No. 10 San Diego State holds on to defeat Fresno State 68-60

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego,CA- The No.10 ranked San Diego State Aztecs held on to defeat the Fresno State Bulldogs 68-60 Wednesday night at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs struggled throughout the game to hold off the Bulldogs and in the 2nd half went on a crucial 12-2 run to hold on for the 68-60 win. With the win the Aztecs extend their winning streak to 14 games. The Aztecs 14-game win streak is the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. The Aztecs also with the win extend their winning streak against teams from the State of California to 38. The Aztecs improve to (15-1, 4-0 Mountain West).

The Aztecs started the game leading the Bulldogs 6-2 as Fresno State missed seven of its first eight shots. The lead wouldn’t last long as Fresno State’s Tyler Johnson knocked down three triples in a two minute span to give the Bulldogs a 20-16 lead. The Aztecs fought back from 8 down to lead 31-29 with 30 secs left in the half until Fresno State’s  Marvelle Harris drained a 3 as time expired. As the Aztecs trailed the Bulldogs 32-31 at the half. San Diego State struggled mightily on offense shooting only 27% from the field in the 1st half.

The Aztecs regained the lead to start the half as Matt Shrigley and Xavier Thames hit consecutive three’s to give the Aztecs a 51-48 lead. The Aztecs cemented their lead by going on a 12-2 run to take the lead for good as the Aztecs defeat the Bulldogs 68-60. The Aztecs made no field goals in the games final eight minutes and scored all 13 of their points from the free throw line to avoid the upset.

Despite the overall rough game on offense, the Aztecs did set a school record tonight for the fewest turnovers in a game with only four turnovers in tonight’s win.

Xavier Thames was the Aztecs leading scorer tonight with 28 points. Winston Shepard also had a good game for the Aztecs with 17 points and  6 rebounds.

The Aztecs take the court again Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m at home as they take on conference rival UNLV.