Ysa Garcia - The Sporting Tribune
Senior Wayne McKinney III shooting a two-point shot during a conference game against Fresno State on February 18, 2025 at Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA.
FINAL: San Diego State 80, Nevada 61
SAN DIEGO — Though the San Diego State Aztecs are locked in to the No. 4-No. 5 match-up at the Mountain West Championships, their larger March aspirations hang in the balance when they face the Nevada Wolf Pack at 7:30 on Friday night at Viejas Arena.
After watching their opponents celebrate their seniors the past two games, SDSU (20-8, 13-6 Mountain West Conference) will honor six seniors before tip-off. Jared-Coleman Jones, Wayne McKinney III and Kimo Ferrari are in their final year of eligibility, while Demarshay Johnson Jr. and the duo of walk-ons Ryan Schwartz and Desai Lopez are academic seniors with eligibility remaining.
The Scarlet and Black will be looking to bounce back from a 74-67 loss at UNLV on March 4, as despite 19 points from Nick Boyd and a 15 point-10 rebound double-double from Miles Byrd, the Runnin' Rebels knocked down 12 of 24 from downtown. UNLV made 10 of their final 13 shots from the field over the last 12 minutes, while the Aztecs made just 6 of their last 20 field goals as the hosts took control of a game that had 11 lead changes and 11 ties. Magoon Gwath did not dress for the game and is not expected to dress for senior night.
Nevada (16-14, 8-11) has lost four of their last five, including two in a row at UNLV and hosting regular season champion New Mexico. Guard Kobe Sanders and preseason All Mountain West selection forward Nick Davidson each average 15.7 points per game for an offense that has the second-best field goal percentage (.479) over the length of the season amongst Mountain West teams. The Wolf Pack are locked as the No. 7 seed for the Mountain West Championships and will face No. 10 Fresno State in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday, March 12.
The Aztecs will face the Boise State Broncos in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament, after the Broncos lost 83-73 to Colorado State at Extra Mile Arena last night and Utah State topped Air Force 87-47 earlier on Saturday afternoon.
Catch up on coverage leading into Saturday:
- Julian Rishwain's record night propels UNLV to season sweep of San Diego State
- Gwath's double-double, SDSU's sharing scorches Nevada in second half to win - January 25
- Viejas Arena has a love affair with SDSU guard Kimo Ferrari (San Diego Union Tribune)
- Aztecs end regular season on Senior Night vs. Nevada (East Village Times)