Another Aztec put up a career night for San Diego State Saturday as the team mostly cruised after a high-flying opening half to down San Jose State 72-51 at Viejas Arena.
Keshad Johnson scored 16 – 12 of them by the break – and just fell short of his third straight double-double, with eight rebounds.
The forward led the Aztecs (17-4, 8-1 Mountain West) early as the team forced 10 turnovers and established a 33-14 lead. That’s the fewest points SDSU has given up at the half this season.
They capped the half due to one of the Spartan miscues, a Darrion Trammell steal off Ibrahima Diallo with 43 seconds left that led to another of Johnson’s commanding dunks.
Coast to coast! @kj_showtime0
@Aztec_MBB pic.twitter.com/cOZJW4xXyb
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 29, 2023
On the other hand, San Diego State gave San Jose State (13-9, 4-5 MW) few chances to capitalize on mistakes, with just three turnovers for the game. Ultimately, the Aztecs scored 16 points off turnovers compared to the Spartans’ two.
Despite the imbalance, and a San Diego State lead that ballooned to 27 early in the second half, San Jose State almost climbed back into contention with just over 10 minutes to play, cutting the San Diego State lead to 11. But Johnson and Aguek Arop hit two free throws each, and Adam Seiko continued his three-point hot streak, to put the game out of reach.
Head coach Brian Dutcher told San Diego Sports 760 of Johnson, “Keshad’s hit his rhythm.” And Johnson knows it, explaining to Sports 760, “I just want to keep trying to stack good on good.”
The Aztecs have two key conference showdowns this week, against Nevada (16-6, 6-3 MW) and Boise State (17-5, 7-2 MW) one on the road, one at Viejas. First up, they head to Nevada for an 8 p.m. game Tuesday.
