It’s hard to imagine the Aztecs playing any worse than they did in the 1st half against UNLV on Thursday. It’s also hard to imagine them playing much better than they did in the 2nd half.
San Diego State overcame an awful start against UNLV to pull out a 74-71 win on Thursday afternoon, advancing to the semi-finals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The Aztecs only scored 22 points in the opening 20 minutes, and it would have been a mere 19 had Darrion Trammell not grabbed a loose ball and buried a 3-pointer as the 1st half buzzer sounded. It was their lowest scoring effort to start a game all season long. But, their always stellar defense kept UNLV from building too big a lead so SDSU was only down 27-22 at the break.
When they came back from the locker room the Aztecs were a completely different team. It took them less than 10 minutes to score their next 22 points. and Jaedon LeDee was a big part of it.
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The last time they played in Las Vegas the All-American had one of his worst games of the year and took a pounding from the UNLV defense. He got his pound of flesh in the MWC Tournament opener. LeDee was dominant, pouring in 34 points with 16 rebounds (both game-highs), helping the Aztecs build a 10-point lead. San Diego State had a chance put put it away late. But, just like their regular season finale loss to Boise State, they couldn't make their free throws down the stretch.
Micah Parrish missed a pair that would have put it away and Dedan Thomas Jr., the electric Rebels freshman, hit a driving layup with half a second left to tie it at 65 and force OT. In the extra frame UNLV scored the first four points so the Aztecs leaned on LeDee. He delivered. Jaedon scored seven of SDSU's nine points, making five of six free throw attempts, to secure the win.
SDSU advances to play top-seeded Utah State on Friday night at 6:30. The Aggies won the regular season conference title. The Aztecs would very much like to deny them the chance for a championship sweep.
