San Diego State Aztecs vs New Mexico Lobos Basketball Recap

San Diego State 68, New Mexico 62


You can feel the wear and tear of the 2010-2011 college basketball season as February winds toward its final week. Yet, the two titans in the Mountain West just keep winning games despite the best efforts of their adversaries.

The San Diego State Aztecs defeated the New Mexico Lobos in Mountain West Conference competition from Viejas Arena in San Diego, California, on Wednesday night.  The win moved the Aztecs to 11-1 in conference, 26-1 overall and one game closer to a showdown with eighth ranked BYU, which handed San Diego State its only loss of the season. The Lobos, who are desperately trying to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament, dropped to just 5-6 in conference play and lost their last best chance to make a major statement to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.

This was the kind of game that a great team doesn’t need to emphasize or circle on its calendar. This was the type of event that is meant to be endured. San Diego State just got through a draining game at UNLV on Saturday. The 63-57 win over a Vegas squad that badly needed a boost for its NCAA Tournament hopes was a mentally taxing and physically demanding contest. Coming off that considerable expenditure of energy, SDSU should not have expected to have a full tank for Los Lobos.

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Much as Pittsburgh (another top-10 team) coasted for 35 minutes before putting away South Florida at home on Wednesday night, San Diego State also treated this event like an NBA regular season game. The Aztecs measured their level of energy and didn’t pour forth any more sweat than they had to. It wasn’t laziness; it was simply a reflection of the need to manage holistic resources over the course of a long season. In simpler terms, the Aztecs were pacing themselves, just as the Chicago Bulls did during a number of their championship seasons. It’s important to win, but it’s not important to win by 20 points when a six-point triumph – which wasn’t hugely dramatic (the closest New Mexico got was four points with 1:21 left) – will do just fine. San Diego State has one more game – at Air Force – before a week-long break that will take the Aztecs to the Feb. 26 showdown with BYU for the Mountain West championship. SDSU just needed get through this New Mexico game, much as it simply needs to punch the time clock at Air Force this weekend. The Aztecs don’t need style points right now; they just need to post Ws.

That’s what they’re doing, and that’s what they did against New Mexico on Wednesday.

As par for the course, the Aztecs simply found a way to win against the Lobos, who are now ticketed for the NIT beyond any doubt (unless they win the MWC Tournament). Head coach Steve Fisher’s club shot just 40 percent from the field and could never pull away from the pesky Lobos.  Down the stretch, the rebounding prowess of the Aztecs was on full display near the Montezuma Mesa. Leading by five points (64-59) with just over thirty seconds remaining, D.J. Gay missed the second of two free throws, but it was rebounded by teammate Malcolm Thomas. New Mexico’s Tony Snell was forced to foul. After making his first free throw, Thomas’s second one fell off the rim and teammate Kawhi Leonard secured the offensive rebound to earn still more points and seal the victory. Leonard and Thomas both contributed 22 points apiece.

New Mexico fought back from a 14-point second-half deficit (47-33 just before the midway point of the half) to give the sixth-ranked Aztecs an interesting contest. Dairese Gary filled up the stat sheet for head coach Steve Alford’s crew, scoring 18 points while adding 7rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals in a losing effort.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer