SAN DIEGO — San Diego State freshman Brandon Heath hit a wide-open 3-point shot and stole the ball twice from BYU senior Mark Bigelow in the final 70 seconds to lift the Aztecs to a 65-61 win over the Cougars Monday in the Mountain West Conference opener for both squads.

The loss lifted the Aztecs to 10-6 (1-0 MWC); the Cougars — who dropped their second-straight road game — host Colorado State at home Saturday with a 10-4 (0-1) record.

The Cougars led 61-59 on Luiz Lemes only field goal of the night, a driving one-hander with 1:38 to play. But Heath, hiding in the corner after a furious battle for the ball at the Aztec end of the court, nailed a bomb with 1:17 to play. He then stole the ball from Bigelow twice on Cougar possessions, once from behind in a pick-pocket move and the second, a complete tackle takedown that drew no whistle.

After BYU led at 61-59 on Lemes shot, SDSU scored the final seven points of the game to win.

"I got turned around and couldn't hear that man come around on the first steal," Bigelow said. "I won't comment on the second one. They knew the play on the first, and I should have known they would come with pressure. I hesitated to look at the defense and then it happened."

Heath scored 13 points, and in a showdown between SDSU's Aerick Sanders and Cougar Rafael Araujo — two of the MWC's top players — Sanders went for 18 points and seven rebounds before fouling out in 32 minutes. Araujo scored 12 points with 13 boards in 29 minutes, his second lowest point total of the season.

"The first steal was a good play by their man," Cleveland said. "The second was a situation the officials just weren't going to call anything in that situation. You have to expect that."

The Cougars outshot the Aztecs on their home court 40 to 37 percent but had 17 turnovers to just seven for the Aztecs.

"Holding them to 37 percent on their home court is something we can build on' Cleveland said.

"The key thing in this loss is that we did a better job of coming out with intensity and we battled and played defense. We were in a position to win this game with a key stop and several looks and possessions."

Mike Hall led the Cougars with 15 points, and freshman Garner Meads added 10. Bigelow asserted his leadership for most the game and, with exception of a pair of long shots he may want back and the turnovers in the final minute, was solid.

"Mark had a good game," Cleveland said.

The Cougars, however, missed getting the ball inside to Araujo most of the game, and it cost them on the road like it did against the Aggies in Logan.