The San Diego State men’s basketball team fell to Boise State University in its last regular season game of the year on Saturday.  This is the first time in school history the Aztecs lost to the Broncos, with a final score
of 69-65.

Sophomore guard Derrick Marks led the Broncos with 27 points, 22 of which came in the second half, and six assists.  Sophomore guard Anthony Drmic added 23 points, including 12 points from downtown. They were the only Boise State players to score more than six points.

Junior guard Xavier Thames led the Aztecs with 18 points after scoring only two points in the first half.  Senior guard Chase Tapley added 17 points while junior guard Jamaal Franklin came through with 15 points and 13 rebounds.  Tapley only needs seven more points to tie for the fourth highest scorer in
Aztec history.

The Aztecs struggled in the first half, shooting only 25.9 percent from the field, and made no threes on seven attempts.

Although they were able to rally and shoot 53.6 percent in the second half, the Aztecs had too many mistakes to overcome.  On 10 turnovers in the game, they only amounted to eight total assists.

Despite never leading the game, the Aztecs cut the deficit to three points on four occasions in the second half, three of which followed clutch baskets from Tapley.  Throughout the game, the only time the Aztecs were down by three and had possession of the ball was after a Thames steal with 23 seconds left on the clock in the second half, but their following offensive set was thwarted by a blocked shot by none other than Marks, who also snagged nine boards.

The Aztecs and Broncos are split 1-1 against each other this year and are also tied for fourth place in the Mountain West.  The teams will meet again in the first round of the MW Tournament play on Wednesday in Las Vegas.