Viejas Arena – San Diego State University 

The San Diego State Aztecs hosted Boise State for senior night. Coach Brian Dutcher stuck with his all-senior lineup for senior night as Jaedon LeDee, Lamont Butler, Micah Parrish, Jay Pal, Darrionb Trammell, and Cade Alger were all honored.

Boise State handed SDSU their first home loss of the season.

“That was a heck of a college basketball game,” Dutcher said postgame. “You always lose site of it on the losing end and it’s miserable. But as far as a game, two teams going at each other and going hard, is what it was.”

SDSU has now lost their last two games and has fallen down to fifth place in the Mountain West. The Aztecs ended the season 11-7 in conference play. Their seeding for the tournament is still up in the air as the rest of the conference plays Saturday night.

“We have to be mentally ready for whatever happens,” LeDee said postgame about the tournament. “If we play in the play-in, we’ll go and attack that. If not, we’ll attack the next game. It is what is is.”

SDSU once again struggled to score to begin play. The Aztecs started 0-6 from the field and trailed 5-0 by the first TV timeout. Boise State didn’t start great either, going 1-5 from the floor. Micah Parrish picked up an early technical foul, arguing a no-call on a missed floater in the paint.

LeDee then got the Aztecs going with an and-one layup. However, it took four and a half minutes. He would go on to miss the free throw.

Jay Pal proceeded to swat Tyson Degenhart on the next possession, which erupted the crowd. LeDee then swished a jumper to give SDSU a 6-5 lead.

Boise State found a way to regain control and managed most of the first half. They saw their lead reach as much as seven points, but LeDee and the Aztecs kept it close. After another and-one bucket from LeDee, SDSU brought the score back down to two, 25-23, with 3:21 remaining in the first half.

The Aztecs’ defense did a phenomenal job of containing Degenhart, as he had just two points on three shot attempts. Roddie Anderson III already surpassed his point average with seven points on 3-7 shooting.

Another Elijah Saunders triple gave SDSU the lead again, 26-25, with just under three minutes remaining in the half.

However, Boise ended the half on top, 33-31. The Aztecs missed three of their final four three throws in the half, which, if made, would have given SDSU a lead by the break.

LeDee led SDSU with 11 points on 4-8 from the floor.

A critical second half awaited.

Trammell and Butler started the second half with a bang. They combined to score eight points quickly in the second half, and a Trammell and-one-finish gave SDSU a 44-42 lead with 16:36 remaining.

SDSU needed to keep their foot on the gas pedal for the entire second half.

The Aztecs gained control on a 7-0 run to lead 48-42. LeDee saw his point total reach 17 with 16:00 remaining in the game as coach Leon Rice called timeout for the Broncos.

Update: @jae_ledee is still good at basketball
📺: @FS1 pic.twitter.com/mki4aEYHAq

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) March 9, 2024

SDSU kept control. Their lead reached 10 points as the fans at Viejas Arena were on their feet.

It was all downhill from there.

The Broncos drained three straight triples to bring the lead to within one point. Degenhart nailed two of them.

SDSU led 63-62 with 6:31 remaining in the game. The fans suddenly were quiet. This contest was going to come down to the wire.

Lamont Butler missed a free throw that would have put SDSU up three with just under 15 seconds remaining, instead, he missed and Anderson III tied the game to send it to overtime.

A miracle shot from Rice would give the Broncos a 5-point lead with 1:50 remaining in OT.

Down five, it seemed as if SDSU was toast. Trammell then tied it with a three to even the score at 77.

Broncos backup center Cam Martin hauled in a rebound with two seconds remaining and was fouled going up. He hit both free throws, and the Broncos upset the Aztecs in San Diego.

A gut-wrenching loss for the Aztecs on senior night.

The team now awaits on who and when they play in the Mountain West Tournament.

News & Stats 

• LeDee ended with 21 points and 6 rebounds.
• Saunders ended with 9 points and 2 rebounds.
• Butler had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• Parrish shot just 4-15 with 12 points and 2 assists.
• Anderson III led the Broncos with 16 points. Degenhart had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
• SDSU shot just 6-35 from beyond the arc.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris is also an athlete and is huge fan of San Diego sports. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and contributes regularly about the Padres.