On weekday mornings, Nevada Sports Net will recap three big headlines of the day in its Morning Download. Read below for today’s topics.
1. McQueen High alum Brandon Aiyuk has played last snap for 49ers
McQueen High alum Brandon Aiyuk has played his last snap for the San Francisco 49ers, general manager John Lynch told the media Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate,” Lynch said. “A situation that just went awry. And I will look long and hard at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. And I think that this was a case where that happened.” Aiyuk was a first-round pick by San Francisco in 2020 and logged five active seasons for the team, earning AP All-Pro honors in 2023. But after a contentious contract negotiation before the 2024 season, Aiyuk finally signed a deal with the team before getting off to a slow start to the season and tearing his ACL in the middle of the year. He did not play in a game in 2025, with little communication between the two sides leading to the 49ers voiding part of his four-year, $120 million deal that included $76 million in guarantees. Aiyuk will go into his age-28 season in 2026 looking for a new team.
2. San Diego State loses first MW game on controversial call
The San Diego State men’s basketball team lost its first Mountain West game Wednesday night, falling 70-69 at Grand Canyon. The Aztecs rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to take a one-point lead with less than a minute to play. SDSU’s B.J. Davis was fouled with 7 seconds remaining but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Grand Canyon’s Makaih Williams dashed down the court and was blocked by Miles Byrd with 1.8 seconds remaining, but the Aztecs were called for a questionable foul. Williams hit both free throws to win the game. “A ticky-tack foul,” Byrd told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I don’t know where the ref called the foul. It’s tough. But for us, we can’t let the refs decide the game at the end of the game. Tonight, we let the refs decide the game at the end of the game. We had chances to put them away.” San Diego State’s loss moved Nevada within one game of first place in the MW. You can see the foul call below.
3. Nevada women’s basketball falls to last-place San Jose State
The Nevada women’s basketball team lost to last-place San Jose State on Wednesday, falling to a Spartans team that was 2-17 overall and 0-8 in the MW entering the contest. Nevada dropped a 60-57 decision after leading by as many as seven points in the second half. Two free throws by Ahrray Young put San Jose State up 57-56 with 46 seconds left before Maya Anderson’s go-ahead layup with 32 seconds remaining. After a Maia Rosarion miss, San Jose State hit a pair of free throws to go up three before Young’s potential game-tying 3-pointer did not fall. The Wolf Pack dropped to 7-12 overall and 3-6 in the MW and will face UNLV on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center in a game that will air on NSN.