San Diego State continued their winning ways, with a close 81-78 win over a close San Jose State team.
The Aztecs are in the playoffs with an 81-78 victory over upset San Jose State.
San Diego State (14-2, 3-0 MWC) visits the friendly confines of the Provident Credit Union Event Center on the San Jose State campus. 19 national level. They played good, tough, and basically good basketball to put them on a six-game winning streak against the last-place Spartans. As most fans booed the Aztecs, they showed why they are a tough team in their quest for conference dominance. The Spartans under third-year coach Tim Miles are fielding a better and better team, but they have no answer for Aztec forward and leading rusher conference MVP Jaedon LeDe. Leddy had 31 points and ten rebounds while consistently dominating the offensive end of the court for the Aztecs. His physicality and Adonis-like chiseled physicality forced the Spartans to use multiple players whose sole purpose was to hurt him. Lady went on a bad streak going 14/19. Three Spartans defenders committed 12 personal fouls as they attempted to provide some level of defense against the Lady. Four Aztecs scored in double figures. In addition to Leddy, Micah Parrish had 13 points, Lamont Butler 16 more, and Jay Paul wearing a clear face mask added ten more and two blocks, the last of which was a game-saver by blocking a Spartan trey. Anderson layup with three seconds left. Pall missed his defensive tackle and Andersen Tokir was freed by the line-up. Pal moved quickly and scooped the ball behind him. Lamont Butler grabbed the rebound and made one of two free throws on the ensuing foul. Play, set and match the most fun game. This writer is based out of the Houston area, and with a 10:00 central start time, it was a late night that broke the beauty sleep, but the game was full of fun and excitement and mostly late into the night. The Spartans had four starters finish in double figures. Tibet Goerner 15, Trey Anderson 11, MJ Amey Jr., fresh off a 30-point game against Boise State, finished with 20, and team leader Alvaro Cardenas led the way with 21.
First half back and forth
The Aztecs and Spartans entertained the crowd with an entertaining game. The game featured 15 lead changes as well as 14 plays. Most people didn’t think the Spartans could hang with the Aztecs, but coach Tim Miles and his staff were ready to play the team.
“I thought our guys followed the game plan, making adjustments when we needed to make adjustments, playing different lineups and doing it with enthusiasm and aggression,” Miles said after the game. “As crazy as it sounds, that’s how I thought the game was going to go,” Aztecs coach Brian Netherzer said. They are dynamic offensive. Miles got a good team this year. They couldn’t win close games.
Lady was doing her best to dominate as the two teams traded moves with Cardenas and Anderson keeping the Spartans in the game. It was clear that there was an imbalance inside and the Aztecs wanted to exploit it. Spartan MJ Amey Jr. was quiet in the first half, scoring just five points. At the buzzer, the Aztecs lead 41-40 at the half. The Aztecs continued to press and move the ball inside where they controlled the game. They outscored the Spartans 37-28, scoring 38 of their points in the paint compared to just 24 for the Spartans.
Win those who are close
In the second half, both teams continued to play their trademark football. Momentum moved back and forth. Spartan Tibet Goerner heated up with three 3s to put the Spartans ahead with a triple. But the Aztecs kept hitting the ball for Lady. The breakthrough came with 9 minutes left in the game when Spartans center Adrama Dionge scored a goal. The last couple of minutes were really interesting. Looking to tie the game, Aztecs guard Lamont Butler landed the ball outside of Amey and the Aztecs’ zone, but the Spartans’ defense was able to recover the ball with less than 15 seconds left. Cardenas led the Spartans and passed to an open Anderson, who left the shot by Pall.
The Aztecs have the rest of the week off until they travel to New Mexico on Saturday for a game broadcast on CBS. Several other games produced surprising results on Tuesday night. Boise State dropped 17th-ranked Colorado State 65-58 for its second straight loss. UNLV defeated New Mexico 83-73. Utah State continued its dominance with an 83-59 win over visiting Wyoming and Nevada took business with a 67-54 win over Air Force. The conference leaderboard will likely change even more as the season progresses. The teams are showing quality even at the middle level. Only Fresno State and Air Force are completely out. San Jose has lost three in a row, but they are leading the way and have shown they can play with the big boys. Currently, Utah State and San Diego State are the top two, with Nevada and Boise State at three and four. This Friday, Boise State travels to Nevada in what should be a good matchup and on Saturday both the Aztecs and the Lobos and UNLV host Utah State. Some titanic matches for a multidisciplinary conference.
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