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Xavier Thames, No. 5 San Diego State snatch valuable opportunity from Boise State

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Boise State entered Wednesday’s game against No. 5 San Diego State in need of a statement victory. Leon Rice’s team, having already lost seven games and sitting in the middle of the Mountain West standings, wouldn’t have many more opportunities for such a result with the conference not playing at the level it did a season ago.

And for much of the game it looked as if the Broncos would get that win, shooting well from three while also working to get quality looks in the paint against a San Diego State team known for making good use of its length on the defensive end. Boise State would lead by as much as 14 early in the second half, with Mikey Thompson leading four players in double figures with 16 points.

But then San Diego State’s Xavier Thames put together a performance that not only displayed why he should be (at this point) not only the favorite to win Mountain West Player of the Year, but also an All-American as well.

Thames scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half, but the biggest play made by the fifth-year senior point guard was an assist. With just over four seconds remaining Thames found Dwayne Polee II on the left elbow, and Polee’s three-pointer was the difference in San Diego State’s 67-65 victory.

The Aztecs, who were ineffective defensively in the first half, improved on both ends of the floor in the second half. Boise State shot a respectable 45% from the field but they also committed seven turnovers while assisting on two of their nine made field goals. Against a team with the defensive ability of San Diego State, such an assist-to-turnover ratio will prove to be problematic (eight assists, three turnovers in the first half).

Add to this San Diego State shooting 68.4% from the field in the game’s final 20 minutes, and the end result is the biggest comeback of the season for San Diego State. Clearly this is a big loss for Boise State and the Mountain West as a whole, with it looking more likely that one year after receiving five bids to the NCAA tournament the conference will get just two (New Mexico being the other) unless someone pulls off an upset in the conference tournament.

But this isn’t San Diego State’s concern, as the Aztecs picked up a valuable road victory with New Mexico trailing them by a game in the loss column. The biggest reason why San Diego State, a team picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West during the preseason, finds itself atop the standings is their point guard.

And it’s clear that Xavier Thames’ name needs to be mentioned when discussing the nation’s best players.

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