Mountain West gauntlet continues: Aztecs basketball falls on road again

Playing in the Mountain West is not an easy thing to do. The conference already features multiple schools located at high altitude and some of the most difficult environments in the country. This year the MWC has had six schools in the top 60 of the NET Rankings so it's better and deeper than ever.

As good as the Aztecs are, giving them morning games on the road at elevation against a team that's playing better than .700 ball on national TV two weeks in a row is going to be an almost impossible task. After losing in New Mexico last Saturday, San Diego State was edged again on the road, this time 67-66 at Boise State in a game that tipped off at 10:00 a.m. for the Aztecs internal clocks.

The Broncos led 34-31 at the break and a nip-and-tuck affair continued for most of the 2nd half. Micah Parrish hit a 3-pointer to put the Aztecs up 46-45 with 9:32 to play and give SDSU their first lead since they were up 8-7 early in the 1st half. They traded buckets for a bit and then Boise State made the run that would decide the game, a 10-2 spurt punctuated by O'Mar Stanley's 3-pointer that made it 59-52. Stanley led all scorers with 17 points.

San Diego State made an extremely late run and closed it to one point on Lamont Butler's 3-pointer with one second left but they didn't have enough time to commit a foul and extend the game. Boise State was one of the few teams this year that was able to limit the production of Jaedon LeDee. The Aztecs All-American candidate was held to 13 points and eight rebounds, an off afternoon by the lofty standards he's set.

SDSU falls to 15-4 on the year and 4-2 in MWC play. All four of their losses have come in true road games against teams that have received Top-25 votes. But, turnabout is fair play. Viejas Arena may not be in the mountains but it is still the toughest building in the conference to try and steal a win. Wyoming comes to town on Tuesday night for a 6:00 p.m. tipoff.