San Diego State shuts down Boise State in Mountain West battle: 3 takeaways
San Diego State put on a defensive clinic on Saturday night, defeating Boise State 64-47 at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs (17-6, 10-4) held the Broncos to 19-55 shooting including 3-18 from three-point range. Boise State (17-8, 9-5) fell behind 28-18 at halftime and trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half.
The victory keeps San Diego State in a tie for third place in the Mountain West standings with Colorado State who blew out Wyoming on Saturday. The top two teams in the league, New Mexico and Utah State are set to square off on Sunday afternoon in Albuquerque.
San Diego State senior guard Nick Boyd had an efficient night to lead the Aztec offense. The Florida Atlantic transfer had a career-high 24 points on 10-14 shooting, finishing with six rebounds, two assists and no turnovers. Boyd has 995 points for his collegiate career.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
AZTECS DISPLAY ELITE DEFENSE
San Diego State took down Boise State on the road in January, 76-68 and are the only team to beat the Broncos on their home court all season. In that game, the Aztecs held Boise State's leading scorers Tyson Degenhart and Alvaro Cardenas to a combined 19 points.
The duo had 25 points on Saturday but had to work hard against the Aztecs' defense, shooting a combined 9-24. San Diego State entered Saturday with the nation’s No. 2 field goal defense, trailing only Tennessee.
The 47 points scored by the Broncos were the least they have scored in a conference loss since joining the Mountain West more than a decade ago.
Boise State had nine points by the first media timeout of the game and was held to nine points over the final 15:40 of the first half, allowing San Diego State to grab control at halftime.
AN AZTEC BLOCK PARTY
San Diego State redshirt freshman Magoon Gwath, one of the nation’s leading shot blockers at 2.5 blocks per game, added to that total on Tuesday night. He had eight points, six rebounds and blocked five of Boise State’s shots.
San Diego State wing Miles Byrd, the Aztec’s leading scorer in his third season on campus, finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists. He had three of San Diego State’s season-high 10 blocks.
A GAME OF RUNS
San Diego State has made a habit of dramatic scoring runs in recent games, using great defense to fuel quick offense. On Tuesday, San Diego State turned a 17-point halftime deficit at Boise State into a tie game in less than four minutes of game time.
On Saturday, the Aztecs used a 14-0 run to pull away from the Broncos to wrap up a resume-building victory. It was San Diego State’s 11th run of at least 10-0 in a game this season.
After trailing by 23 points midway through the second half, Boise State used a run of their own to keep the Aztecs on their toes. The Broncos scored 12 straight to cut the lead to 11 before San Diego State put an end to the comeback.
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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.