Matt Bradley scored six of his team-high 19 points in the last 3 1/2 minutes Monday night as No. 22 San Diego State rallied from an eight-point, second-half deficit to hold off visiting Troy 60-55.
Darrion Trammell added 14 for the Aztecs (7-2), who held the Trojans (6-4) to eight points over the game's final 11 minutes to avoid a big upset. Troy endured a span of 8:58 without a field goal as San Diego State rattled off a 15-2 run to gain the lead for good.
Aamer Muhammad came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points for the Trojans, and Christyon Eugene added 10. Eugene's layup gave Troy a 47-39 cushion just before the midway point of the second half.
However, the Trojans were shut down after that and the Aztecs did just enough offensively to survive. Bradley hit a jump hook at the 3:14 mark for a 52-49 edge, then added two foul shots on the next possession for a five-point margin with 2:08 left.
San Diego State survived some poor 3-point shooting. It went 4 of 22, one game after draining 19 against Division III foe Occidental.
The Aztecs started quickly, building 7-0 and 9-2 leads. Their defense held Troy to one bucket for the first 6:29, but the Trojans persevered and worked their way back into the game as San Diego State got sloppy.
A half-dozen turnovers in the first nine minutes eventually came back to haunt San Diego State as Troy took its first lead at 12-11 when Nelson Phillips drilled a 3-pointer midway through the opening half.
The Trojans built the margin as high as 30-23 when Phillips scored in transition with 2:25 left in the half. But the Aztecs were able to crawl within 33-29 entering the break when Aguek Arop dunked off a Trammell feed.
The reason Troy led was simple. Led by Muhammad's 13 points, it owned a 21-6 advantage in points off the bench before halftime. On the night, Troy's subs outscored San Diego State's reserves 34-15.
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