The words “Miles Byrd with a steal and a dunk” seem to ring through the arena at least once a game every time the Aztecs take the floor. The announcer echoed just that as CBU players walked back to their bench for a timeout with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
It was another home contest for the San Diego State Aztecs (7-2) on Wednesday night, defeating the California Baptist University Lancers (5-5) by a score of 81-75.
Guard Nick Boyd got to work early for the Scarlet and Black, recording seven points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in just the first five minutes of play.
Just one game after his best game as an Aztec, forward Miles Heide came onto the court with 14 minutes remaining in the first half and picked up where he left off, scoring two baskets and one offensive rebound in two minutes.
The Aztecs and Lancers traded back and forth blows for the first 10 minutes, finding themselves deadlocked at 21-21 apiece. SDSU shot 50 percent from the field while CBUs offense responded with a 62 percent field goal percentage of their own, as both offenses made three three-pointers.
The SDSU defense turned up the heat on the Lancers, forcing three turnovers and converting them on the other end in the midst of a 10-0 run. The run provided some early first half breathing room with a 28-21 lead.
Forward Magoon Gwath, the national leader in blocks per game, showed that his game is more than just defense. The freshman cashed in two three-pointers on three attempts in the first half, recording eight total points.
In the midst of Gwaths explosive first half was a Boyd barrage. Boyd shot 100 percent from the field and free throw line en route to his 12 point, two rebound, two assist and one steal statline heading back to the locker room.
Because Head Coach Brian Dutcher went deep into the bench for the first 20 minutes, 10 different Aztecs saw the court. Of those 10, eight found the bottom of the net at least once. When all was said and done in the first half, SDSU led CBU 40-33.
Dutcher went in depth on his decision to unload the bench early.
“We went 10-players deep today because we put Demarshay Johnson, Jr., in when the game was on the line. He’s been so good in practice. We thought he could fill a need for us, and he did,” he said. “We’re deep, and most teams are. They’ll play that many guys, but then performance can fall off. Our performance doesn’t fall off when we go to the bench. The bench is what extended our run.”
A Byrd sighting began the second half, as the forward greeted fans back to their seats with two three pointers, setting the score at 46-38 SDSU.
Time and time again the Lancers rallied their troops and found baskets while facing adversity, as guard Sam Silverstein laced a three pointer cutting the SDSU lead to just five points.
Anytime Byrd is on the floor, a highlight play is just beyond the horizon. That play came early in the second half as he evaded his defender and dumped a behind-the-back pass to forward Pharaoh Compton for a contact dunk. Byrd went back to the bank and deposited a three-pointer the following possession, pushing the lead back up to double digits with 14:07 remaining.
Heide continued his consistent play, tallying another quick four points midway through the second half, keeping his field goal percentage at 100 with eight points.
Byrd found an easy dunk off a steal midway through the second half, scoring his eleventh point of the period and propelling the lead to 17.
The Blue and Gold Lancers chipped away yet again, finding themselves quickly down by 11 thanks to a layup from forward Bradey Henige.
Heide set a new career high of 10 points on a putback layup with 4 minutes remaining in the game. The layup continued his perfect night and broke his older career high of eight points, which was set last game. The career high milestone was overshadowed by the importance of the basket itself, as it put his team back up by 13 just seconds after the Lancers got the game back to 11.
“Basketball is really fun when my shots are going in. I do enough work when I’m not in a game-time situation that shots should go in. It’s my goal to make good plays happen more often than not,” said Heide on his career night.
After leading 68-49 with nine minutes left, the Aztecs found themselves up by just four points with two remaining in the blink of an eye following a long range three-pointer from Lancers guard Javonte Johnson.
Byrd spoke of the team’s late-game struggles.
“We need to keep our foot on the pedal at the end of games. With about eight minutes left in the game, I feel like our team got a little too relaxed,” he said. “With a team like California Baptist, where they play with a lot of confidence and shoot the ball well, we need to stay focused until the end.”
Boyd eased the nerves of the fans, coming out of the timeout and quickly converting a left-handed layup to go up by six with 90 seconds of game time to go. This layup served as the final blow with the Aztecs escaping a potential late-game collapse.
SDSUs leading scorer was Byrd with 19, as Boyd followed after with 16 of his own. Heide commanded the glass contributing a team high five rebounds. Boyd facilitated the offense through and through dishing out eight assists on the night.
The Scarlet and Black will look to continue their Golden State dominance next game, taking on the University of California, Berkeley, Golden Bears on Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in San Jose.
