Jekyll and Hyde is a work of fact as the Aztecs flipped into Hyde mode against Boise State. This comes on the heels of a stellar performance last week against Utah State.
Aztecs outrebounded and outshot drop into third place in the Mountain West Conference
Heading into the last road game of the year, the Aztecs (19-10, 13-6 MWC) found themselves in a quandary, losing three of their last four games. After their effort in Boise, they now are 1-4 in their last five games, heading home for their regular season finale on Friday against UNLV. Their only win in this stretch was a 17 point thrashing of conference leaders Utah State. Since then they endured a five point loss at New Mexico and last night’s nine point loss against the Broncos (19-11, 11-8 MWC). The sad part is the game wasn’t even as close as the final score. Fortunately the Aztecs are assured of being within the top four finishers in the conference and a first round bye in the conference tournament next week.
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Last night the Aztecs encountered trouble early on. The Broncos jumped out early with leads of 8-2, 11-5 and 22-7. A near sell out of 12,171 were delighted to see their home team beat the Aztecs at home for the 9th time in 14 meetings. The Aztecs rallied to get to within 5 at 22-17, but the wheels fell off after that. The Aztecs would never lead and would trail at one point by 21 points. The Broncos were up 34-27 at halftime and were led by Georgetown transfer center Drew Fielder who tallied 33 points, 9 rebounds and was 16-18 at the free throw line. Javan Buchanan added 17 more points to help lead the Broncos. The Broncos outrebounded the Aztecs 37-15, including a 12-2 offensive rebounding advantage. The Aztecs relied upon Reese Dixon-Waters again who scored 23 points on 8-14 shooting and was 4-8 from three point land. The only other Aztec player in double figures was Tae Simmons, who came off the bench and added 12 points before fouling out. The Aztecs managed 49% shooting, but also committed 25 fouls compared to 16 for the Broncos. As a result, the Broncos were 26-33 from the charity stripe, shooting 79% compared to San Diego State only getting to the line 20 times, making 17 of them. The Aztecs did find themselves somewhat engaged on defense as they were able to force 17 Bronco turnovers.
Coach Brian Dutcher had profound words of wisdom after the loss.
“We fought, you wouldn’t say we gave in. A lot of teams that give in, you’re going to go from 20 down to 30. I like our fight. I just don’t like some of the things we’re doing.”
The Aztecs seem to have lost their way, their persona. They did fight back, but struggles on defense and the boards sealed their fate early.
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“It just got out of hand, Dixon-Waters said. “They outrebounded us by more than 20. They were playing harder than us, tougher than us. It was definitely our defense and our rebounding. Our offense wasn’t to blame today.”
Coach Dutcher added, “We’re a program that prides ourselves on defense and rebounding…We’ve had back-to-back games where we’ve let teams score in the 80’s. We’re not getting stops, and when we do get stops, we’re not getting the rebound.”
The Broncos were sizzling from beyond the arc making 12 of 25 shots. The 86 points scored are the most that the Aztecs have allowed in the last 56 conference games.
Dutcher added, “I told them, you have to believe. You’ve got to believe you’re going to win the next game and then win three in a row next week… You can’t go in there with one game left and the conference tournament, and start doubting ourselves.
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“We have to accept responsibility for things we can get better at, and then fight our way through it. That’s all there is.”
The Broncos are eliminated from winning the regular season, after starting conference play 1-5. They have gone 10-3 since and are in a fifth place tie. Just two weeks ago the Aztecs were cruising the conference lead with a 12-2 record, but have fallen on hard times. The Broncos did give their coach Leon Rice a present as the win now moves him past San Diego State’s former coach Steve Fisher for the most wins in Mountain West history at 169.
Last night’s round of games was highlighted by an upset with UNLV taking down conference leader Utah State 92-65. The Rebels scored 60 points in the second half to complete the rout. Other games saw San Jose State dropping their game at Fresno State 82-68 despite Colby Garlands 26 points. He is second in the conference in scoring behind UNLV’s Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. Grand Canyon took care of Air Force in Colorado Springs 86-60 and Wyoming handed Nevada an 83-73 loss in Laramie behind a 27 point effort by Khaden Bennett.
The Conference is heading into their last week of play with the four teams with a bye already determined, although the order is still to be established. Wednesday night Colorado State travels to New Mexico. Friday sees UNLV at San Diego State and on Saturday the conference play concludes with New Mexico at Utah State, Boise State visiting Colorado State, Wyoming travelling to San Jose, Fresno State on the road against Grand Canyon and Air Force flying to Reno to take on Nevada.
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Next week will see the conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. With a first round bye, the Aztecs just might meet Boise State again in a second round game. The Aztecs won at home earlier in the season and followed that up with the stinker in Boise. What will a neutral court produce? Expect Aztec fans to take the short flight from San Diego to cheer on their team. It’s likely the Aztecs will need to win the tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The last season in the Mountain West Conference will be one to remember as it will be changed with the departure of Utah State, San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State. The Mountain West will still have key players New Mexico, Grand Canyon, UNLV and Nevada to carry the torch moving forward. One thing that is constant is change. The Aztecs hope for a change of events as they close out their season and prepare for tournament play.
