Aztecs move back into a tie with Utah State for first place in the Mountain West Conference.
Reese Dixon-Waters helps pace Aztecs victory with 20 points.
The friendly home confines of Viejas Arena were a welcome site for the Aztecs as they took the court for their gigantic game against Utah State on Wednesday night. Once again a sellout of 12,414 fans packed Viejas hoping the Aztecs would find a way to stop their two game losing skid. The Aztecs had not lost three in a row since January of 2018 so the odds were in their favor that they would win, but they were up against the league’s top team, Utah State. The game started with misses and blocks and neither team managed to score until over two minutes had transpired. The Aztecs scored first on a Miles Heide layup, but Utah State followed with a Adian Elamin three-point basket. After a Dixon-Waters jumper, the Aggies were hot beyond the arc as MJ Collins Jr. dropped a 22-foot three pointer. Another three point shot by Elamin saw the Aztecs down 9-4 and gasping for purpose. The Aggies would continue to lead until the Aztecs tied the score at 15 halfway through the first half on a layup by BJ Davis. From here the Aztecs would gain the momentum with other Aztecs contributing, leading to a 46-33 halftime lead. They would not look back. The second half saw the Aztecs pull away leading by as many as 24 points. They shot a blistering 55% from the field, while holding the Aggies to 40% and a woeful 30% from the three-point line. The Aztecs were paced by Dixon-Waters with 20 points and four rebounds. He added 3 baskets from long range. Taj Degourville contributed 121 points off the bench as did Tae Simmons who added 11 points and Pharoah Compton with 11 more. Magoon Gwath was back in the starting lineup with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Miles Byrd was quiet, but did contribute 8 points. The Aggies were led by MJ Collins Jr. with 18 points and Mason Falslev with 14 points.
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The Aztecs were back to their trademark aggressive play, keyed by Dixon-Waters, who helped move the Aztecs back into a first place tie with Utah State. The Aztecs were rewarded with making up for their earlier 71-66 loss to Utah State in Logan.
“Probably our most complete game of the season,” said Aztec coach Brian Dutcher, who saw his team rebound from back to back losses against Grand Canyon and Colorado State. “We did what we had to do. We fought through a tough stretch of two really hard losses, and we got back on the winning track. So our fate is in our hands.”
Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun, lamented his team’s lack of hunger, saying, “The hungry team usually wins. The tougher team usually wins. I think you would agree. You watched that with your own eyes. They were just a tougher team tonight, more prepared. We had no want-to on the defensive end. You’re not coming into Viejas, beating these guys with your offense. We’ve never beaten them with our offense. It’s always been our defense.”
Everyone stepped up to play, contributing with a sense of urgency. Magoon Gwath returned to the starting lineup and nailed a first half buzzer beating three-point shot to add to the Aztecs lead. The Aztecs took this newly found aggressive momentum into the second half, keeping their proverbial pedal to the metal, driving home the victory. The Aztecs out-rebounded the Aggies 38-30. The bench contributed significantly, scoring 40 points for the 10th time this season. The Aztecs will return to play on Saturday morning as they travel to New Mexico for a nationally televised game in The Pit. The Aztecs beat New Mexico 83-79 during their previous game in San Diego. The Lobos are coming off of a loss at Nevada on Tuesday, 67-60.
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The game against New Mexico will round out the February schedule with two more games scheduled on the road against Boise State and at home against UNLV. The Aggies meanwhile close out the regular season with a home game against Grand Canyon, a road game against UNLV and a final home game against New Mexico. The regular season will get down to the final three games. Whoever wins out will have the top seed in the conference tournament.
Saturdays schedule includes the Aztecs and Lobos, Wyoming at home against winless Air Force, San Jose State hosting Colorado State in a potential upset opportunity for the Spartans, Fresno State hosting Boise State, UNLV back home against rival Nevada and Utah State and Grand Canyon visiting Utah State. Will the Aztecs come out on top? Three wins with an Aggie loss will ensure the top seed. Who will win the tournament? The Aztecs can assure themselves a NCAA tournament spot by winning the Mountain West tournament. Nothing is assured in this conference, which has seen an increased level of parity.
Gridiron Note: The Aztecs baseball team beat Number 1 ranked UCLA 4-3 in Los Angeles, adding a nice touch to the early season, where they are currently 5-3.
