Hemsley, Mensah lead SDSU to 84-56 win vs San Jose State

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jeremy Hemsley scored 15 points, Nathan Mensah had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Jalen McDaniels added 13 points to lead San Diego State to an 84-56 victory over San Jose State on Saturday night.

Devin Watson and Jordan Schakel had 12 points apiece for the Aztecs (19-10, 11-5 Mountain West), who clinched a bye into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. If SDSU beats Fresno State at home on Wednesday night, it will clinch the No. 3 seed.

It was the second double-double for Mensah, a freshman. McDaniels, a redshirt sophomore, fell one rebound shy of his eighth double-double in 15 games.

Zach Chappell had 14 points, Michael Steadman 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Seneca Knight 12 points for San Jose State (4-24, 1-15), which has lost 18 of its last 19.

The Aztecs didn’t have any trouble with the MWC’s last-place team. McDaniels scored nine points in helping them take a 19-9 lead, including a 3-pointer, a jumper in the paint, a slam dunk to finish a fast break and a nice left-handed layup.

Later in the first half, McDaniels and Nathan Mensah each blocked a shot during a Spartans possession and the Aztecs responded with a fast break that resulted with Devin Watson feeding Hemsley for a dunk.

SDSU led 41-29 at halftime.

San Diego State has won nine straight home games. Its last loss on Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena was on Dec. 29, when it was stunned 82-61 by Brown.

BIG PICTURE

San Jose State: The Spartans were coming off an 89-82 victory against New Mexico that snapped a 17-game losing streak. They have won consecutive games only once this season, at home against Bethune Cookman on Dec. 6 and Northern Arizona on Dec. 15.

San Diego State: The Aztecs improved to 8-0 in home MWC games. If they beat Fresno State here on Wednesday night, they’ll finish with a perfect home league record for just the second time in the conference’s 20-season history.

UP NEXT

San Jose State hosts Wyoming in its home finale on Wednesday night.

San Diego State finishes its home schedule Wednesday night against Fresno State.