Viejas Arena – San Diego State University

The San Diego State Aztecs hosted the University of San Diego for the final exhibition game before the 2025-26 regular season begins. Miles Byrd and Magoon Gwath did not suit up for this contest as head coach Brian Dutcher changed things up after their first exhibition against UCLA on the 17th.

The starting five for this exhibition saw Sean Newman Jr. at point guard, followed by Taj DeGourville at the two, Reese Dixon-Waters at the three, Jeremiah Oden at the four, and Pharaoh Compton at center.

“Pretty good for a second scrimmage,” Dutcher said postgame. “We improved from our first performance against UCLA, and it wasn’t the opponent; there were things we had to do that we got done. So, if we would have played UCLA again, we would have been better at certain things, and I thought we were today.”

“I thought our ball screens, coverages, where we sent the ball defensively, and sometimes the stats don’t tell the story. Our press and our pressure were really good, yet we had 14 turnovers and they had 11. So, we didn’t cause a lot of turnovers, but I thought the way we played and the pressure we put on early affected their rhythm offensively. We impacted how they played to a large degree.”

The Aztecs’ offense started a bit slow once again, but not close to the drought that they saw against the Bruins to begin. After going 0-4 from the field to start, the offense found its pace. SDSU hit three straight shots, led by DeGourville with two points and an alley-oop assist to Compton.

That @_degourville_ to @PharaohCompton connection is in midseason form! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/yS4B3DssJe

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) October 30, 2025

Dixon-Waters drained a floater in the lane and then two straight free throws to give his team an 8-2 lead. 15:44 remained in the first half.

The physicality remained on par for the Aztecs for the next three and a half minutes. SDSU used a 13-0 run, and the lead continued to climb. SDSU led 17-4 with 12 minutes left in the first half.

The SDSU defense was blocking shots and making the offense very difficult for the Toreros. USD was shooting below 20% from the field halfway through the first half. The Aztecs were trapping at half court, and Jeremiah Oden was at the center of it. His lateral quickness proved costly for the Toreros as they had trouble escaping the trap. Oden helped force turnovers in the first half. He’s been a sight to see for SDSU in two exhibition games.

“Sometimes we trap the ball,” Dutcher said in response to Oden being involved in a half-court trap. “We may not get a steal, but it gets the other team out of their offense. You know, point guard has to throw it to the four-man, and then for them to run set plays, he has to get it back, and it kinda scrambles the game up. So sometimes we tell (Oden) to go, and sometimes he goes on his own. As he plays through the season, he will have better timing on when and when not to go. But it disrupts the game. Sometimes, you get a press for free, and that was what we were doing.”

San Diego State controlled the entire first half. They ended up doubling the Toreros’ score by reaching 48 points. Taj DeGourville saw flashes of stardom in a short span by scoring five straight points, including a deep triple. He added three rebounds and two assists in 11 first-half minutes.

USD started the second half three for four from the field. Dutcher immediately called a timeout as he did not appreciate how his team began the second half.

The timeout helped calm the defense down, as USD would then go on a scoring drought that reached over five minutes. The Aztecs were winning by over 30 points and focused on getting good looks on the offensive side of the floor. USD was shooting only 24% with 11:45 remaining in the game. The only offensive player to show up for the Toreros was guard Ty-Laur Johnson, who had 12 points off of 4-11 shooting at this point in the game.

It was rare for USD to find a good look all game long.

Compton slammed home a big-time dunk to put the Aztecs up 77-42. Thokbor Majak then replaced Compton with around seven minutes to go in the contest.

.@PharaohCompton put him on a poster!! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/TimviTx9Th

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) October 30, 2025

San Diego State ended the game with the same aggression as when they started. They really impressed in all aspects of the game. SDSU had the advantage in shooting, rebounds, assists, blocks, and free-throw shooting. USD did have more steals as the Aztecs turned the ball over 14 times.

“Like coach said, I think we were just the aggressors,” Elzie Harrington said postgame. “That is what we have been working on in practice, and I just think we executed that tonight.”

News & Stats

• Reese Dixon-Waters finished with a game-high 17 points on 6-10 shooting.
• Latrell Davis ended with 13 points on 4-7 shooting and played 23.5 minutes (game high).
• Pharaoh Compton ended with 9 points in 4-4 shooting and had 2 blocks
• Taj DeGourville finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
• Elzie Harrington had 12 points on 3-5 shooting and 4-4 from the line.
• SDSU shot 54.5% from the floor and held USD to just 29%.
• The Aztecs outrebounded the Toreros 49-24

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.