SAN DIEGO (AP) The Boise State Broncos ran San Diego State out of the arena in the final 10 minutes - the Aztecs' arena, no less.
Derrick Marks scored 18 points and James Webb III added 16 for Boise State, which rallied to stun No. 24 San Diego State 56-46 Saturday night to keep the Aztecs from clinching at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title.
Boise State has never been awed by the raucous crowd at Viejas Arena. Although this was the Broncos' first win at SDSU, they'd lost their first three games by just two, one and three points.
Coach Leon Rice likened it to a boxing match.
''What they like to do is knock you out early and we needed it to go 12 rounds. We had to make it go 12 rounds,'' Rice said after BSU won for the 12th time in 13 games.
SDSU led 39-32 with 11:12 left but went cold from the field. Boise State outscored SDSU 24-7 in the final 11 minutes.
Boise State (22-7, 12-4) swept the season series. SDSU (22-7, 12-4) had its 29-game home winning streak snapped. The Aztecs were playing for the first time since returning to The Associated Press Top 25 after a two-month absence.
''I've never won here before. It means a lot to me,'' Marks said. ''For them to be ranked, this means a lot toward the tournament. This year if we do what we do, it doesn't matter what the other team does.''
In their first three visits to Viejas Arena, the Broncos fell behind by large margins before making it close.
''For us not to do that this time and pull out a win feels good,'' Marks said.
The Broncos used a 10-0 run to take control midway through the second half.
Trailing 39-32, the Broncos got a three-point play by Rob Heyer, a 3-pointer by Montigo Alford and two free throws by Mikey Thompson before Webb finished the run by stripping freshman Trey Kell and going coast-to-coast for a layup and a 42-39 lead with 7:42 left.
SDSU's JJ O'Brien made a baseline jumper and Kevin Allen responded with a shot off a rebound. Webb, who had 12 rebounds, hit a corner 3 to give the Broncos a 47-41 lead with 6:14 left.
Winston Shepard scored 16 for SDSU, which made only three baskets in the final 11 minutes.
''We didn't make plays. It's as simple as that,'' coach Steve Fisher said. ''We had some good shots. I think we pressed and took shots that were OK, but took them too early. We settled a little bit. Maybe they were OK, but not the right guy taking them.''
Boise State outrebounded SDSU 42-30.
''We have so much respect for the way they rebound,'' Rice said. ''We were scared to death. We rebounded to save our lives because we knew they would kill us on the boards.''
SDSU led 24-21 at halftime. The Aztecs had led 17-8 after a 3-pointer by Shepard and two free throws by freshman Malik Pope.
Boise State closed to 20-19 on a floater by Marks and a slam dunk by Webb. Shepard answered with a layup and Marks had a baseline layup after a nice pass from Heyer. Kell made a layup to give SDSU its three-point halftime lead.
The Broncos outrebounded the Aztecs 23-16 in the first 20 minutes.
Fisher said the Aztecs wanted to limit BSU to six offensive rebounds, but the Broncos had nine in the first half alone, many of which led to baskets.
''That's a huge piece where we could have been more ahead at halftime,'' Fisher said.
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TIP-INS
Boise State: The Broncos also beat the Aztecs 61-46 at home on Feb. 8.
San Diego State: Senior forward Dwayne Polee II did not play. He returned to action a week earlier, his first action since collapsing during a game against UC Riverside on Dec. 22. SDSU spokesman Mike May said doctors saw something in Polee's heart readings and wanted to be cautious. May said doctors are adjusting Polee's medication and hope he can play again this season.
UP NEXT
Boise State is at San Jose State on Wednesday night.
San Diego State is at UNLV on Wednesday night.
