San Diego State pulls off upset of No. 13 Gonzaga

Field Level Media|published: Fri 29th December, 23:50 2023

Dec 29, 2023; Spokane, Washington, USA; San Diego State Aztecs forward Jaedon LeDee (13) shoots the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Anton Watson (22) in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. credits: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Reese Waters scored 22 points and Jaedon LeDee added 20 points and seven rebounds as San Diego State handed No. 13 Gonzaga a rare home loss with an 84-74 victory over the Bulldogs in a nonconference showdown on Friday night at Spokane, Wash.

Darrion Trammell tallied 17 points for the Aztecs (11-2), who led by as many as 15 points while winning their fourth straight game.

Graham Ike recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds and Anton Watson had 16 points and three steals for the Bulldogs (9-4), who lost for the third time in five games. Ryan Nembhard added 15 points and nine assists for Gonzaga.

The loss was just the 17th for Gonzaga in 20 seasons at the McCarthey Athletic Center. San Diego State has delivered two of the setbacks, also winning early in the 2010-11 season with a team featuring future NBA star Kawhi Leonard.

The Aztecs shot 50 percent from the field and were 8 of 25 from 3-point range. Waters had three of the treys.

The Bulldogs shot 42.4 percent from the field, including 5 of 19 from 3-point range.

Gonzaga's bid to make a late run evaporated in a flurry of missed shots. The Bulldogs were errant on their last five attempts and seven of eight.

The Aztecs let a 15-point second-half lead dwindle to three before delivering the knockout punch a short time later.

After a slumber, San Diego State's offense re-emerged with 10 points in 1:41 for a 78-69 lead with 4:22 to play. Waters and Miles Bird each knocked down 3-pointers during the surge.

San Diego State led by one at halftime but created distance early in the second half with an 18-3 burst to open up a 15-point lead.

Bird gave the Aztecs a double-digit lead at 56-45 with 15:02 remaining. Just 96 seconds later, Bird scored on a reverse layup to make it 62-47 with 13:26 left.

Gonzaga answered with an 18-6 spurt to move within 68-65 with 6:30 left. Nembhard drilled an outside jumper to culminate the burst.

Trammell scored 15 first-half points to give San Diego State a 38-37 halftime lead. Ike had eight in the half for Gonzaga.

Trammell hit two treys in 27 seconds to cap a 10-0 burst and give the Aztecs a 23-19 lead with 12:09 left in the first half.

Trammell drained a 3-pointer to start a half-ending 7-0 run as San Diego led by one at the break.

—Field Level Media