LAS VEGAS – San Diego men’s basketball couldn’t muster consecutive wins together, losing 78-68 to Oregon at MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Players Era Festival on Wednesday.
“All these experiences are giving us a chance to grow as a team,” head coach Brian Dutcher said following the loss. “That’s what we’re going to look at it as a chance to grow to start stacking games.”
The majority of the first half consisted of a close game as senior guard Nick Boyd hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 27 with less than five minutes to go in the game. From then on, however, the Ducks held control afterward as they outscored SDSU 14-4 over the next five minutes by the half to a 41-31 score.
Boyd led the Aztecs in the first half of play with 13 points with all but two of his 15 total points coming within the first 20 minutes of gametime.
“If you look back on the game, all the ways we lost today are self-inflicted,” Boyd said. “It’s just about maturity, and like coach said, keep growing. You come to a tournament like this, there’s no room for error.”
Oregon guard TJ Bamba had 11 points in the first half while guard Keeshawn Barthelemy had nine during the half as well.
The main difference in the game within the first half was the rebound differential in which Oregon led 24-12.
“That was one of the keys of the game,” Dutcher said. “We’re growing as a rebounding team. Magoon (Gwath) has length but he lacks strength. I thought Jared (Colemnan-Jones) did a good job early in the game rebounding.”
The second half followed similar scoring rates between both teams until the Ducks ended up taking a 56-44 lead with 13 minutes of the game left to play. As the Aztecs attempted to rally back, guard BJ Davis started off with a three-point play before a dunk was made by forward Magoon Gwath followed by a layup from forward Miles Heide and a jumper from Boyd to play within three with 11 minutes in regulation left.
Oregon soon stepped on the gas off a combination of three-pointers and free throws, scoring 12 of their final 22 points beyond the arc. Davis scored 12 points in the second half to again match his career-best 18 points from yesterday’s Creighton win.
Both Davis and Boyd finished their scoring in the double figures, while Byrd also joined in with 10 points. Bamba led the Ducks with 22 points, while center Nate Bittle set the tone early with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Head coach of the Oregon Ducks, Dana Altman spoke on Bamba’s team-leading performance.
“When he takes that ball to the basket it changes his game,” Altman said. “When you’re going at the basket, you just get a more aggressive mentality.”
San Diego State will conclude the Players Era Festival on Saturday when they await to play at either 12:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. based on the outcomes of the rest of the day’s games.
