San Diego State wins at UNLV to bounce back from first Mountain West Conference loss

Miles Byrd leads the way with 23 points

San Diego State Aztecs guard Miles Byrd. | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

The San Diego State Aztecs made their final regular-season appearance at Thomas & Mack Center a winning one.

Miles Byrd scored 23 points on near-perfect shooting and the Aztecs beat the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 82-71 on Saturday to remain atop the Mountain West Conference standings. 

SDSU (14-5, 8-1) bounced back from their first conference loss, a 70-69 setback at Grand Canyon on Wednesday night. 

After a quick pit stop back home in San Diego, it was back to the MW farewell tour, this time to Las Vegas. The Aztecs are among the five MW teams moving into the new-look Pac-12 next season, while the Runnin’ Rebels are among those staying behind. 

SDSU will be back at the Thomas & Mack in March, when they hope to cap their final MW season by winning the conference tournament and claiming the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Aztecs were the unanimous preseason pick to win the MW. 

The game

Byrd was 7 of 8 from the field, and 5 of 5 from 3-point range to lead the Aztecs. Taj DeGourville, playing in his hometown, and Reese Dixon-Waters scored 13 apiece for the Aztecs. Dixon-Waters reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. 

When the Runnin’ Rebels pulled within seven points, Byrd drained a 3 to give the Aztecs a 68-58 lead with about 5 ½ minutes left. 

Miles Byrd silences the crowd! @Aztec_MBB pic.twitter.com/0HP4Xb8cBf

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 24, 2026

The Aztecs led 39-34 at halftime and pushed it to 44-36 on a dunk by Byrd early in the second half before the Runnin’ Rebels pulled to 44-42, forcing the Aztecs to call timeout. SDSU then began to pull away.

BJ Davis, who leads SDSU in scoring despite not having made a start, was held scoreless in 13 minutes.

The Aztecs made 8 of 13 3-pointers.

No Gwath

The Aztecs were without 7-footer Magoon Gwath for the second straight game due to a hip flexor injury. The Aztecs have not given a timeline for the return of Gwath, who was the MW freshman and defensive player of the year last season.

Up next

The Aztecs return to Viejas Arena to host Colorado State at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will air on FS1. The Aztecs and Rams are moving into the reconfigured Pac-12 next season, along with fellow MW teams Boise State, Fresno State and Utah State.