FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Matt Bradley scored 10 points and No. 21 San Diego State slipped past Fresno State 45-43 on Wednesday night.
San Diego State (21-5, 12-2 Mountain West Conference) has won four in a row and eight of nine overall, extending its win streak against the Bulldogs to eight games.
“I told the guys I don’t care what anybody says, it was a beautiful win,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said.
“We find a way to win. That’s it.”
Nathan Mensah had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks for SDSU, and Keshad Johnson added seven points and eight boards.
Isaiah Hill converted a three-point play and Anthony Holland made a 3-pointer before Jemarl Baker Jr. hit a turnaround jumper to cap an 8-0 run that gave Fresno State a 41-40 lead with 4:51 to play.
Darrion Trammell answered with a layup about a minute later and Jaedon LeDee hit one of two free throws to put SDSU ahead by two.
Hill made a layup that tied it 43-all with 2:42 remaining, but Fresno State went 0 for 6 from the field the rest of the way. LeDee sank one of two free throws with 2:07 left to give the Aztecs a 44-43 lead, and Mensah added a foul shot with six seconds to go. Hill missed a shot for the Bulldogs as time expired.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our effort, how we hung together,” Dutcher said.
“Sometimes when things aren’t going well, teams will crumble. They’ll separate. They’ll get frustrated. And we just stay singularly focused on trying to win the game.”
Hill led Fresno State (9-16, 5-9) with 16 points and Eduardo Andre had 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
The Bulldogs shot 31% (17 of 55) from the field and went just 2 of 25 from 3-point range.
Hill scored 11 points and Andre added eight points with five rebounds in the first half as Fresno State took a 25-23 lead into the break despite shooting 1 of 10 from 3-point distance and committing 10 turnovers.
Fresno State shot 6 of 28 (21.4%) from the field and scored just 18 points in the second half on its way to its lowest-scoring output of the season.
“Eighteen points we gave them in the second half,” Dutcher said, “and it was just enough to get a victory.”
San Diego State is 9-0 this season when holding its opponent under 60 points.
