STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Jaedon LeDee scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half and No. 17 San Diego State beat Stanford for the first time, 74-62 on Tuesday night.
The Aztecs (3-0) never trailed to improve to 1-4 in the series.
“We play pretty hard against anybody we play,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “I told them that we’re on a really hard five-game stretch — BYU at home, Stanford at home and then three in Maui. Let’s see how we do, if we’re ready for that kind of challenge."
Lamont Butler had 11 points and six assists and Keshad Johnson added 11 points for the Aztecs.
Spencer Jones led Stanford (1-2) with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Harrison Ingram had 11 points.
“We knew coming in it would be a battle and we’d have to play our A game to be able to get there,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. “I don’t think we played our A game but I also think that they certainly deserve a lot of credit for playing really well.”
San Diego State had a 10-0 run early to open a 17-5 advantage and led by 17 in the first half.
Stanford closed the half on a 6-0 spurt to cut it to 41-30. The Cardinal later had a 10-2 run to get within six with 10:10 remaining, but the Aztecs answered with a 16-6 surge to put it out of reach.
“We kind of jumped on them in that first half a little bit and then they kind of fought back, as I thought,” LeDee said. “We knew that they were going to fight back. They’re at home. They’re talented. It’s just a little adversity for us. But we just kept wearing them down.”
San Diego State scored 21 points off 17 Stanford turnovers. The Aztecs shot 51% from the field, making 8 of 21 3-point attempts.
“I was most pleased that our point guards had 12 assists and one turnover,” Dutcher said. “That kind of play from the point guard position will get you wins.”
BIG PICTURE
San Diego State: The Aztecs were victorious in their first road game of the season, fighting off every Stanford run in the second half. San Diego State displayed its depth and balance offensively, along with its usual tenacious defense. The Aztecs showed why they were picked first in the preseason Mountain West poll.
Stanford: After winning their opener, the Cardinal have lost back-to-back games against Wisconsin and San Diego State. Stanford fell behind early and was never able to get closer than six points in the second half, struggling to solve the Aztecs’ stout defense.
