After a huge comeback win earlier this week, San Diego State (15-5, 8-3 MW) rallied late again to defeat the University of Wyoming (11-11, 4-7 MW) 63-61 Saturday night at Viejas Arena. A 20-point run fueled the victory.
Head coach Brian Dutcher praised his team’s comebacks in the post-game presser.
“I don’t know how many teams in the country go on an 18-0 run and follow it up with a 20-0 run in the next game,” he said. “I’d imagine that we’re the only team in the country that’s done that this year, that can go on those types of runs, and not just when you’re ahead by 14, but we go on those runs when we are behind. That’s incredible from this team.”
SDSU had four scorers in double figures including Magoon Gwath (14), Nick Boyd (13), Miles Byrd (11) and Taj Degourville (10).
The connection between Miles Byrd and Miles Heide got the crowd going early. In the first half, Byrd set Heide up with multiple good looks, one of which led to a massive dunk.
Just before halftime, Gwath had a signature sequence in which he blocked a shot and nailed a floater on the other end, displaying his athleticism and finesse all in one play.
Gwath had four blocks in the contest and is now just one swat away from tying the SDSU freshman record set by Skylar Spencer (51) in 2013. Entering the action he was ranked No. 12 in the country in blocked shots (46) and blocks per game (2.42).
Coming out of the half, Wyoming hit their stride and eventually took the lead at the 13-minute mark. Dontaie Allen led the Pokes with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals. The Cowboys’ largest lead of the night (9) came with about seven minutes remaining in the game.
Down by seven with less than six minutes left, the Aztecs called a timeout and regrouped. Struggling to find their offensive rhythm they looked to their leader, sophomore guard Miles Byrd, for an extra push.
“Going into the time out, Byrd was able to wake everybody up. He brought the energy to the huddle and told everybody to wake up,” Gwath said. “We definitely woke up after that.”
Thanks to Byrd’s pep talk, the Aztecs amassed a late 20-point run to help secure their eighth home win. Wyoming cut the lead to three in the final seconds but it wasn’t enough to mount a full comeback.
State held one of the top shooters in the nation, Obi Agbim, to just 2-11 from the field. He ranks first in the conference in three-point percentage (47%) and second in points per game (18.1). BJ Davis covered him consistently throughout the game.
“BJ [Davis] was elite defensively. He guarded the second-leading scorer in the conference and made life tough on him all day,” Dutcher said. “I’m proud of BJ and his defensive effort.”
Due to injury, San Diego State has been without their starting senior forward Jared Coleman-Jones for the last two games. Sophomore big Miles Heide took his spot in the starting rotation.
Dutcher spoke on filling the void of his senior forward.
“Demarshay [Johnson Jr.] played really well for a guy that doesn’t get a lot of minutes. With Jared Coleman-Jones out, we were in a deficit.” he said. “Demarshay stepped in and filled some of that and [Miles] Heide has played good basketball for the last two games.”
SDSU and UW met for the 93rd time. San Diego State holds a 52-41 lead in the all-time series, 34-17 in the Mountain West era. The second matchup of the season series is set for March 1 in Laramie, Wyoming.
This was Dutcher’s 100th win in Mountain West play. He joins Steve Fisher, Leon Rice and Steve Alford as the only coaches to reach the milestone. He commented on the achievement.
“It just means I’ve surrounded myself with really good players and really good coaches,” he said. “I’m not the reason for it. You can’t win without players, you can’t win without good coaches and I’ve got both of those.”
After four games in 11 days, the Aztecs can now rest. Their next game is not until Feb. 8 at Colorado State.