San Diego State had won 160 consecutive basketball games when leading with five minutes to play. Number 161 might have been the toughest of them all.
The Aztecs beat New Mexico 78-71 on a wild afternoon at Viejas Arena. SDSU had a 2-point lead with 300 seconds left but let it get away when the Lobos went on a 7-0 run. San Diego State trimmed that lead to three with one possession left.
That was not a good spot for them to be in. SDSU only shot 4-27 from 3-point range. But, people are only going to remember one. Malik Pope launched and landed a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to tie the game at 66 and force the extra period. That shot was the only one Pope made for the entire game.
The Aztecs only had that chance to tie because the Lobos turned the ball over on an errant in-bounds play with 12 seconds left (Hey, if you’re going to keep a streak like this alive sometimes you need a little bit of good fortune).
In overtime freshman guard Jeremy Hemsley provided enough scoring punch. Hemsley scored eight of his team-high 23 points in the extra period. Senior forward Winston Shepard is the only other Aztec to score in OT, dropping four of his 15 points. Fellow senior Skylar Spencer also had a solid game with eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
The Aztecs improve to 11-0 in the Mountain West Conference and have a 3.5 game lead on second-place New Mexico with just seven games before the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas. These teams will meet again on March 1 at The Pit in Albuquerque.
San Diego State’s next game is on Valentine’s Day at Fresno State.
