Freshman Magoon Gwath notched career highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds and blocked two shots as No. 24 San Diego State overcame a slow start to earn an 84-62 victory over host Fresno State in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
BJ Davis scored 13 points, Wayne McKinney III added 12 and Miles Byrd grabbed 10 rebounds for the Aztecs (5-2), who entered the rankings for the first time this week following an overtime victory over No. 6 Houston on Saturday.
San Diego State opened the first half 0 of 5 from the floor and didn’t score until getting a layup from Jared Coleman-Jones 4:46 into the game. The Aztecs recovered to lead by as many as 10 points in the first half and pulled away after halftime.
Mykell Robinson scored 20 points with 10 rebounds and Zaon Collins added 10 points for the Bulldogs (3-5), who lost their 11th consecutive game to the Aztecs.
Elijah Price grabbed nine rebounds for Fresno State, which saw its overall losing streak extend to three games, while falling at home for the first time in three tries.
In the early defensive tussle, San Diego State led 13-9 midway through the first half and grabbed its first double-digit lead with 2:05 left before halftime. Fresno State went on a 7-2 scoring run to end the first half to trail 29-24 at the break.
San Diego State shot just 36.7 percent in the first half, while Fresno State shot 21.2 percent.
The Aztecs regained their 10-point lead at 39-29 with 14:58 remaining after a 3-pointer from Davis and were up by double digits the rest of the way. They put the game away with a 7-0 run to take a 61-42 lead with 8:07 remaining.
San Diego State was much improved in the second half while shooting 57.9 percent from the floor to finish at 48.5 percent in the game. The 7-foot Gwath was 10 of 13 from the floor and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
