The San Diego State men’s basketball team dominated the Fresno State Bulldogs, 73-41, in a wire-to-wire win on Saturday night at Save Mart Center.
Senior forward Jaedon LeDee had 22 points and 11 rebounds. It was his tenth double-double this season. Senior forward Jay Pal added 14 points and five rebounds.
The Bulldogs opened up the game in a 2-3 zone and SDSU carved it up; starting the game on a 12-0 run that senior forward Jaedon LeDee’s floater capped off.
The Aztecs’ offensive start was highlighted by senior guard Darrion Trammell’s no-look pass to senior forward Jay Pal, who flushed a slam dunk.
SDSU’s defense held the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly five minutes until guard Jalen Weaver made a corner 3-pointer.
The Scarlet and Black had seven players recording at least one basket in the first half.
The Aztecs’ defense continued to suffocate the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were held without a field goal for seven minutes.
Late in the first half, LeDee had blocked a shot without leaving his feet and then converted a layup to balloon the lead to 30.
SDSU took a commanding 26-point lead heading into the break.
It was the fewest points that they have allowed in a first half this season.
The Aztecs continued to cruise in the second half.
Early in the period, a pair of 3-pointers by senior guard Darrion Trammell and senior forward Micah Parrish gave the Bulldogs no hope of making a dent into SDSU’s lead.
Pal’s layup inside eight minutes handed SDSU its largest lead of the night, at 32.
Head coach Brian Dutcher spoke about his team maintaining the lead.
“When Jaedon (LeDee) came back down the stretch, we built our lead again where it was comfortable,” Dutcher said. “We didn’t have to be nervous over the last three minutes of the game.”
Since the start of 2021, SDSU has held the Bulldogs to under 50 points in five of the last six matchups – and won all six.
Since the start of 2022, SDSU has been 36-0 when they surrendered 65 or fewer points.
Bulldogs guard Isaiah Hill had 12 points on 5-14 shooting. SDSU outscored Fresno State, 17-0 in fastbreak points.
The Aztecs will look to keep the momentum going as they return home Tuesday to play San Jose State at 8 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Viejas Arena.
