Miles Byrd scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and Nick Boyd finished with 16 points as No. 23 San Diego State won its fourth straight game by holding on for an 81-75 victory over visiting Cal Baptist on Wednesday.
Magoon Gwath and Miles Heide each scored 10 points as the Aztecs (7-2) improved to 3-0 since they moved into the Associated Press Top 25 poll last week.
Byrd went 3 of 5 from 3-point range in the second half, while Boyd overcame an elbow to the left side of his forehead midway through the first half. Boyd added eight rebounds.
Gwath’s double-digit game came after he was scoreless on Saturday against San Diego, one game after the freshman had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks at Fresno State.
Dominique Daniels Jr. scored 22 points with six assists for Cal Baptist, after he entered with 21.7 per game, which was 12th in the nation at the start of play Wednesday. Kendal Coleman scored 13 points and Adam Moussa added 10 for the Lancers (5-5).
Cal Baptist was competitive early, holding a 21-18 lead with 11:08 remaining in the first half. San Diego State took control with a 15-2 run for a 33-23 lead with 5:05 remaining in the opening half. Cal Baptist went more than six minutes without a field goal in the stretch.
The Aztecs led 40-33 at halftime after outscoring the Lancers 7-0 in points off turnovers.
After trailing by 19 points with 9:22 remaining, Cal Baptist made it a game late with a 13-2 run to pull within 75-70 with 2:37 left. The Lancers cut the deficit to 77-73 with 2:06 to go after a 3-pointer from Javonte Johnson.
San Diego State sealed the victory on two free throws from Byrd with 7.5 seconds remaining. The Aztecs went 9 of 17 (52.9 percent) from beyond the 3-point line.
Cal Baptist was playing its first game against a ranked team since falling to No. 8 Arizona in December 2021.