Brown, Williams help New Mexico win 68-62 at San Diego St (Jan 01, 2017)
SAN DIEGO (AP) Elijah Brown was unaware that New Mexico had not won in San Diego since 2012, but he helped make sure that streak came to a close.
Brown scored 22 points, Tim Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds and the Lobos scored the last six points to upset San Diego State 68-62 on Sunday.
''This was a special one,'' Brown said. ''We came close so many times. For us to be kind of going up and down and having a year like we're having, this was a huge win and it took a lot of maturity. I couldn't be happier with this win.''
The Lobos, who trailed by 11 at halftime, took a 64-62 lead on two free throws by Williams with 45 seconds remaining and he added two more at 31 seconds after an Aztec miss. Jalen Harris added a dunk after a turnover to seal it.
''I'm just really proud of our guys,'' New Mexico coach Craig Neal said. ''We kind of chipped away, chipped away, chipped away. We got some really big defensive stops and made some crucial plays down at the end making free throws and making shots.''
New Mexico (9-5, 2-0 Mountain West) beat the Aztecs, who had been 8-1 when leading at the half, for the first time in five tries.
''It's just tough a place to play,'' Neal said. ''They have won so many games here the past few years. I think our guys were hungry to come in here and get a win, and I'm happy for them.''
Jeremy Hemsley scored 16 points and Trey Kell added 12 points for San Diego State (8-5, 0-1), which opened conference play as three-time defending champions with a four-game winning streak.
''Disappointing is probably an understatement,'' Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. ''Win for about 35 minutes, 34 minutes, you play significantly better, and then are unable to hang on. It's disappointing.''
San Diego State had been 66-2 when leading at halftime at Viejas Arena.
''I just feel like we try to play hero ball too much,'' Kell said. ''We all just stood there and watched one person try to make a play instead of how we were playing in the first half.''
San Diego State used a 9-0 run in the first half to build a 14-4 lead with 13:39 remaining in the first half, and took a 36-25 lead into halftime. The Lobos followed with a 14-4 run in the second half that brought them within striking distance to eventually take the lead.
''It was a home loss, and it was a hard home loss, as we now prepare for two tough games on the road,'' Fisher said.
BIG PICTURE
New Mexico: Brown, the preseason Mountain West Player of the Year, and Williams, the conference's leading scorer, got the Lobos back on a winning track.
San Diego State: The Aztecs played another game without junior forward Malik Pope, who also missed the first three games of the season due to a knee injury.
UP NEXT:
New Mexico faces Utah State on Wednesday
San Diego State plays at Nevada on Wednesday.
