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Source: goaztecs.com
Photo courtesy goaztecs.com
February 2, 2022 (San Diego) - San Diego State received a dominating performance on its return to the friendly environs of Viejas Arena Monday, cruising past New Mexico, 72-47, as the duo of Keshad Johnson and Matt Bradley scored 14 points apiece to help spark the victory.
With the win, the Aztecs (12-5, 4-2 Mountain West) emerged triumphant for the 15th time in the last 19 meetings against the Lobos and became the first team to defeat UNM by 20 or more points in three consecutive meetings. In addition, SDSU improves to 13-1 in its last 14 games immediately following a loss.
Johnson, who set a season-best with his point production on 6-of-10 shooting, also pulled down 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, while Lamont Butler finished with nine points and matched his personal best with six boards while adding four assists.
In addition, the Aztec cause was advanced by Trey Pulliam, who led all players with six assists, while Nathan Mensah came up with a career-best five steals to go with a game-high four blocks.
Collectively, SDSU connected on 26 of 58 of its field-goal attempts (.448) while sinking 11 of 14 free throws (.786). The Aztecs' deft ball movement was on full display, maintaining a robust 19-8 advantage in assists and while outscoring UNM on the fastbreak by a sizeable 25-1 margin.
San Diego State led throughout, but the Lobos (8-14, 1-8 MW) remained within striking distance for much of the first half, narrowing the gap to 25-20 on a three-pointer by Jamal Mashburn, Jr. with just under eight minutes left.
The Aztec defense clamped down for the rest of the period, however, as the visitors misfired on six straight field goals and sank just two foul shots during an 11-2 surge that gave the Scarlet and Black a 36-22 lead by intermission. Bradley keyed the run with seven points, including a triple after a Mensah steal.
SDSU maintained the momentum in the early stages of the second half, employing 13-4 blitz over the first 4:16 to build an insurmountable 49-26 advantage. Butler tallied five of his points during that span, while Johnson added four points and grabbed three rebounds.
The Aztecs enjoyed their biggest lead of the night at 67-39 following a Chad Baker-Mazara dunk with 4:27 remaining.
New Mexico was led by KJ Jenkins' game-high 16 points, while Mashburn, Jr. added 10 points in the defeat.
The Lobos shot just 30.8 percent from the field on 16-of-52 attempts. Consequently, SDSU moved to 12-2 this season when limiting the opposition to under 40 percent shooting.
San Diego State returns to the court on Friday, Feb. 4 when it travels to the Front Range of the Rockies to battle Colorado State at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado. The Aztecs-Rams showdown is set to tip off at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on FS1.
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