Free throw shooting woes hurt No. 25 men’s basketball in 79-73 loss at GCU

Aztecs went 15-of-24 (62%) from the free-throw line in loss to Grand Canyon University

by Mac Pham, Staff Writer • December 6, 2023

San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell drives past a defender earlier this season at Viejas Arena. Trammell scored all 11 of his points in the second half of the Aztecs 79-73 loss at Grand Canyon University on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

The San Diego State men’s basketball team fell to Grand Canyon University as they were defeated 79-73 in front of an exhilarated, rowdy crowd at GCU Arena.

Senior forward Jaedon LeDee recorded a double-double, finishing with a game-high of 24 points to go along with ten rebounds. Senior guard Darrion Trammell chipped in 11 points off the bench for the Aztecs.

The Aztecs’ first bucket came from LeDee as he made a layup off an assist from senior guard Lamont Butler.

A few possessions later, Butler found sophomore forward Elijah Saunders open for a 3-pointer. Butler dished out a game-high six assists.

SDSU’s offense started off 2-of-11 from the field and trailed the Lopes 11-6 early.

Halfway through the first half, the Aztecs went on an 11-3 run, which was finished off by a jump shot by LeDee as the Aztecs took their first lead of the contest.

Senior guard Micah Parrish got into the action; he drained a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Aztecs close to the Lopes.

However, the Aztecs did not close the first half strong. They went scoreless in the final 2:54 of the first half and the Lopes took a 7-point lead, heading to the break.

Out of intermission, LeDee banked in a shot as he was clobbered under the rim. LeDee converted the free throw to complete the 3-point play.

Next offensive possession, Butler nearly lost the basketball and had to chase it in the backcourt. Butler sprinted back up the floor, drove and kicked to LeDee on the strong side of the floor for a 3-pointer.

Then, Lopes defense started to show the Aztecs a zone. Facing the zone, junior guard Reese Waters took and made a dribble pull-up midrange shot to cut the lead to 37-36.

With 15:54 to play, Micah Parrish stole the basketball on an entry pass to the post. The Aztecs capitalized off the turnover as Waters swished a 3-pointer from the corner to put SDSU back in front.

Following a 3-point basket by the Lopes, LeDee was fronted by his defender, and Butler made a pass over the top of the defender to locate LeDee for the flush.

The Aztecs continued to generate buckets. With five seconds left on the shot clock, Butler attacked the Lopes’ drop coverage and drilled a mid-range jump shot.

With 11:48 to go, Parrish pump-faked a shot as a defender flew by him and drained a 3-pointer to stay within two points.

A few possessions later, Trammell clanked a 3-pointer but sophomore guard Miles Byrd hit the offensive glass and got the soft roll for the putback.

Trailing by six, Butler slid his feet on defensively and came up with a steal that led to senior forward Jay Pal hitting a layup off the glass in transition.

Then, the Lopes responded with an 11-2 run in which leading scorer Tyon Grant-Foster hit back-to-back triples.

Inside two minutes to play, the Aztecs were forced to play the foul game down nine. Butler would foul out of the game.

The Lopes continued to knock down free throws, but Trammell made things interesting as he hit a side-step 3-pointer with 27 seconds to play.

Following a made free throw by the Lopes, LeDee grabbed an offensive rebound and made the putback to cut it back down to five.

On the inbounds, Trammell stole the basketball in the corner, but he gave the basketball right back to the Lopes as he was falling out of bounds.

Grant-Foster iced the game with a made free throw to put the Lopes up six with under 10 seconds to play and the Aztecs were handed their second defeat of the season.

Despite only committing six turnovers, it was the perimeter shooting that hurt SDSU. They made just eight 3-pointers on 25 attempts. Four Lopes finished in double-digit scoring.

The Aztecs will look to bounce back against UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9 at Viejas Arena.

About the Contributors

Mac Pham, Staff Writer

Mac Pham is a Journalism major and a senior transfer student from Palomar Community College. He joined the Daily Aztec in 2023. Writing stories, story telling, reading and talking to people is something he enjoys doing, so he figured why not talk sports with that. His favorite aspect of sports writing is being an analyst and breaking down the details of a football or a basketball game. In his spare time, Mac is an avid swimmer and likes to play basketball. He hopes to be a sports writer whose calling card is writing articles filled with sports analysis. Mac is bilingual in Vietnamese.

Isabella Biunno, '24-25 Managing Editor, '23-24 Photo Editor

Isabella Biunno is the Managing Editor for The Daily Aztec. She is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada where she was a part of publications for seven years. She is a third-year Psychology major with an emphasis in Neuroscience, and she plans to go to graduate school to become a Doctor of Occupational Therapy. She loves photography, editing, and creating, and she can’t wait to continue contributing to the DA. One thing she is passionate about outside of photojournalism is being involved in the disability community. She is an instructor at SDSU’s Adaptive Fitness Clinic, president of the Pre-Occupational Therapy Student Association, and a board member for a nonprofit called Mentoring Autistic Minds. She works as an instructor at a company back home called Inclusion Fusion where she is able to work with individuals with disabilities. Although her career-related passions fall in the healthcare field, she enjoys journalism just as much. She looks forward to expanding her experience as an editor this year.