With breakthrough regular-season win, Aztecs stun No. 6 Houston in Las Vegas – San Diego Union-Tribune

LAS VEGAS – Brian Dutcher’s young team just grew up.

“I knew I had a good team, but could we be good in November?” he said on Saturday evening. “It’s the last game in November and we’re pretty good.”

How good: With five new starters and a rotation that includes three freshmen, the Aztecs stunned No. 6 Houston in the third-place game of the Players Era Festival, rallying from down 11 in the second half to force overtime and won – yes, victory – 73-70 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

What is your best regular season win since when?

The last time the Aztecs, who are 1-19 all-time against teams in the top five of the Associated Press poll, beat No. 6 was in 2019 against Nevada. But that was in the Viejas Arena in front of their adoring fans.

Before that, there was a 61-57 win at No. 16 Kansas in 2014 that ended the Jayhawks’ 68-game non-conference winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse.

Before that, the 79-76 win at No. 11 Gonzaga in the Kennel that introduced Kawhi Leonard and Aztecs basketball to the world of college basketball.

Wherever Saturday stands, as freshman forward Pharaoh Compton put it, “This is something big for us.”

The Aztecs (4-2) led early, then trailed by more than 30 minutes and lost by well double-digit deficits against a defense that is annually one of the best defenses in college basketball. They were crushed on the glass. Their shooting percentage was in the low 30s. Leading scorers Nick Boyd and BJ Davis still had goosebumps midway through the second half.

There was no conceivable way out.

Until suddenly it was there.

“We lost a lot of guys,” said sophomore wing Miles Byrd, who had 18 points, including two free throws that forced overtime. “A lot of people probably thought we weren’t as tough as we always were. But it’s a team led by Coach Dutcher. We will always be strong, we will always play defense, we will always rebound.

“I’m glad we were able to show it off tonight.”

It came down to this in OT: Magoon Gwath made one of two free throws for a three-point lead, and Houston called a timeout with 7.7 seconds left.

The Cougars (4-3) passed the ball to leading scorer LJ Cryer, who dribbled past Nick Boyd at the top of the key and fired a three-pointer from 24 feet.

Edge. Buzzer.

Annoy.

“Congratulations to Brian,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose program has the best record in Division I over the past five seasons. “His kids, I mean, they deserve to win.”

As a result, the MESA Foundation, SDSU basketball’s NIL collective, became $150,000 richer by placing third in the inaugural eight-team event. That’s in addition to the $1 million each program’s collective received just for appearing.

Houston received an additional $100,000 for fourth place. The championship game between No. 9 Alabama and Oregon was worth $500,000 to the winner and $250,000 to the loser.

The Aztecs got outstanding performances from their previously quiet front line with 16 points from Jared Coleman-Jones and 13 from Compton. They entered the day with an average of 5.6 and 5.4 points, respectively.

Sampson was asked if he expected that.

“Have you?” he replied. “I saw the stat sheet. The Jones boy spontaneously shot three-pointers. He made three of them, and that doesn’t include what he bet on (late regulation). The offense looks a lot better when the cookie goes in the basket, that’s for sure.”

The problem was that Boyd and Davis, who combined to average 28.8 points per game before Saturday, were both held scoreless until Boyd grabbed a rebound with nine minutes left in regulation that bounced toward midcourt for an easy layup stormed in.

Ice, broken. Boyd followed with two 3-pointers en route to 12 points, then Davis made a 3-pointer of his own to bring the Aztecs within one point at 56-55.

They still trailed by two points with 19.7 seconds left after Houston forward J’Wan Roberts, shooting 71.4% from the line, missed the front end of a one-and-one. Dutcher called a timeout and planned a play to give Davis a 3 in the corner, which he got and missed when a defender crashed into him.

No whistle.

Byrd was supposed to screen Gwath back to the rim and then pop up at the rim to make a jumper if Davis wasn’t open. But since the ball went to Davis in the corner, Byrd stayed on the opposing block and was in position for the rebound. He grabbed the ball and was fouled, then made both free throws to tie the game with 13.4 seconds left.

Houston’s Emanuel Sharp (23 points) hit the last shot in regulation, a fall from the right baseline over Byrd that bounced off the back rim, and we had overtime.

“The offense is always better against teams that don’t defend,” said Sampson, whose team shot 37.1% overall but made up for it with 17 offensive rebounds. “San Diego State is a good defensive team. They bothered us tonight because they forced us to play far too much East and West. At some point it has to go downhill, you have to go north and south.

“Hats off to Brian and his group.”

What was shaping up to be the toughest non-conference stretch in SDSU program history ended 2-2, with wins over No. 21 Creighton (by 18 points) and now the No. 6 Cougars.

“It serves San Diego State the most and then the Mountain West,” said Dutcher, whose team opens the conference season Wednesday night at Fresno State. “So we are a multi-bid league. You have to win games like this. Boise State beats Clemson, New Mexico beats UCLA. We have to win these games as a conference. Here comes the power.

“We did a good job of building a resume in the non-conference.”

Remarkable

SDSU had a season-low seven turnovers.

• The Aztecs trailed by double digits in rebounding for much of the game, but finished 40-38 at the end of the game. Houston had 17 offensive boards, but SDSU actually finished with a lead in second-chance points (15-12).

• The Aztecs also had advantages in bench scoring (16-7), fast break points (7-0), points in the paint (26-18) and turnover points (12-7).

• Both teams scored good goals in the second half. Houston was 7 of 10 on 3s, SDSU 6 of 15…Gwath extended its national lead in blocks with five more, including two on a Cougars possession. He now has 24 in six games. Gwath also posted the best plus/minus of the game with plus-11 points in his 27 minutes of play.

• SDSU went with a nine-man rotation, but Dutcher mostly stuck with his starters — Boyd, Davis, Byrd, Gwath and Coleman-Jones — on the stretch and in overtime.

Originally published: November 30, 2024 at 6:37 pm PST