PHOENIX – Senior guard Trey Pulliam was one of three Aztecs in double figures and for the eighth time in 10 games San Diego State's men's basketball team limited its opponent to under 40 percent shooting in a 63-53 victory over the Saint Mary's Gaels at the Footprint Center.
Pulliam led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including going 1-of-1 from the bonus distance and was 2-of-2 from the line. In addition, he totaled a game-high six assists and had a steal. Matt Bradley recorded 14 points to go along with two assists, two rebounds and two steals and Adam Seiko equaled a career-best four 3-pointers on four attempts and finished with a season-high 12 points.
Leading 26-25 at the half, San Diego State (7-3) came out in the second half and built an 11-point advantage, 46-35 with 14:23 to play. It looked like SDSU would run away with the game, but Saint Mary's (10-3) had other ideas.
The Gaels went on a 13-3 run over the next seven minutes to slice the Aztecs' lead to a single point, 49-48 with 7:33 to go.
SDSU then sank five free throws followed by a Seiko three to push its advantage back to nine points. Saint Mary's then hit five unanswered points to cut its deficit to four, 57-53 with 2:49 left. From there Bradley hit a layup, and Pulliam added two free throws and another layup to secure the 63-53 victory.
Senior Forward Nathan Mensah dominated on the defensive end finishing with 13 rebounds, five points and three blocks. In two games against Saint Mary's, in the last two years, Mensah scored 23 points, grabbed 26 rebounds and blocked nine shots.
San Diego State returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 22, when it hosts UC San Diego in Viejas Arena.
-SDSU-
Pulliam Leads SDSU To 63-53 Win Over Saint Mary’s
