The last time we saw San Diego State's men's basketball team was January 8 when they put a 30-point smackdown on then-19th-ranked Colorado State. Two weeks and two COVID-delayed games later, the Aztecs returned to the floor at Viejas Arena to face Boise State.
It might have been the long layoff or just a bad night but SDSU had all kinds of trouble shooting the ball. The good news is, so did the Broncos, leading to one of the ugliest games you'll ever see and a 42-37 Boise State win.
The Aztecs missed their first eight shots to start the game, then had another stretch of seven straight misfires in the first half.
But, defense never slumps.
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San Diego State gave the Broncos fits on offense, too, and slugged their way to a 23-22 lead at the break.
The 2nd half was even worse than the first half. The Aztecs didn't make a field goal for the first 10:13 when, finally, Lamont Butler made a layup. It was a minor miracle that Boise State had only scored 12 points over that time so the basket cut the BSU lead to 35-26.
That touched off a 13-0 run that was punctuated by Butler knocking down a 3-pointer to put SDSU back on top with 2:48 to play. Butler and Nathan Mensah both scored 10 points, the only Aztecs in double figures. Alas, that was the last time the Aztecs would score.
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BSU shared in the offensive misery, going 10:51 without scoring before a pair of free throws tied the game 37-37 with 1:04 to play.
Another miss from the Aztecs gave the Broncos the opening they needed. Marcus Shaver Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer to put Boise State on top 40-37 and that was it.
The Aztecs fall to 10-4 and suffer their first Mountain West Conference loss of the year. They host UNLV on Monday night then have another quick turnaround with a road trip to Utah State on Wednesday night.
