San Diego State withstands early surge from Nevada, remains undefeated

San Diego State is still unblemished this year.

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The Wolfpack came out strong, but the Aztecs defense won out.

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On Saturday night the 18-0 San Diego State Aztecs put their undefeated streak (and MAP) on the line when they faced the 11-7 Nevada Wolf Pack. Nevada tried to break a streak of never winning a game in Viejas since joining the Mountain West Conference.

Early in the game Nevada seemed to be disturbed by the Aztecs defense, having 7 turnovers in the first 8 minutes. They settled in however, only committing one turnover in the last 12 minutes of the half. They managed to keep the game close and even take the lead in the first half, heading to the locker rooms ahead 35-33. The Wolf Pack shot the three-ball at a 54% clip in route to that lead.

That rate turned out to be unsustainable though, as the Aztecs came out swinging in the second half. They blitzed the Wolf Pack to the tune of a 7-0 run to open the half. The Wolfpack managed to tie the game at 40 a piece, but was never able to take the lead.

Nevada was held to 20 points on four made shots in the second half, with two of those shots coming in garbage time. The Aztecs clamped down on defense and never let up.

The final score was 68-55 Aztecs, and it wasn’t as close as it looks. The Aztecs committed a few turnovers and silly fouls once their bench went in over the last few minutes which let Nevada make some free throws to tighten the gap, even though the outcome was never in question.

Next up the Aztecs play Wyoming in Viejas, and a win will tie the 2010-2011 team for the best start an Aztec team has ever had. 

Next up for Nevada is a red hot UNLV team at home. Nevada is currently in a three way tie for 3rd place in the conference, with UNLV in second. A win would help close that gap.

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