Magoon Gwath comes up strong for San Diego State in 71-52 win against Fresno State

Big man has 18 points, eight rebounds in first start in three games

San Diego State Aztecs forward Magoon Gwath (0). | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

All appears well with San Diego State big man Magoon Gwath. 

Gwath was back in the starting lineup for the first time in three games and he responded from the opening tip to lead the Aztecs to a 71-52 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night for their fifth straight win that kept them on pace with Utah State atop the Mountain West standings. 

Gwath scored the first four points for SDSU and finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds. He didn’t start either of the last two games due to a disciplinary situation that coach Brian Dutcher didn’t elaborate on, and didn’t play in any of the three overtimes in a 110-107 thriller against Boise State two games ago. 

But the 7-footer came out strong against the Bulldogs. The Aztecs won the tip and Gwath missed a turnaround jumper, but rebounded and scored on a putback. After a Fresno State turnover, Gwath missed a hook shot but again got his own rebound and laid it in. 

The Aztecs ran out to an 8-0 lead, getting a nice alley-oop slam dunk by Pharoh Compton, and cruised to a 36-21 halftime lead. Gwath hit a sweet corner 3 with about five minutes left. 

The cool-shooting Aztecs had a 29-point lead just more than five minutes into the second half and let the Bulldogs cut into the lead late in the half.

The big picture

The Aztecs (11-4, 5-0 MW) handed Fresno State (7-9, 1-4) its seventh loss in eight games. SDSU won its 13th straight against the Aztecs and extended its series lead to 74-56.

This was the only matchup between the teams this season due to the MW going to an unbalanced schedule due to Grand Canyon joining the MW last summer.

That won’t be an issue next season after the Aztecs and Bulldogs are in the reconstituted Pac-12, along with current MW members Boise State, Utah State and Colorado State. They’re joining legacies Oregon State and Washington State, and fellow newcomers Gonzaga and Texas State. 

Utah State dismantled Boise State 93-68 to improve to 14-1 overall and 5-0 in conference. 

San Diego State was the unanimous preseason pick to win the Mountain West. They’re pretty much going to have to win the conference tournament and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament due to a weak showing against marquee non-conference opponents.

Game action

The Aztecs shot only 40% overall (28 of 70) but dominated everywhere else. They outrebounded the Bulldogs 48-35, forced 17 turnovers while committing 11, and had 38 points in the paint and 23 second-chance points. 

Another one from downtown 😮‍💨 @magoongwath #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/X3iYxMENte

— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 11, 2026

Reese Dixon-Waters was the only other Aztecs player in double figures, with 10 points. 

Up next

The Aztecs make the always-adventurous trip to Laramie for the final time on Wednesday night. The Cowboys are among the teams remaining behind in the MW. SDSU returns to Viejas Arena next Saturday night to host New Mexico.