No. 6 San Diego St stays unbeaten, tops Utah 71-62

SALT LAKE CITY – Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points, D.J. Gay hit four 3-pointers in the second half, and No. 6 San Diego State survived a scare from Utah to win 71-62 Saturday and remain undefeated.

The Utes, who came in on a five-game losing streak, led 34-33 at halftime thanks to Will Clyburn's 14 points.

But then Gay, who was making his 100th career start despite a leg injury, found his shot. His back-to-back 3-pointers capped a 13-5 run to open the second half that gave the Aztecs a 46-39 lead.

After Utah pulled within 57-56 on a layup by J.J. O'Brien with 8:45 left, Gay fueled a 10-0 run with two more 3-pointers to extend San Diego State's lead to 67-56.

The win improved San Diego State to 17-0 (2-0 Mountain West Conference), while Utah fell to 7-9 (0-2).

Josh Watkins led Utah with 24 points and Clyburn added 17.

Gay finished with 18 and Malcolm Thomas added 17 for the Aztecs, who for the first time have beaten Utah in three straight meetings. Saturday's win also marked the first time San Diego State has ever won two in a row in Salt Lake City.

The Aztecs own the nation's second-longest winning streak, behind Duke. They also are one of seven undefeated teams in the nation. Duke, Ohio State, Kansas and Cincinnati play Sunday, while Syracuse stayed unbeaten with a win Saturday over Seton Hall, and Central Florida was at Houston later Saturday.

Saturday's game was the beginning of a challenging stretch for San Diego State. The Aztecs play 25th-ranked UNLV on Wednesday, then face New Mexico on Jan. 15 in the Pit, where the Lobos have won 15 straight.

They'll face 15th-ranked BYU on the road Jan. 26.

Gay struggled in the first half on 1-of-5 shooting. But he finished 4 of 10 from beyond the arc and 6 of 15 overall.