Jaedon LeDee had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 19 San Diego State held off San Jose State 81-78 on Tuesday night for its seventh straight win.
LeDee, the Mountain West’s leading scorer at 21.4 points per game, has scored at least 20 in four straight games.
“Just credit to the work and my God-given ability,” LeDee said. “Coaches put me in great positions to be successful, and credit to them as well.
Lamont Butler added 16 points and Micah Parrish had 13 for the Aztecs (14-2, 3-0 Mountain West).
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Jay Pal scored 10 points and blocked a potential tying layup by Trey Anderson with three seconds remaining to secure the victory for San Diego State.
“He went from goat, and I’m not saying greatest of all-time, to hero,” Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher joked. “He basically messed the (defensive) switch up. ... To his credit, he kept playing and made a timely block.”
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Alvaro Cardenas led the Spartans (7-9, 0-3) with 21 points and six assists, but San Jose State lost its third in a row.
Myron Amey Jr. added 20 points and Tibet Gorener had 15.
“I told our guys I was very proud of them,” Spartans coach Tim Miles said. “I thought they followed the game plan, they adjusted when we needed to adjust, we played different lineups and they did it with eagerness and they did it with aggression.”
San Jose State forced a shot clock violation with 13.6 seconds remaining to get the ball trailing 80-78. Cardenas found Anderson inside, but Pal swatted away his layup attempt and Butler recovered the loose ball for the Aztecs.
Butler was fouled and made one of two free throws. Diogo Seixas attempted a full-court heave for the tie but missed wide left.
“As crazy as it may sound, this is exactly how I thought the game would go,” Dutcher said. “They’re dynamic offensively. ... Tim Miles has got a good team this year. They just have not won the close game. And that’s the difference between having the year we’re having and the year they’re having.”
San Diego State won the rebound battle 37-28 and outscored San Jose State 38-24 in the paint.
The game featured 15 lead changes and 14 ties.
“I’ve been saying we can play with anybody in the country,” Amey said. “We proved it to people tonight. ... It’s going to come together. We work too hard as a team and it’s going to come together.”
The Aztecs have won 12 in a row against the Spartans and 18 of 19 since San Jose State joined the Mountain West in 2013.
