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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
San Diego St. 51, New Mexico 48
When: 10:05 PM ET, Saturday, March 8, 2014
Where: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Officials: # Tony Padilla, # Larry Spaulding, # Shawn Lehigh
Attendance: 12414

No. 10 San Diego State 51, No. 21 New Mexico 48: Xavier Thames had 23 points and five steals as the host Aztecs rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat the Lobos and win the Mountain West regular-season title.

Josh Davis recorded nine rebounds to go with six points and three steals as San Diego State (27-3, 16-2) clinched the top seed for next week’s Mountain West tournament. The Aztecs held New Mexico to four points over a nearly 12-minute stretch while mounting the huge comeback.

Cameron Bairstow had 20 points and seven rebounds and Alex Kirk added 14 points and 11 rebounds for New Mexico (24-6, 15-3). The Lobos had a chance to take the lead with 59.1 seconds left but Kirk missed two free throws and San Diego State sealed the game by making five of six free throws over the final 38 seconds.

The Aztecs trailed 41-25 before erupting for a 19-1 surge to take a 44-42 lead on a basket by Dwayne Polee II with 4:58 remaining. Deshawn Delaney hit a 3-pointer with 4:27 left for New Mexico’s first field goal in more than 7 1/2 minutes and Thames put San Diego State back ahead with 2:52 to play and the Lobos didn’t score again until Kendall Williams’ 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

San Diego State used a 12-0 run to take an early 16-9 lead but the Lobos dominated the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half with a 15-2 burst to take a 26-20 lead. The Aztecs scored the first five points of the second half before Bairstow scored six points during a 15-0 run as New Mexico opened up the 16-point lead with just over 12 minutes left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The victory was only the second for San Diego State in the last seven meetings against the Lobos. … The teams were a combined 2-of-23 from 3-point range and the Aztecs missed all nine of their attempts. … Polee had four steals as San Diego State totaled 14 overall while forcing 16 New Mexico turnovers.
Top Game Performances
 
New Mexico   San Diego St.
Cameron Bairstow 20 Scoring Xavier Thames 23
Kendall Williams 4 Assists Xavier Thames 3
Alex Kirk 11 Rebounds Josh Davis 9
Cameron Bairstow 6 Free Throws Made Xavier Thames 7
Hugh Greenwood 1 Steals Xavier Thames 5
Alex Kirk 2 Blocks J.J. O'Brien 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New Mexico 48 45.2 2-14 8-12 13 29 4 2 16
San Diego St. 51 39.6 0-9 13-20 6 26 2 14 9