San Diego State was efficient in all areas of the game yesterday, including 57% from the field and 62% from 3-point.
The Aztecs were hoping to bounce back from a disappointing loss against Grand Canyon when they travelled to Las Vegas to take on UNLV Saturday. Despite the house having better odds, San Diego State showed they had the upper hand as they controlled UNLV in a strong 82-71 victory. Miles Byrd led the Aztecs with 23 points on 7-8 shooting and going a perfect 5-5 from three point land. Reece
Dixon-Waters and Taj DeGourville both contributed with 13 points each as the Aztecs improved to 14-5 overall and 8-1 in Mountain West play. The Rebels dropped to 10-9 on the season and 5-3 in conference play. The Rebels were led by guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn who threw in 27 points in a valiant losing effort. He had help from Kimani Hamilton who had 12 points and Tyrin Jones who contributed 10 points as well as three steals. 7,217 fans were in attendance at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus to witness the Aztecs, dressed out in their alternate all red uniforms, continue their roll through the Mountain West Conference. In addition, a national CBS audience witnessed an Aztec team control the game momentum and pace from the onset. UNLV, on their own three game winning streak and fresh off an upset at Utah State, were trying to crack into the top levels of teams in the conference. They clearly had no answer to Bird who was everywhere on the court. Whether attacking the basket, launching three’s or drifting into defensive coverage, Bird showed the expertise and experience that many expected of him this season. His recovery from going 0 for 6 against Grand Canyon was astounding. His clutch shooting, including a three with a little over five minutes left, sealed the deal for the Aztecs.
UNLV and their crowd continued to fight, but they succumbed to the better Aztec team as well as the costly fouls committed by the Rebels. The Aztecs burned them going 22 of 26 from the charity stripe while UNLV missed ten of their own attempts. The Aztecs took a four point lead into halftime and carried the momentum in the second half. It expanded to eight points, but a Rebel comeback brought it back to two points. Taj DeGourville made several clutch baskets coming off of the bench to help sway the tide.
“Taj is playing great,” Coach ‘Brian Dutcher said. “He’s fought his way to the other side. We put him in a tough position, starting him at the point – a big guard under all that duress. Then we decided to make a change at the point position.
“That was no disrespect to Tah, we just thought we had a better chance with him coming off the bench and playing a little more small forward or 2-guard. That’s proven to be good for us and good for him.”
The Aztecs return home on Wednesday night for a matchup against Colorado State which marks the halfway point of the conference season. A win there will put them at 9-1 and in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the season. That one loss still irks coach Dutcher. “I’m still mad we lost to Grand Canyon. That’s coaching. I remember the losses more than the wins.”
After Colorado State, the Aztecs are on the road next Saturday for a titanic showdown against Utah State. The Aggies have dropped two games in a row, very uncharacteristic for them.
The remainder of the conference games from yesterday included a tight win by Wyoming over San Jose State 66-62, a Boise State thumping over Air Force 96-54, a convincing 68-57 win by Grand Canyon over Fresno State and a thrilling 80-73 win by New Mexico over Nevada. Tuesday’s games feature Boise State travelling to San Jose State, Grand Canyon on the road at Nevada and New Mexico hitting Las Vegas. On
Wednesday, we have the Aztecs but also Utah State back at home against Wyoming. The conference is exciting and there will be quite a bit of jockeying for seeding, but the Aztecs have got the control at this point with still plenty of ball left to be played.
