SDSU’s late comeback attempts falls short as they drop to 3-2 on the season

The San Diego State Aztecs and Oregon Ducks met for the semi-final of the Players Era Festival. Oregon moved on to the Championship on Saturday and will face either Rutgers or Alabama. SDSU’s opponent is still undecided.

These two teams played in a physical contest. There were 37 combined fouls called, and each team stole the ball eight times. Oregon had a spark on offense at the end of the first half that proved to be the deciding factor of the contest.

Head coach Brian Dutcher issued the same starting lineup with BJ Davis, Nick Boyd, Miles Byrd, Magoon Gwath, and Jared Coleman-Jones.

The Aztecs and Ducks got off to a shaky start offensively. Gwath and Nate Bittle blocked shots as both teams needed to shake off the rust.

Oregon would jumpstart their offense as Bittle and Brandon Angel scored nine of the first 11 points. SDSU would not let them have all the fun.

Pharaoh Compton entered the game off the bench and immediately attacked Bittle by driving to the rim for a contested layup.

A few possessions later, Byrd also attacked the basket off a nice screen from Miles Heide. He converted an and-one finish to tie the game at 13.

The Aztecs hosted a block party on Wednesday.

Gwath and Byrd showcased massive blocks to keep Oregon from scoring.

It’s been a couple minutes so time for another @magoongwath rejection!
📺: @SportsonMax pic.twitter.com/5V8YQkY1H7

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) November 27, 2024

That dynamic duo on defense are proving to be some of the top shot blockers in the nation to begin the season.

DO NOT GO UP WHILE MILES BYRD IS AROUND 🚫 @Aztec_MBB pic.twitter.com/TyVVit7c2m

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 27, 2024

On the other side of the court, Boyd started to get hot. He hit his second triple of the game in as many shots and had ten quick points. SDSU led 21-20 as the third TV timeout caused a break in the action. That was their first lead of the game.

Angel, the San Diego Native, gave Oregon the lead once again with a tough finish in the paint. He is the only player on the team with experience playing against San Diego State.

After a steal from Compton, Davis converted a tough and-one finish in the paint. Bittle seemed as if he had a clean block but never even touched the ball as Davis snuck his way for three points.

Oregon and SDSU would continue to battle back-and-forth. The Aztecs’ defensive effort showed that they did not want Oregon to sustain any success. However, Oregon did show up on the defensive end as well, with more steals than SDSU in the first half, five to four.

The game was tied at 27 with 3:38 remaining in the first half. Oregon proceeded to go on a quick 14-4 run to lead 41-31 at the half. The Aztecs shot the ball better than Oregon did, but the Ducks kept their possessions alive.

Oregon out-rebounded the Aztecs in the first half by a wide margin, 24-12. That allowed them to earn 18 second-chance points. 18 points off second chance opportunities is a momentum killer, and the Aztecs needed to fix that at the break. The Aztecs had zero second-chance points and only four offensive rebounds. There were some positives, but they needed to scratch and claw their way back into it.

Boyd finished with 13 points in the first half. Byrd and Gwatch blocked a combined six shots.

The second half started, and then SDSU started to get into foul trouble. Boyd picked up his third foul, and Wayne McKinney III replaced him. Davis, Coleman-Jones, Compton, and Taj DeGourville all had two fouls with 15:14 remaining in the game.

Compton then picked up his third foul, trying to defend the post. SDSU had two crucial players in foul trouble,e and it came at the wrong time.

SDSU started to scratch back. Davis and McKinney hit multiple shots not to allow the Ducks to increase their lead. Davis is emerging as one of the team’s top go-to options offensively. He can score from anywhere on the court and did so in clutch situations for his team.

Davis converted his second and-one finish of the contest to cut the lead to nine points. A dunk from Gwath on the next possession cut the lead to seven, 56-49.

SDSU kept pushing. A 9-0 run put them back into the game. Boyd cut the lead to three off a floater, but Angel hit his second three of the game to put the Ducks back up by six. Oregon then called a timeout with 10:36 remaining in the game.

The opportunity was there for San Diego State.

After a loose ball, Byrd injured his leg. He showed pain but stayed in the contest. The Aztecs needed his leadership.

Oregon nailed three’s on back-to-back possessions to put a dent in the Aztecs comeback attempt. They increased their lead back to eight.

On a wild sequence seconds laters, DeGourville dove for a loose ball and then launched a beautiful pass to a wide open Compton for the dunk. The freshman followed up the dunk with the Aztecs 9th block of the contest.

SDSU trailed 65-59 with 7:35 remaining.

Dutcher relied on his freshman a ton in this game. DeGourville played minutes late and hit a shot to trim a lead back down to seven. The Aztecs needed to play with flow on offense, and he is a player who can score in all forms.

The Aztecs fought their way back, but it was not enough. Oregon pulled away, and the Aztecs just didn’t have enough time left.

Ultimately, foul trouble, lack of rebounding, and Oregon’s second-chance points is what gave them the edge over the Aztecs.

Davis and Boyd gave their best efforts out there as they shot the ball very well. Boyd ended with 15 points on 6-9 shooting, and Davis led the team with 18 points on 7-13 shooting. SDSU 51% to the Ducks’ 45%. Oregon also finished 18-26 from the line compared to SDSU’s 4-8.

The Aztecs know what they need to improve on ahead of Saturday’s matchup. The team will head back to San Diego for Thanksgiving before playing another contest in Sin City.

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.