Short-Handed San Diego State Tops Utah State,77-68

San Diego State is the class of the Mountain West after taking care of Utah State in Logan.

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Short-Handed San Diego State Tops Utah State

Aztecs earn a big Mountain West road win

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

SDSU could be a top 10 team after this win

This game seemed set for the Utah State Aggies to pull out an upset victory. They were coming off a loss, had gotten their all-league big man back, and the Aztecs were missing their starting center. Someone forgot to tell San Diego State as the short-handed Aztecs beat the Aggies in Logan, Utah 77-68.

In the first half, the Aztecs handed it to the Aggies, however, the free throw line kept the Aggies close. San Diego State got some solid play from Matt Mitchell and Trey Pulliam in the first, but 10+ fouls by the Aztecs put Utah State on the line, allowing them to stay within striking distance. Utah State had to feel pretty good going into the break down just seven.

After the break the Aztecs kept pushing the tempo and the scoreboard, extending their lead up to 16. But halfway through the second the Aggies went on a run behind Sam Merrill, who had been quiet for most of the first half, and Neemias Queta. But every time the Aggies cut the lead to seven the Aztecs hit a big shot to extend the lead.

Merrill led the Aggies with 26 points, while Queta recorded a double-double (15 points and 13 rebounds). No other Aggie was in double figures, although Abel Porter played well and ended up with nine.

San Diego State had four players in double figure scoring. Flynn led the way with 22 points; including a perfect 10-10 from the line. Mitchell followed up with 19 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Schakel had 11 points and shot 3-4 from beyond the arc. Yanni Wetzell scored 10 points, had five rebounds and played some strong defense on Queta.

With four teams losing in the top 10 on Saturday, all signs point to the Aztecs not just moving up but likely into the top 10 of both the AP and coaches poll.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1360]

[protected-iframe id=”c0286d6e1aad69344270e42782a7311d-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://anchor.fm/mwwire/embed” width=”400px” height=”102px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]