Lamont Butler sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift No. 22 San Diego State to a 73-71 win against New Mexico on Saturday night in a Mountain West Conference game in Albuquerque, N.M.
Jaelen House had forced a turnover and scored in transition with six seconds left to give New Mexico a 71-70 lead.
Darrion Trammell scored 18 points, Matt Bradley had 11 points and seven assists and Butler finished with 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 MWC), who have a two-game lead over second-place Boise State with two games remaining.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 20 points, House had 15 and Morris Udeze finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9).
The Lobos led by 13 points early in the second half, but Keshad Johnson made it a one-point game with a 3-pointer with 7:00 left, and the Aztecs moved ahead 59-58 on a layup by Aguek Arop with 5:50 to go.
San Diego State trailed 37-27 at the half after the Lobos held them to 34.3 percent from the floor.
The Aztecs surged to an 8-2 lead after four minutes and stayed ahead until Javonte Johnson sank a 3-pointer to give New Mexico a 15-13 lead with 10:50 left in the first half.
Both teams traded leads for the next five minutes until the Lobos went on a 9-0 run to take a 30-24 lead on a 3-pointer by KJ Jenkins with 2:41 left in the half.
Trammell ended the run with a jumper with 2:24 remaining, but the Aztecs would miss their final five field goals of the half, allowing New Mexico to extend its lead to double figures.
The Lobos extended their lead to 42-29 on a jumper by Mashburn with 17:06 left in the game.
San Diego State strung together a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 44-38 with 14:59 to go.
Butler sank the seventh straight field goal for the Aztecs, a 3-pointer with 13:11 remaining, to cut the deficit to 52-45.
Trammell sank a baseline 3-pointer to cut the lead to 56-54 with 7:37 remaining.
–Field Level Media
