Magoon Gwath returned to the court in a big way to help propel SDSU to a blowout win over Nevada on Valentine’s Day

Steve Fisher Court – Viejas Arena

San Diego State and Nevada battled on Saturday night. The Wolf Pack aimed for their first-ever win at Viejas Arena, but it never came. They are now 0-14 in this arena after suffering a miserable loss to SDSU.

Magoon Gwath returned to action off the bench for the Aztecs. This was his first game back since January 17 against New Mexico. Head coach Brian Dutcher kept Jeremiah Oden in the starting five. Elzie Harrington missed the contest, as the freshman has roughly another week left until back.

Before the game, longtime Aztecs fan Chet Carney was given a moment of silence after his passing last week.

“I am really happy with a solid team victory,” Dutcher said postgame. “This is a tough stretch, and I became a better coach tonight because Magoon Gwath got back on the floor. Everybody can write good things about me because we improved on the defensive end with five blocks (from Gwath). Good coaching is overrated; having good players isn’t.”

Nevada started the game draining back-to-back triples. After every make, the Wolf Pack would pick up three-quarters court with a 1-2-2 trap/zone. It did not give the Aztecs fits at all in the first half.

Magoon Gwath checked into the game with 16:47 remaining in the first half. The entire crowd chanted “Gooooooon” as he checked in. His defense was on full display early on, not allowing Elijah Price an easy bucket and almost blocking a shot on the following possession. In fewer than a minute, he had two points from the line, a rebound, and an assist.

“(Gwath) is on a minute restriction, so I am trying to figure out the best way to play him impactful minutes,” Dutcher said postgame. “Oden had been starting, so I wanted to keep him in his rhythm. Obviously, we went to Tae (Simmons) early in the second half because we were poor at rebounding. Having Magoon back in the rebounding end, continuing to play himself into shape, will do nothing but help us.”

Reese Dixon-Waters tied the game at 6-6 with a mid-range fadeaway, assisted by Gwath. Then, that is when Gwath helped take an 8-6 lead from the charity stripe.

Nevada had missed five shots in a row before Corey Camper Jr drained his second three-pointer of the night. He had eight quick points for the Wolf Pack.

San Diego State jumped out to a 10-point advantage, and the vibes were already high, but Taj DeGourville swatted 6-foot-10 center Joel Armotrading, and Viejas Arena went bonkers. SDSU led 23-13.

N🚫PE#GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/s5GjLCZDo0

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 15, 2026

Nevada’s offense fell silent for a bit throughout the half, hitting just one shot in 10 attempts. Nobody outside of Camper Jr. was able to get into a rhythm. SDSU’s offense wasn’t playing much better, only hitting 41% of the shots to this point. However, Dixon-Waters reached 11 points with over four minutes to go in the half to allow his team to hold the advantage as the lead increased to 16. RDW has now scored in double figures in 14 straight games.

Nevada found some light and went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit from 16 to seven. BJ Davis ended the run on a massive mid-ranger jumper with defense in his grill. That was Davis’ first made shot of the night.

After a successful challenge call from Dutcher, SDSU had a chance for a two-for-one at the end of the half. Byrd slammed home his biggest dunk of the season for the junior star. Absolutely electric stuff from Byrd, who desperately needed that dunk.

MILES BYRD OH MY GOODNESS 😳@Aztec_MBB pic.twitter.com/0bcX2L2tuz

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 15, 2026

Then, after a missed shot at the other end for Nevada, Byrd was fouled after the rebound to allow him to go to the foul line. He missed the first of a one-and-one, and the buzzer went off. Both teams jogged to the locker room as SDSU led 36-25 at the break. The home team was led by RDW with 11 points, and Gwath had five points and three blocks in six minutes. With him off the floor so long, teams must have forgotten that he is the best shot blocker in the Mountain West.

Nevada began the second half the same way they started the game, scoring six points and seeing some success in rebounding. After cutting the deficit down to five, Dixon-Waters hit another massive mid-ranger to go back up seven. Still, the Wolf Pack had more intensity in this half. The score was just 38-36 with 16:24 remaining in the game. SDSU had the one bucket in the half as they played poorly to begin. Nevada’s switch to a zone really helped them out in the half-court defense.

Dutcher called a needed time-out.

After Nevada tied it at 38-all, Davis drained a walk-in triple to go back up three. Gwath checked into the game, and the offense found its groove again. SDSU went right back up 11 points after making three-pointers from Gwath and another from Davis.

BANG BANG @BJDavis_10

📺 @CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/xudrjrgEF9

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 15, 2026

The crowd was electric in this game, as they usually are. However, it was noticeable that the players really fed from the energy the crowd brought. Byrd, DeGourville, Simmons, Davis, and Heide were all pumping up the crowd throughout the contest.

Byrd did not play well offensively to this point, with only four points, but he was everywhere on the other end of the court. Byrd had three steals and a block to this point in the game, and was talking and making sure his players were in the right positions defensively.

Byrd is an extremely emotional player, and it isn’t hard to miss.

Dixon-Waters scored his 16th point of the night on a corner deep ball. He was shooting 6-11 from the floor, but needed to control the ball better as he had three turnovers. Despite that, RDW helped keep the advantage on the scoreboard.

Nevada’s first point off the bench came with 7:16 remaining in the game. Meanwhile, SDSU had 24 off the bench. The only two players who had any sort of groove were Camper Jr. and Elijah Price. Although 11 of Price’s 15 points came from the charity stripe. They combined for 31 of the 43 points to this point.

Gwath drilled another three-pointer for his third of the game. The big man is 14-22 from deep this season. Yes, you read that correctly.

3-3 from beyond the arc for @magoongwath! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/ypUHA3Y2Fl

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 15, 2026

“It felt great,” Gwath said postgame about not having the knee brace on. “I lost two pounds from the brace; it was much easier to move. It was just easier to play out there. I am moving better.”

“I felt like my timing was better with the brace off,” he continued. “Shoutout to my roommate BJ for assisting me on all three of those shots.”

San Diego State ran away from the game in the final 10 minutes. The lead increased to 18 with around five minutes to go. Nevada was desperate for a miracle, but it did not come.

The Aztecs finished the game strong and walked away with a massive win to begin a difficult stretch of games.

“I wouldn’t say that I was worried, but I was curious to see how we would come back and play,” Dixon-Waters said postgame about the bye week. “We have grown as a team and matured, and we did a great job of bouncing back from a week off.”

Grand Canyon is Tuesday night back here at Viejas Arena.

News & Stats

• Dixon-Waters had his third 20+ point game of the season
• SDSU is now 12-2 in the MWC, tied with Utah State
• RDW ended with 20 points, 2 boards, 1 assist
• BJ Davis had 14 & 5 assists
• Gwath had 13 points, 5 blocks, 3 boards, and 1 assist

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.