EditorsNote: deletes "vying" in 9th graf
No. 4 San Diego State rode a dominant first half and balanced scoring effort to its 26th consecutive win, beating host Boise State on Sunday, 72-55.
The Aztecs (26-0, 15-0 Mountain West Conference) came into Sunday's matchup having already clinched the outright Mountain West regular-season title.
But with a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the nation's only unblemished record still at stake, San Diego State pounced on Boise State with first-half runs of 11-4 and 13-5 to build a 14-point halftime lead.
Malachi Flynn scored a team-high 22 points for the Aztecs, who put five players in double figures. Flynn also grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists. Yanni Wetzell scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Jordan Schakel scored 12 points, and Matt Mitchell added 11 with seven rebounds. K.J. Feagin added 10 points.
San Diego State's balanced offense thrived inside the 3-point line, buoying the Aztecs despite an uncharacteristically poor shooting stretch beyond the arc. An 0-for-7 second-half start from long range allowed Boise State to hang around for a spell after intermission.
Justinian Jessup, meanwhile, knocked down 5-of-10 3-pointers for the Broncos (17-10, 9-6) and matched Flynn with a game-high 22 points.
After falling behind by as many as 18 points early in the second half, Jessup scored seven points during a 10-0 Boise State run.
The eight-point deficit with 10:25 remaining was as close as Boise State came. San Diego State responded with a 22-13 run to close out the game.
Boise State came into Sunday's matchup one of four teams tied in second place in the Mountain West's loss column with Nevada, Colorado State and 2018-19 conference champion, Utah State.
San Diego State faces two of those teams in the Aztecs' final two regular-season games, hosting Colorado State on Feb. 25 and traveling to Nevada on Feb. 29. San Diego State hosts UNLV on Feb. 22 ahead of that stretch, trying to become the first team to head into the postseason undefeated since Kentucky in 2014-15.
--Field Level Media
