished the first half with 6 points.
After a foul on Reese Waters, the Aztecs were in the bonus with 7 minutes left in the first half. Waters made the pair of free throws.
An offensive rebound by Parrish, after a missed free throw by LeDee, gave the Aztecs a layup. They led by 4 points, 36-32, with 3 minutes left in the first half.
Heading into halftime, a last-second 3-point shot by Waters gave the Aztecs the 42-36 lead. Pal led scoring for San Diego State with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, and had 4 rebounds. Lamont Butler led all players in plus/minus with +9.
To start the second half, Utah matched the full-court pressure, guarding Butler all 94 feet.
The Aztecs defense was showing, holding the Aggies to 1-of-7 shooting through 4 minutes in the second half.
LeDee started to heat up, making a jumper on one possession, then a 3-pointer on the next. Utah was doing their best to keep up, but another 3-pointer, this time by Parrish, put the Aztecs up 11.
Osobor also started making shots, going 3-of-4 to start the second, giving him 12 points through 8 minutes into the frame.
Headed into a media timeout, San Diego State led 59-51. Both teams’ shot charts looked similar, 20-of-46 field goals for the Aggies, and 20-of-42 field goals for the Aztecs.
Utah looked to attack the paint, finding center Isaac Johnson, who passed it to guard Ian Martinez and drew the foul.
Pal remained perfect from the field, he knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game and the Aztecs went up 62-52.
LeDee went for a block on an Osobor layup, but goaltending was called. The matchup met expectations, with both players’ similar stat lines with 6 minutes left to play.
The Aztecs entered the bonus early again, which meant free throws for the remainder of the game. Saunders made a 3-pointer and forced Utah State to call timeout. San Diego State led, 70-58.
SDSU started to pull away, and began to run the clock on each possession. A layup by Butler put the lead up to 14 points. The No. 17 team in the country wasn’t able to compete with the Aztecs.
As the clock began to run out, it was evident that the Aztecs were walking away with a win. Pal added to his stellar night by making both shots at the free-throw line.
The buzzer sounded and the Aztecs took down the Aggies, which gave them their third loss of the season, and second loss in Mountain West play.
Pal finished with a season-high 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
“Just playing hard. I knew when Coach made the changes (to the starting lineup), he expected something out of me,” said Pal.
LeDee finished with 16 points as well, along with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Osobor put up 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals.
“Welcome to the Mountain West – this is every game,” said Dutcher. “We have to keep working hard, and focus on the small things, so that we can go and do the big things.”
The Aztecs go on the road to play against Air Force at Clune Arena on Tuesday, Feb 6. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
