Jaelen House scores 26 points as New Mexico beats No. 19 San Diego State

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This article was published 13/01/2024 (985 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Jaelen House scored 26 points, including nine straight in a 17-0 first-half run, and New Mexico beat No. 19 San Diego State 88-70 Saturday, ending the Aztecs’ seven-game winning streak.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. added 19 for New Mexico (14-3, 2-2 Mountain West) and JT Toppin had 17 points and 16 rebounds.

Jaedon LeDee scored 15 points and Miles Byrd chipped in 13 points for the Aztecs (14-3, 3-1).

The difference in the game was at the foul line, where the Lobos made 21 of 31 attempts. San Diego State was 11 of 20. New Mexico also blocked 14 shots.

New Mexico turned in a stout defensive effort on LeDee, who was averaging 22 points and scored more than half his points in the final five minutes.

“It was a team effort on him,” Lobos coach Richard Pitino said of LeDee. “We had to swarm him. They didn’t get a lot of post ups with him, as much as at the elbow and we were just — they made some 3s in the first half because we were helping off him. We wanted somebody else to beat us because he is an All American and he can get going. I thought we did a really good job on him.”

The Aztecs struggled with foul issues throughout the game, with starters Lamont Butler, Reese Waters and Micah Parsons spending significant time on the bench.

The game turned with five minutes remaining in the first half when House poured in nine straight points to start the run, reversing a 35-23 San Diego State lead that was built on two 8-2 runs.

Trailing 40-37 at the half, the Aztecs never got any closer after the break. The Lobos took control with an 11-1 run seven minutes into the half and their advantage never fell below double digits.

“I thought we played a competitive first half,” Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said. “Our defense looked pretty good. They shot 35% in the first half. We tried to pack the paint, make them make 3s and tough pull ups and they didn’t make them and in the second half, it seemed like they made every one, especially the pull up jump shot. We tried to make an adjustment late, but it was too late.”

BIG PICTURE:

San Diego State will likely drop out of the Top 25.

New Mexico needed the win. A loss would have it four games behind the Aztecs with a return trip to San Diego State looming.

BLOCK PARTY

New Mexico had 11 first-half blocks, including four by Nelly Junior Joseph. The final total was the most by the Lobos since the Mountain West started play in 1999.

“More than anything, they were taking it to JT and Nelly and those guys are talented shot blockers,” Pitino said, adding, “great job of rotating. Those guys are really great shot blockers and I thought they were aggressive to rotate over.”

Dutcher said it played a big part in the outcome.

“I’ve never seen so many blocked shots in the first half,” Dutcher said. “They had 11 blocked shots in the first half. That’s phenomenal. When you block that many shots, you’re affecting the game. That’s sensational on their part.”

GIANT SLAYER

Between his stops in Minnesota and New Mexico, Pitino’s teams have claimed at least one top-25 victim 10 consecutive seasons.

UP NEXT:

New Mexico plays No. 20 Utah State Wednesday, giving the Lobos consecutive home games against ranked teams for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

San Diego State hosts Nevada Wednesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll