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BOISE, Idaho -- With his fifth-ranked team trailing by two points in the final seconds, San Diego State coach Steve Fisher was all but certain senior point guard Xavier Thames was going to take the final shot for the Aztecs on Wednesday night. But Thames surprised his coach -- and most of the 9,602 in attendance -- when he whipped a pass to Dwayne Polee II, who drained a three-pointer with four seconds left to give the Aztecs an improbable come-from-behind 67-65 victory that extended their winning streak to 19 games. "It was like the Red Sea parted," Polee said. "I wasnt surprised. X is a real unselfish player, and if there was one person open, he was going to find them." Thames finished with 23 points for San Diego State (20-1, 9-0 Mountain West), but it was his steal at midcourt in the final minute and his second assist of the game that saved the Aztecs, who trailed by 14 points in the second half. "What can you say about Xavier Thames?" Fisher asked. "You cant tell me that hes not playing as well as anyone in America right now." Thames said he was very close to taking a shot that would have tied the score. But at the very last second, he changed his mind. "I had a pretty decent look, but I saw DP out of the corner of my eye," Thames said. "I was going to shoot a floater but (Ryan) Watkins was going to contest it. Then I saw (Anthony) Drmic sink down. It was on the tip of my fingers (to shoot). It was pretty close." Close is the typical result when the Aztecs and Broncos (15-8, 5-5) play. The past six meetings between the schools have been decided by six or fewer points. San Diego State eliminated Boise State from the past two conference tournaments and won 69-66 last month in San Diego. "Theyre a good matchup for us, and were a good matchup for them," Thames said. "We know were always going to get a great game for them." Mikey Thompson led the Broncos with 16 points and Thomas Bropleh and Derrick Marks both added 15. "I just feel awful for these guys right now," Boise State coach Leon Rice said. "They are giving everything they have. We just havent finished." Boise State led the final 18 minutes of the first half and the first 15 of the second before a scoring drought allowed the Aztecs to rally. After Bropleh banked in a three-pointer to give the Broncos a 57-43 lead with 13:37 to play, Boise State only made one field goal in the next 11 minutes and the lead disappeared when Thames scored his seventh consecutive point to give his team a 61-59 lead with four minutes to play. Boise State finally got on track, getting two free throws and a layup from Thompson and a basket from Marks to retake the lead at 65-62. Thames made a steal in the final minute and hit two free throws after being fouled, and after Marks missed a jumper, the Aztecs were in position for the biggest play of the game. "That was a tough, gutty character-type game for us," Fisher said. "We stayed with it and found a way to win." Thames said there was some motivation to keep the winning streak going. With its meteoric rise to No. 5 in the poll, the Aztecs expect to get every teams best shot the rest of the way. "We talked at halftime about that," he said. "We said, You know they are going to rush the court if they win. We didnt want that to happen." Josh Davis had 10 points for San Diego State, which won despite turning the ball over 15 times and allowing Boise State to shoot 51 per cent from the field and make eight three-pointers. "They just kept hitting shot after shot," said Polee, who finished with nine points and was 1 for 1 on three-point attempts. "Everything they threw up was going in. We just had to buckle up." The win was the 10th straight win away from home for San Diego State and its ninth Johnny Pesky Jersey . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. 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This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image.SAN DIEGO -- Phil Hughes threw seven shutout innings and Trevor Plouffee homered in the Minnesota Twins 2-0 victory over the punchless San Diego Padres on Wednesday night. Padres starter Tyson Ross (5-4) nearly matched Hughes, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings, walking three and striking out eight. Chris Parmelees sacrifice fly to left in the sixth scored Joe Mauer and Plouffee hit his third home run in the eighth. Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth to collect his 14th save in 16 chances. Hughes (5-1) came over from the Yankees in the off-season, signing a $24 million, three-year deal. He won his fifth straight decision and didnt walk a batter for the fifth consecutive start, while striking out seven. The Padres have been shut out eight times, tops in the majors. Ross struck out eight for the third consecutive start, which is one off his season-high. Mauer walked with one out in the sixth and stole second off Rene Rivera, who threw out three runners attempting to steal in his last start Sunday in Denver. Plouffe then hit a slow chopper to third and beat Chase Headleys throw, with Mauer moving to third. Mauer scored on Parmelees sacrifice and Plouffe advanced to third on a throwing error by Headley. Ross then walked Kurt Suzuki, but escaped further damage when Jason Kubel flied out. Ross breezed through the first five innings, allowing two singles and a walk while striking out six. Kubel was the only Twin getting into scorinng position, advancing to second after walking and stealing second in the second.ddddddddddddKubel was stranded when Danny Santana struck out and Aaron Hicks grounded out. The Padres looked poised to tie the game in the sixth when Headley and Yonder Alonso singled with no outs. But Jedd Gyorko and Cameron Maybin grounded out and Will Venable struck out. The Padres, who had hits in each of the first four innings, threatened in the third with two outs when Seth Smith and Headley had consecutive singles. But Alonso, who was elevated to fourth in the order, flied to centre. Another Padres baserunner reached with two outs when Maybin collected his second hit in the fourth, but Rivera struck out to end the inning. Smith had three of the Padres eight hits. NOTES: Padres manager Bud Black will miss Thursdays game against the Cubs to attend daughter Jessies graduation from the University of Maryland. Black will return for Fridays game. . OF Carlos Quentin remains sidelined with a groin injury, but will likely avoid the DL. . With 18 doubles, Plouffe is four doubles shy of last years career high. . Ex-Twins 3B Corey Koskie and area scout John Wilson will represent the team at the first-year player draft on June 5 . Twins RHP Kyle Gibson (4-3, 4.20) faces Giants RHP Tim Lincecum (3-3, 4.74) to open a three-game series on Friday. The Padres send LHP Eric Stults (2-4, 4.50) against Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (0-0, 2.70) on Thursday. ' ' '