San Diego St. wins MW/MVC Challenge at Illinois St. 75-65
NORMAL, Ill. -- Devin Watson pumped in 23 points and San Diego State won its first true road game of the season, knocking off Illinois State, 75-65 in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Conference Challenge on Saturday afternoon.
The Aztecs (5-2) played three of their first six games on neutral sites.
Wilson hit a 3 to give San Diego State a quick, 8-3 lead and the Aztecs pushed it to 16-7 after Jalen McDaniels dunked with 12:45 remaining in the half. The Redbirds got within three early in the second half, but Wilson answered with a jumper and McDaniels dunked again and the Aztecs maintained their distance the rest of the way.
McDaniels finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds for San Diego State (5-2).
Phil Fayne and Malik Yarbrough each added 16 points and Yarbrough grabbed 13 boards for Illinois State (6-3), which suffered its first loss in five home games.
Former San Diego State coach Steve Fisher travelled with the team. The two-time national Coach of the Year earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Illinois State and he was 2-0 coaching against his alma mater.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Randy Heimerman
- Tom O'Neill
- Eric Curry
2024-25 Mountain West Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Utah State | 0-0 | - | 4-0 |
Nevada | 0-0 | - | 4-1 |
New Mexico | 0-0 | - | 4-1 |
Boise State | 0-0 | - | 3-1 |
Colorado State | 0-0 | - | 3-1 |
UNLV | 0-0 | - | 3-1 |
Wyoming | 0-0 | - | 3-1 |
San Diego State | 0-0 | - | 2-1 |
Fresno State | 0-0 | - | 2-2 |
Air Force | 0-0 | - | 1-4 |
San José State | 0-0 | - | 1-5 |
2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Drake | 0-0 | - | 5-0 |
Bradley | 0-0 | - | 5-1 |
Belmont | 0-0 | - | 4-1 |
Missouri State | 0-0 | - | 3-1 |
Murray State | 0-0 | - | 3-1 |
UIC | 0-0 | - | 4-2 |
Illinois State | 0-0 | - | 3-2 |
Indiana State | 0-0 | - | 3-2 |
Northern Iowa | 0-0 | - | 3-2 |
Valparaiso | 0-0 | - | 2-2 |
Southern Illinois | 0-0 | - | 2-3 |
Evansville | 0-0 | - | 1-4 |