San Diego State's Skylar Spencer, left, defends against North Dakota State's Marshall Bjorklund in their third round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Spokane, Wash., Saturday, March 22, 2014.SPOKANE, Wash. - Xavier Thames scored 30 points, and fourth-seeded San Diego State reached the round of 16 for the second time in school history, ending the run of No. 12 seed North Dakota State 63-44 on Saturday in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
The Aztecs (31-4) now get to make the short drive up the interstate to Anaheim, Calif., where they will face either No. 1 seed Arizona or eighth-seeded Gonzaga in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday.
Thames, who was 9 of 19 from the field, had five assists and ended the comeback hopes of the Bison with a six-point spurt late in the second half.
Dwayne Polee II was the only other San Diego State player in double figures with 15 points.
Kory Brown led the Bison (26-7) with 13 points, but the best shooting team in the country shot only 31.9 percent.