San Diego State comes up short at Utah State: 3 takeaways
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San Diego State’s three-game losing streak came to an end on Saturday night, dropping a road game at Utah State 79-71.
The Aztecs (18-7, 11-5) fell behind in the early going and trailed by as many as 14 points late in the first half before cutting the halftime deficit to 33-26. San Diego State led multiple times during the second half but were unable to hold off the Aggies down the stretch.
Point guard Nick Boyd led the Aztecs with 15 points while sophomore guard BJ Davis joined Boyd in double digits with 14 points and five rebounds before fouling out.
Utah State (24-4, 14-3) kept their hopes alive to repeat as Mountain West regular season champions, pulling within a half of a game of leader New Mexico. The Aggies lost both games to the Lobos in league play and will embark on a two-game road trip this upcoming week against Boise State and Colorado State.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.
SAN DIEGO STATE FIGHTS BACK FROM DOUBLE DIGITS
Playing in one of the nation’s most hostile environments, San Diego State fell behind 13-4 nearly eight minutes into Saturday’s game.
Back-to-back three-point baskets by Utah State’s Ian Martinez increased the Aggies’ lead to 29-14 with 4:24 remaining in the first half. San Diego State put together a 12-4 over the final portion of the first half to cut the halftime lead to seven.
The Aztecs opened the second half on an 8-0 run, grabbing their first lead of the night before Utah State surged ahead once again.
San Diego State trailed 60-52 with 7:34 to play when Nick Boyd keyed a 17-5 run over four minutes that gave San Diego State a brief four-point lead.
Martinez, Utah State’s leading scorer, responded with a 6-0 run of his own that turned into a 14-0 run to seal the game and complete the season sweep of the Aztecs.
BYRD’S SHOOTING STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Miles Byrd, San Diego State’s leading scorer this season, has encountered a shooting slump over nine games during the past month. The redshirt sophomore hasn’t scored more than 13 points in a game during that stretch and has only connected on nine of his past 49 three-point attempts.
Magoon Gwath, San Diego State’s third-leading scorer, left in the early minutes with a knee injury on Saturday and appears likely to miss time.
In Gwath’s absence, the Aztecs need the version of Miles Byrd from early in the season to return over the final four games of the regular season.
MAGOON GWATH LEAVES WITH INJURY
Less than three minutes into Saturday’s game, San Diego State standout redshirt freshman forward Magoon Gwath fell to the floor after blocking a shot. Each team had a possession while Gwath lay in pain on the baseline before the referees stopped the game.
Gwath was helped to the sidelines by teammates and the Aztec training staff. He didn’t return to the game but later came back to the bench on crutches with his right knee wrapped in ice.
Gwath has been named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week three times this season including last week. He’s averaged nine points, five rebounds and three blocks per game.
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-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.