The Aztecs improved to 6-2 on the season after a dominant second half gave them the edge over USD. 

Viejas Arena – San Diego State

The San Diego State Aztecs and University of San Diego Toreros met at Viejas Arena for a cross-town battle on Saturday night.

The Aztecs had a bit of a scare in the first half and early second half but kept fighting and would not let the Toreros come back into Viejas Arena and steal a win.

“Hey, we are the city champs,” Head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “We got both D1 teams. It was a good game, obviously. We knew USD was going to come in, and they are well-coached and they have talented players. They put up a good fight. They overcame an 11-point lead by us in the first half.”

Jared Coleman-Jones hit the tip-in to get SDSU going. USD showed up early as they kept responding to SDSU’s baskets and even had an early lead for a couple of possessions.

Dutcher’s confidence in freshman Pharaoh Compton showed right away as he put him in the game after just one minute. He replaced JCJ after he picked up an early foul. Compton’s energy was needed. The Aztecs did not capitalize on their fast-break attempts and only shot 5-13 from the floor in the first seven minutes. Compton provided the needed production by hitting three of his first four attempts, including an and-one finish.

Wayne McKinney III (the former Torero) entered the contest and immediately forced a turnover against Kjay Bradley Jr.

The other Aztec freshman, Taj DeGourville, hit his first two shots of the game, including a triple, to put SDSU up 16-11. He followed up with another mid-range jumper to give himself seven early points. The freshmen duo had 13 of the Aztecs’ first 18 points.

Before this game, Bendji Pierre had not hit a three-point shot all season. He hit back-to-back triples for USD to bring the score within three after trailing as much as 11. SDSU led 27-24 with 2:44 remaining in the first half.

“I watched (Pierre) on tape and knew he could shoot,” Dutcher said postgame about Pierre. “We were aware of his ability to shoot the ball and his confidence. He has great confidence in himself.”

This contest was a lot closer than it should’ve been.

Pierre nailed another contested triple to bring them within one. After an Aztec miss, the Toreros had a chance to take the lead. The scoring drought for SDSU was costly.

USD didn’t take the lead before the half ended, but they certainly threatened the Aztecs. Dutcher needed a game plan to start getting their shots to fall. His team missed 12 of their final 15 shots in the first half.

SDSU led 33-31 with 20 minutes to play.

‘We got to start better as a team,” Nick Boyd said postgame. “We needed to be more focused. That was the message at halftime was we needed to come out more focused. Respect USD. They are a good team, and we needed to impose our will in the second half, and I feel like we did that.”

The Aztecs emphasized attacking the basket to begin the second period. Both Miles Byrd and Boyd hit tough layups to get SDSU going.

“Yeah, definitely,” Boyd said postgame about the second-half emphasis. “We wanted to attack the rim and get as many shots up at the rim and put pressure on the rim so we can rebound. (Compton) and Heide had great nights for us, rebounding and just playing hard. We wanted to give our bigs a chance to rebound.”

Byrd later assisted on a dunk from Compton to put SDSU back up four. The Aztecs needed to keep their foot on the gas pedal.

After the Aztecs’ continued success in the paint, USD head coach Steve Lavin switched to a 3-2 zone. It didn’t work, as Boyd attacked the rim anyway for an and-one finish. Boyd missed the free throw, but SDSU kept possession, and Boyd nailed a triple to put them up 44-37.

On the very next possession, Pierre hit yet another three-pointer to bring USD back within four.

This contest was back and forth almost all night long.

The freshmen duo struck again as Compton stole the ball and then finished an alley-oop slam assisted by DeGourville. Viejas Arena was the loudest as it’s been all game long.

.@PharaohCompton gets the people going

📺 MWN pic.twitter.com/2GoGkiC9Ui

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 8, 2024

Miles Heide kept the crowd roaring with two baskets after grabbing the offensive rebound. Heide had six points on 3-4 shooting and had six rebounds, with three of them coming on the offensive glass.

SDSU started to finally pull away with about seven minutes left. Byrd nailed a three-pointer from the other side of the Interstate 8 to put his team up 64-50.

.@_mbyrd21 from deep

📺 MWN pic.twitter.com/fkQLBH2lxN

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 8, 2024

The Aztecs then ran away with the contest. Byrd hit another deep three to put them up 18, and that was a wrap. The Aztecs used a huge second half to take down the Toreros.

The next game for SDSU will be against CA Baptist next Wednesday at 7:00 pm. The game can be once again streamed on the Mountain West Network.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.