Arena-Auditorium – Laramie, Wyoming

The San Diego State Aztecs men’s basketball team headed to the beautiful state of Wyoming for one last trip against the Cowboys.

SDSU will play in the Pac-12 next season, and this was the final time the school played in Wyoming as a conference member.

The yellow seats of Arena Auditorium witnessed an SDSU dominant performance as the Aztecs won 74-57, in a match-up that was never really very close.

The game started well for the Aztecs as their defense smothered Wyoming, forcing early turnovers and fouls despite being the road team. Wyoming got back on track with back-to-back offensive performances that put them up 7-4 early in the first half.

San Diego State evened up the score at seven a few minutes later as Magoon Gwath started to be a factor in the paint.

Both teams continued their physical play as the two sides exchanged jabs like prize fighters. Each roster is deep, as we saw numerous changes throughout the first 12 minutes of the game. The Cowboys continued to attempt three-point shots but only made three of their first 11 attempts. They finished the night 10-for-34 from the three-point line.

San Diego State started to establish its offense as Miles Byrd distributed the ball effectively and knocked down some key shots for the Aztecs. With six minutes to go in the half, the Aztecs held a 26-17 lead as Byrd committed his second foul. The guard was sent to the bench, but SDSU’s depth is a strong suit for the team.

Reese Dixon-Waters recorded eight points at this point in the game as he was 3-for-4 from the field to open the contest. SDSU continued to push the ball up court, earning eight shots from the free throw line as Wyoming was caught flat-footed and could only foul. The Aztecs were 9-for-10 from the line to start the game and ended the contest 11-for-14 from the line. Free-throw shooting is crucial for this team.

Wyoming owned five turnovers with two minutes to play, which was abysmal considering they had only made six shots from the field at the time. The Cowboys averaged over 90 points a game at home this season, but were being harassed by the Aztecs and scored 25 points at the half on Wednesday. The Aztecs were up 38-25 at halftime.

The home crowd started to get into the game as Wyoming pulled to within 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half. Gavin Gores established himself on the boards with eight rebounds and also shot 4-for-7 for 10 points, leading the Cowboys in both categories early in the second half.

San Diego State is widely regarded as the best traveling team in the Mountain West. The team proceeded to go on a six-to-zero run to put their lead at 16 points with 14 minutes left to play.

The Cowboys continue to shoot the three-point shot, which kept them in the game throughout the first part of the second half.

Gwath hit a three-pointer followed by another basket as the Aztecs’ depth began to really play a factor in the game. At this point, 11 men had played at least eight minutes in the game, and 10 of the 11 played over 10 minutes for SDSU through the first 28 minutes.

With the Aztecs on cruise control, the crowd was silent, and not even the Wyoming swimming team could rally the home team. The swimming team was in attendance in full swimming gear, Speedos and all.

San Diego State pulls to 6-0 on the year in the conference with a huge road win in their last trip to Laramie.

News and Notes:

-Sean Newman Jr. left the game with an ankle injury and did not return.

– Miles Byrd hurt his right thumb/hand area with 1:58 left to play. The injury does not appear to be serious, though the guard did not return to action.

– Tae Simmons scored 10 points (4-for-6) in 14 minutes of play.

-Up next for San Diego State (12-4- 6-0 in MW) is a home game against New Mexico (14-3- 5-1 in MW) on January 17 at 5:00 PM.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.