San Diego State Aztecs impress with 18-point victory to improve to 5-3 on the season

After a week off, the San Diego State Aztecs faced off against Lamar late Wednesday night. Coming into this one, Brian Dutcher’s squad hoped to see more consistency from his star players. The players in question were Miles Byrd and Reese Dixon-Waters.

The Cardinals from Beaumont, Texas, were led by Junior guard Rob Lee Jr. Coming into the game, Lee Jr. led the Cardinals in scoring at 13.8 PPG and also led them in 3PT% at 42.9% from deep.

SDSU throttled Lamar by a score of 89-71. Byrd and BJ Davis were absolutely electric all night long. Byrd scored 19 points, and Davis ended with 16 points. Every Aztec scored in the contest as San Diego State was able to drive and get to the foul line, along with some second-chance opportunities.

The two elite defensive teams showed that early on in the contest, turnovers would be a factor, with each team owning three turnovers before the first media timeout. The aforementioned Lee Jr. started the scoring for the Cardinals, scoring the team’s first five points. The star freshman Elzie Harrington started the scoring for the Aztecs with a three, and that was then followed by a lob from Byrd to Magoon Gwath.

After the media timeout, Lamar came out firing from three, making four out of five after the break. B.B. Knight was responsible for two of the triples, using some quality screens from his teammates to get open and hit the open looks. The two teams went back and forth, trading basket after basket. Dixon-Waters was showing this could be a night where he takes over and looks like the player SDSU and Aztec fans were boasting about all offseason. Early in the game, Miles Heide was dominating the offensive glass, even getting himself a second-chance opportunity with a sweet baby hook after the rebound.

The Aztecs’ Swiss army knife from Modesto in Davis is continuing to prove that he is a star in his role off the bench. Davis came in after the second media timeout and scored ten points and even took a charge. Davis mentioned while in Las Vegas for the Players ERA tournament, that if becoming a star role player off the bench is what helps winning, he will do that. In just six minutes of action before the eight-minute TV timeout, Davis scored 10 points, forced a turnover, and converted an and-one floater. Lamar was not going away, even through the scoring outburst of Davis.

The Cardinals trailed by only five, with the Aztecs looking to create separation.

Going into the locker room at halftime, the Aztecs were up 51-41 on the Cardinals of Lamar. Although SDSU was up ten at the break, Lamar was proving that they could keep themselves in this one with their shooting. Coming into the game, Lamar averaged 6.5 made threes a game. At halftime, Lamar had ten made threes. San Diego State had some work to do defensively to end the Cardinals’ lights-out shooting from beyond the arc.

San Diego State came out of the break playing the Aztec style of basketball. Forcing turnovers, hounding defense, and sharing the basketball. The Aztecs opened the 2nd half on a 10-0 run in the first four minutes of the half, a kill shot by the Aztecs. By the first media timeout of the half, SDSU was up 18. This is the brand of basketball coach Dutcher and Aztec fans have been waiting for on a consistent level.

The Cardinals continued their barrage from three-point land, doubling their season average with 13 before the 12-minute mark in the second half. The Aztecs were dominating Lamar, and SDSU by the 12-minute mark was up 19 with 73 points.

San Diego State was putting on a show with every player off the bench contributing in some facet of the game. Former Wyoming Cowboy and Charlotte transfer Jeremiah Oden, and Pharaoh Compton helped offensively with scoring 10 combined points before the second media timeout.

It was smooth sailing for the Aztecs in the second half versus Lamar. San Diego State kept the double-digit point lead and did not look back. San Diego State finished with a +10 rebounding margin against the Cardinals, who normally have a +5 rebounding margin in their games so far this season. SDSU has gone back to playing the Aztec style of basketball after a small four-game hiatus of showing no signs of it.

The Aztecs’ next game will be their first game in Mountain West Conference play next Wednesday against Air Force.

Bryant Thursby

Bryant is an Assistant Coach at Heritage High School. He is a big-time SDSU fanatic and a Padres fan.