LAS VEGAS — The ball left Reese Dixon-Waters’ hand with 19 seconds on the game clock to close the first half on a three-pointer, arching high over a late closeout and dropping cleanly through the net.
San Diego State jogged to the locker room up 10 on Oregon, and for the first time in 24 hours, the senior guard finally looked like himself again.
Less than a night removed from a five-point, 1-for-7 (1-of-6 from three) showing in a 40-point loss to Michigan, Dixon-Waters flipped the script entirely with a team-high 22 points in a 97–80 win over the Ducks. He answered on 9-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-7 from deep, with two assists.
It was the kind of poised, shot-making performance the Aztecs (3-2) needed from their veteran not to go winless two days into the Players Era Festival.
“I think a lot of it’s just my confidence,” Dixon-Waters said. “Obviously, we have a game plan for different defenses we play against, but for a scorer, for somebody like me, my confidence is everything. Today — or yesterday, obviously, I didn’t have that great of a game offensively, but I just had to bounce back and not even think about it today and just play as if that game yesterday didn’t happen.”
The bounce-back was evident on the box score and even louder in the game’s most significant moments.
After trading blows with Oregon (4-2) for much of the first half, SDSU used a 12–0 run to gain separation. Dixon-Waters then put his stamp on the night, drilling that contested jumper before the break to push the lead to double digits and reset the energy inside Michelob ULTRA Arena.
“Yeah, I think it always helps to get a good shot or get a big shot before the half and extend the lead,” he said. “Just proud of my team, the way we responded from yesterday. It shows growth in our team and maturity. I hope we bring the same attitude coming into tomorrow.”
If the first half was about finding his rhythm, the start of the second was about imposing it.
Dixon-Waters scored SDSU’s first three baskets after halftime, part of a stretch where he piled up seven quick points and snuffed out any thoughts of an Oregon comeback. Every time the Ducks nudged the margin down, he answered with a pull-up, a three or a physical drive that made the rim look as big as the Strip.
And his efficiency wasn’t just timely; it was historic. Dixon-Waters’ team-led scoring and his nine field goals are a career high and the most since Magoon Gwath had nine against San Jose State (1/28/25). His 69.2% shooting is the best an Aztec has shot on a minimum of 13 attempts since Nick Boyd went 10-of-14 (.714) vs. Boise State (2/15/25).
On the other sideline, the Ducks hit 51% from the field and 53% from three before the break; SDSU held them to 30% overall and 33% from deep afterward.
From the opposite bench, Oregon head coach Dana Altman saw exactly how decisive Dixon-Waters and the Aztecs’ perimeter shot-making became.
“We gave up a lot of easy looks,” Altman said. “Made a mistake in the zone once and gave up a wide-open three. They made us pay. They hit shots, and then Waters got it going there and got one right before half, where we just weren’t active enough on him.”
San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher was quick to point out that the looks Dixon-Waters buried against Oregon weren’t all that different from the ones that rimmed out against Michigan.
“We got pretty good looks for Reese against Michigan,” Dutcher said. “The looks that he made tonight, he missed against Michigan, they were the same looks. It’s just some nights when he’s on and he was on tonight, there’s very little anyone can do about it.”
By the time the horn sounded on a 97–80 win, Dixon-Waters had done more than fill up a scoring line. He’d recentered the Aztecs’ identity as a veteran closer who can steady them in big moments, then immediately turn his focus forward.
“Even though we won today, for me the game is over with, so I’m already thinking about tomorrow,” he said.
San Diego State faces Baylor tonight at 7:30 p.m. on TruTV at Michelob ULTRA Arena, the final leg of a grueling three-day stretch at the 2025 Players Era Festival.
