Aztecs barely fend off Broncos
SAN DIEGO -- Jamaal Franklin had 16 points and Chase Tapley 14 for No. 17 San Diego State, which rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second half and held on to beat Boise State 58-56 on Wednesday night.
The Broncos could have won it, but a wide-open 3-point attempt by Thomas Bropleh from the baseline rimmed out at the buzzer. Anthony Drmic and Tre Nichols scored 17 apiece for Boise State.
"I was like, 'Please, please, please miss it,' " Tapley said. "I had missed a free throw and coming down, messed up a switch. I just did horrible in that sequence. When the shot was going up, I was just praying it rolled out, and it did. The basketball gods saved us."
Said Drmic: "If that goes in, we feel like we are the best team in the world. But if it doesn't, we don't."
The Aztecs (19-3, 5-1 Mountain West Conference) used a 14-0 run in the second half to gain control as Boise State (10-11, 0-6) lost the shooting touch that had given it the big lead.
Boise State seemed ready to run away with the game after making the first two baskets of the second half to take a 37-25 lead, its biggest of the night. But the Broncos scored just 19 points the rest of the way and lost their seventh straight game.
San Diego State rebounded after a 17-point loss at Colorado State on Saturday.
"Sometimes after losses, you feel good about everything you did except looking at the scoreboard," Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. "And sometimes after wins, it almost feels as if you didn't win. And that was tonight."
■ Texas Christian 58, Wyoming 52 -- At Fort Worth, Texas, Craig Williams scored 13 points, and the Horned Frogs used a 14-2 second-half run to defeat the Cowboys (17-5, 3-3).
Former Valley High standout Hank Thorns added 12 points for TCU (13-8, 3-3), and Amric Fields came off the bench to score 10.
