San Diego State Aztecs rise to No. 10 in the latest Top 25 poll’s

San Diego,CA- The San Diego State Aztecs rose from 13th in the Associated Press and 13th in Coaches Top 25 poll to No. 10 in both polls this week.

The Aztecs went 2-0 this past week. The San Diego State Aztecs rebounded from their loss at New Mexico and blew out San Jose State 90-64 Tuesday night at Viejas Arena.

The Spartans were able to keep the game close in the first half, as the Spartans hit six 3-pointers in the first half and four in the games opening minutes. The Spartans hot shooting wouldn’t last for long, as the Aztecs asserted themselves on offense to end the half and lead the Spartans by 14 at 44-30 at the half. The Aztecs 44 points in the first half were the second most points scored by the Aztecs in a half this season. The most being 46 points against the Spartans earlier this season.

The Aztecs put the game away to start the second half, going on a 19-1 run to increase their lead to 30 points at 72-42 with 7:22 left in the game. The Aztecs maintained their 30 point lead throughout the second half, allowing freshman walk-on Niksha Federico to get some playing time in the games final minutes and he delivered going 2-2 from three, as the Aztecs dominated the Spartans 90-64.

Winston Shepard, JJ O’Brien and Dwayne Polee II lead the Aztecs on offense tonight with 12 points each.

On Saturday night the Aztecs headed up to Fresno State to take on one of the hottest team’s in the Mountain West and dominated the second half defeating Fresno State 82-67.

The Aztecs started the game strong on offense going on a 12-6 run to start the game. The Bulldogs kept the game close throughout the first half and had cut the Aztecs lead to two at 37-35 with a few seconds remaining in the first half, until the Aztecs leading scorer Xavier Thames nailed a three at the buzzer to give the Aztecs a five point lead at 40-35 at the half.

Aztecs backup point guard Aqeel Quinn was huge for the Aztecs in the first half, going 3-3 from beyond the arc to finish the first half with 11 points.

The Aztecs started the second half on an 11-4 run to increase their lead to double digits and never look back. The Aztecs never trailed in the second half, leading by as many 19 points over the Bulldogs as the Aztecs defeated Fresno State 82-67.

The Aztecs played one of their most complete games of the season tonight, holding the Bulldogs to only 48% from the field. While shooting 60% from the field on offense and scoring 80+ points for the 3rd time this season against a Division 1 opponent.

Xavier Thames after struggling on offense the past few games, lead the Aztecs in scoring tonight with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Aqeel Quinn had the best game of his career tonight, scoring a career high 17 points off the bench for the Aztecs.

The Aztecs improved to (25-3) on the year and remain tied for First in the Mountain West with No. 25 New Mexico at (14-2) in conference play.

The Aztecs also extended their win streak against teams from the state of California to 41 games. The Aztecs 41 game win streak is now the longest active winning streak vs. any state in the country. Surpassing Syracuse’s 39-game streak vs. schools from the state of New York.

The Aztecs also continue to be the highest ranked team on the west coast, with no other west coast team ranked in the Top 25 poll’s.

The Aztecs return to the court Wednesday as they head to Las Vegas to take on 3rd pace UNLV