Decked out in their turquoise Nike N7 jerseys, the San Diego State Aztecs (2-0) steamrolled the Occidental Tigers (1-1) at home on Tuesday night, winning by 51 points and forcing 21 turnovers. Magoon Gwath, BJ Davis and Wayne McKinney III each had 16 points en route to victory. The Division III Tigers served as a warmup for next week’s pivotal matchup against No. 4 ranked Gonzaga.
SDSU was only one triple away from tying their record of 19 in a single game. A record set back in Dec. 2022 when the Aztecs defeated the Tigers 95-57. Despite injuries to key players Miles Byrd and Reese Waters, the Scarlet and Black still came away with a decisive victory.
“Even though we lost two really good offensive players in Byrd and Reese,” Aztec head coach Brian Dutcher said. “We have guys that we’ve brought in that have proven they can score at the college level. So I was comfortable that we had enough offense out there with those guys.”
In their last two meetings, SDSU outscored Occidental by an average of 40 points per game. The Aztecs have won 11 straight games against the Tigers and have an overall record of 26-8. This is only the third time the two teams have met since the 1953-54 season.
Tuesday night’s contest began with an 18-0 Aztec run and a display of athleticism from the freshman big Gwath. He opened the game with three blocks and two threes in the first four minutes of action. Gwath’s early success got Viejas Arena rocking and set the tone for the evening.
“It definitely does build a lot of momentum. After I get a block, you can hear it in the crowd, and it usually starts a fast break for us,” Gwath said in the postgame press conference.
Gwath finished the night with a career-high four blocks and a steal. Forward Miles Heide also led the team with eight rebounds Tuesday night.
Non-starters played their part in the hundred-point scoring night as well. Around seven minutes into the first half, Kimo Ferrari checked in and caught fire. Ferrari scored the next nine points for the Aztecs making three triples in a row.
Another notable reserve was guard Taj DeGourville who supplied the team with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists off the bench.
“I mean, how can you not be happy with the way we shot the ball? Everybody was shooting it,” Dutcher said. “Kimo and Wayne and Taj and Nick shot a couple in and Magoon. You know, it wasn’t just one guy. We had multiple guys making threes, and that’s a great equalizer in basketball. If you start making threes, you can beat anybody.”
By halftime, the Aztecs had a 54-17 lead and shot 53.8% from the field. They forced 13 turnovers in the first half and made 11 shots from beyond the arc.
Guards Davis and McKinney III were important contributors to the team’s success. Collectively they shot 12 of 20 from the field and combined for six assists and five rebounds. Guard Nick Boyd also had 10 points and three assists.
Mckinney III broke down his successful night in the postgame press conference.
“It comes from the trust of my teammates as well. Them knowing that I put the work in every day, Them feeding me the ball, finding me when I’m open,” McKinney III said. “It wouldn’t happen without them. So, I also appreciate them for putting me in a situation to be able to shoot shots like that.”
In the following half, despite the Tigers doubling their point output, SDSU remained dominant. With 10 minutes remaining, DeGourville tossed a beautiful alley-oop to fellow freshman Gwath. The 7-footer caught the ball fully extended and slammed it with authority to give his team an 86-30 advantage.
SDSU’s largest lead of the night came with six minutes to go in the game when they were up by 61 points. McKinney III commented on the mindset of the team when leading big.
“We just kept the same intensity, regardless of the score, regardless of how much we’re up by or whether it was the beginning of the game,” McKinney III said.
Next week, the Aztecs have a tough matchup against Gonzaga on Monday night. The Bulldogs are averaging 94.5 points in their first two games. They defeated Baylor and Arizona State.
“I’m really excited. It’s a really big opportunity having a ranked opponent like them come into our building in front of our crowd,” Gwath said.
Facing a top-ten-ranked opponent without star players Miles Byrd and Reese Waters will be challenging. Byrd had 20 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and five steals in the opening game against UCSD while Waters is the team’s highest returning scorer and a former Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year. Coach Dutcher spoke about the two injured players after the game.
“You know, Reese and Miles do the same thing these other guys do, but they’re 6-foot-6, 6-foot-5, they’re longer,” Dutcher said. “So sometimes, that length makes a difference in a game. So we’ll be happy when we get them back and get that length back in the lineup for certain games.”
Waters isn’t expected to return by next week; however, Byrd could be ready for the Nov. 18 Gonzaga game. Dutcher said Byrd would likely be, “a game-time decision” for Monday night.
