National Basketball Association
San Diego St. 64, San Jose St. 49
When: 9:30 PM ET, Friday, March 10, 2023
Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials:
# Verne Harris, # Larry Spaulding, # Mike Reed
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Darrion Trammell and Keshad Johnson scored 15 points each to lead the top-seeded San Diego State men's basketball team to a 64-49 win against fifth-seeded San Jose State in a semifinal game at the Mountain West tournament on Friday in Las Vegas.
Micah Parrish paced the reserves with nine points for San Diego State (26-6), which advanced to play third-seeded Utah State in the final on Saturday. The Aggies defeated second-seeded Boise State 72-62 in the second semifinal.
Omari Moore, who came in averaging 17.8 points for San Jose State (20-13), was held to seven on 3-for-13 shooting. Tibet Gorener scored 15 points off the bench as the lone player in double figures for the Spartans, who beat Nevada in overtime in a quarterfinal on Thursday, its first tournament win since joining the MWC in 2013.
The Aztecs gained some early separation with a 7-0 run that gave them a 14-8 lead with 12:15 left in the first half.
Matt Bradley scored with a left-hand drive for a 21-12 lead, and Johnson hit a pullup jumper to make it 23-12. Two free throws by Parrish capped the 9-0 run and made it 25-12 with 2:59 left.
San Diego State maintained the double-digit lead the rest of the half as Trammell stepped into a 3-pointer and sank it with five seconds left to give the Aztecs a 33-20 lead at the break.
Moore was held to five points on 2-for-7 shooting in the first half.
San Diego State didn't let up in the second half.
Lamont Butler converted a three-point play to extend the lead to 38-22, and Johnson scored on a dunk to make it 40-22 with 16:32 left in the game.
The Spartans managed to get back within 14 points twice over the next five minutes, but couldn't get any closer until Sage Tolbert III scored on a dunk to make it 53-40 with 6:53 remaining.
Gorener then made a layup to make it an 11-point game, but Butler sank a 3-pointer on the other end to give the Aztecs some breathing room.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
San Jose St. |
|
San Diego St. |
Tibet Gorener 15 |
Scoring |
Keshad Johnson 15 |
Alvaro Cardenas 6 |
Assists |
Lamont Butler 4 |
Ibrahima Diallo 8 |
Rebounds |
Nathan Mensah 8 |
Trey Anderson 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Darrion Trammell 5 |
Garrett Anderson 1 |
Steals |
Aguek Arop 1 |
Trey Anderson 3 |
Blocks |
Keshad Johnson 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
San Jose St.
|
49 |
34.5 |
5-19 |
6-10 |
9 |
38 |
3 |
3 |
13 |
San Diego St.
|
64 |
40.7 |
6-16 |
14-19 |
12 |
32 |
5 |
3 |
8 |