An impressive first half for the Aztecs was followed by an unimpressive second half in a loss to Baylor.

The San Diego State Aztecs and Baylor Bears met for the finale of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Both teams entered the night 1-1 in the tournament and had a chance to finish Feast Week on a high note. Baylor outlasted the Aztecs in what was a good game for the first 20 minutes of game time.

Head coach Brian Dutcher made a change in the starting lineup. He decided to replace Taj DeGourville with freshman Elzie Harrington. Baylor only had seven players available in this game.

The Bears struck first as Michael Rataj scored on an easy layup on the first possession. They then increased their lead to 5-0 after around 2.5 minutes before the Aztecs could score their first basket. Harrington nailed the first three-pointer of the game to get the scoring going for the Aztecs. Before the triple, Magoon Gwath committed his second personal foul and was replaced by Jeremiah Oden. Gwath did not return in the half.

After a travel from Dan Skillings Jr, Reese Dixon-Waters drained a three-pointer plus the foul. He nailed the free throw to take a 7-5 lead off a quick 7-0 run on two possessions. RDW has been feeling it in Las Vegas.

Oden added to the run with a triple off the assist from Dixon-Waters before Isaac Williams ended the 10-0 run with a deep ball himself. SDSU led 10-8 with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half.

The fouls started to become a problem for the aggressive Aztecs. After Gwath picked up his second, the Bears found themselves in the bonus with just under 12 minutes to go in the half. The Bears led 14-10 after a 9-0 run. BJ Davis ended the run at the line.

Sean Newman Jr. entered the game and immediately made an impact. He assisted on an alley-opp to freshman Tae Simmons and then scored himself on a bucket in the paint to tie the game at 22. The under-eight media timeout followed seconds later.

A back-and-forth battle was on display next. The Aztecs earned key buckets from Harrington, Davis, and Simmons. The two freshmen led the Aztecs with a combined 12 points with three minutes to go in the first half. Both teams were scoring at a high level as defense was nowhere to be found.

Baylor ended the first half on a high note, making their last four shots from the field. However, Newman Jr. made a high IQ play before the half and pump faked, forcing Cameron Carr to foul him on the three-point shot with .6 seconds left. Newman Jr. nailed all three free throws as the Aztecs cut the deficit down to four at the half, 40-36.

The Bears shot 54% in the half while SDSU shot 50%. Baylor had the 14-12 rebounding advantage while both teams had eight assists each in the half. The Aztecs played a solid first half against a very good opponent. The Bears play their starters a ton of minutes, while Gwath played less than a minute. A good sign for SDSU was that they were 8-8 from the charity stripe.

10 seconds into the second half, Gwath picked up his third foul. Dutcher kept him in the game, but did replace him with Pharaoh Compton minutes later. Harrington made it a one-point game with another triple. He reached 11 points for the highest total of the game so far.

Baylor continued to hit high-level shots. Tounde Yessoufou scored his 10th point of the game off the Bears’ fifth deep ball of the night. They were shooting 49% with 15 minutes to go in the second half.

Then, a surge from San Diego State followed. The Aztecs hit back-to-back triples from Oden and DeGourville to tie the game at 50. After an offensive foul from Carr, the Aztecs had possession with a chance to take the lead. What happened next? SDSU took the lead thanks to Davis on an easy layup. Right after that, the 13th lead change of the game happened after DeGourville converted on a floater in the paint.

This had the makings of being a close and physical battle till the end … until it didn’t.

A crazy sequence happened after. The Aztecs lost all their momentum after what seemed to be an advantage. Compton forced a loose ball, but after review, it remained Baylor’s ball. They stole all that momentum SDSU had to go on a 12-0 run to take a 65-54 lead with nine minutes to go. SDSU hadn’t scored in over 3.5 minutes and kept turning the ball over. Harrington ended the run by going 1-2 from the line to make it a 10-point deficit.

SDSU’s offense went silent after playing so well. They missed seven shots in a row at one point. Playing a team that kept its starters in the game for almost the entire way through, Baylor seemed to have more energy. A 2-10 stretch for the Aztecs really hurt them while Baylor was playing their best ball of the game.

Dutcher rotated differently in this game. He kept his bench in the game longer than normal. The bench played a majority of the crunch-time minutes. Byrd, Gwath, Harrington, and RDW stayed in their seats during the most important time of the game.

Compton shoved a Baylor player in a frustrating moment, which essentially sealed the deal for the Aztecs. Baylor went up 18 points with under three to play.

Dixon-Waters hit a couple of three-pointers late, but it was not enough. Baylor held on for the win. The Aztecs just could not close the gap after a clutch stretch by the Bears.

The loss is disappointing, but they leave Las Vegas much better after playing some of the best teams in the country. Baylor should be ranked next week after a chaotic Feast Week all over the country.

The Aztecs will return home for Thanksgiving. The next contest will be at home against Utah Valley on December 3.

News & Stats

• Five Aztecs scored in double figures, with Byrd leading the way with 13 points.
• Baylor shot 53% and 39% from beyond the arc.
• SDSU shot 42% from deep and 47% from the floor.
• The Aztecs had 44 bench points and 17 fastbreak points.
• Baylor led in rebounds, 36-29, steals with six, and points in the paint with 38.

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.