At halftime, it looked like the Fresno State men’s basketball team was going to upset the San Diego State Aztecs.

But everything came down in the second half, as the No. 10-ranked Aztecs (15-1, 4-0 Mountain West), led by guard Xavier Thames, kept their momentum and outscored the Bulldogs on the way to a 14th-straight victory last Wednesday in San Diego.

Thames finished the contest shooting 8 for 13, with 28 points. Aztec guard Winston Shepard also scored in double-digits with 17.

For Fresno State (8-10, 1-4 MW), guard Tyler Johnson scored 24 points and was 50 percent from the field (8 for 16). He became the 30th player in Fresno State history to score 1,000 career points.

Field-goal shooting was a factor in the Aztecs’ win. San Diego State went to the line 41 times in the contest, 28 in the second half alone. The Bulldogs were only allowed 15 trips to the line, with 12 of them after halftime.

Preventing the Bulldogs from going to the line was the Aztecs’ best strategy. The Bulldogs were 11 for 15 (73.3 percent) from the line, compared with San Diego State’s 26 for 41 (63.4).

In the first half, the Bulldogs recovered from a 9-2 deficit to take a 17-16 lead with 7:58 remaining. Fresno State held on to its lead until a 9-0 run by the Aztecs gave San Diego State a 31-29 lead with 38 seconds left.

Bulldogs sophomore Marvelle Harris made a 3-pointer to give Fresno State the 32-31 halftime lead.

Fresno State’s last lead was with 10:50 remaining in the contest. Senior Allen Huddleston nailed a 3-pointer to make it 46-44. Afterward, Shepard scored five points and forward Matt Shirgley added four to lead the Aztecs on a 12-2 run.

The Bulldogs will not recover and stayed within 10 points of the Aztecs, who ended the game scoring only free throws in the final eight minutes.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs return home to host the New Mexico Lobos (12-4, 3-1 MW).