PHOENIX — San Diego State dropped its fourth game of the season Saturday night after a second-half breakdown from the Aztecs, resulting in a 68-45 loss against the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats.
In what is labeled a neutral-site game played in Phoenix, the University of Arizona saw a packed home crowd, with seemingly 95% of the arena filled with Wildcat fans.
The Aztecs now stand at 6-4 (1-0 Mountain West) and are 1-14 all-time against a top-25 Arizona squad. No. 1 Arizona (11-0) showed once again why it is among the top teams in the country and one of the few with real national championship potential.
San Diego State showed promise in the first half. Their defense was getting off to an impressive start, with Miles Byrd having a steal and a deflection in the opening three minutes of the game.
BJ Davis, who leads the Aztecs in scoring this season, is averaging 13.3 points per game off the bench, including seven straight double-digit scoring games prior to Saturday’s game. Davis got a steal off an inbound pass, resulting in a Jeremiah Oden three-pointer to fall, making it 11-8 SDSU.
San Diego State went on a 6-0 run and led by as many as eight points in the first half. Reese Dixon-Waters led the Aztecs in scoring at the break with six points.
Arizona took the lead back in the final 30 seconds of the first half when Anthony Dell’Orso knocked down a three-point shot to give the Wildcats a 28-27 lead.
The two teams went a combined 2-17 from beyond the arc in the first half. San Diego State’s defense forced 10 Arizona turnovers, alongside three blocks, two of which came from Magoon Gwath.
Head coach Brian Dutcher received his first technical foul of the season following a personal foul called on Aztec guard Sean Newman Jr.
“I wasn’t happy with the officiating. Usually, to get one, you have to swear, or you have to use your arms to show them up,” coach Dutcher said. “I just wanted him to tell me why he gave me tech and he didn’t want to talk to me.”
Coming out of the break, down by one, SDSU took back the lead on an Elzie Harrington layup. That would be the last time the Aztecs led in this game.
“We gave them a half but we didn’t give them a game,” coach Dutcher said postgame when asked about his team’s performance.
Back-to-back Wildcat threes put Arizona up 47-34 midway through the second half. Arizona’s Dell’Orso would add another three-point make to his stat sheet on the night, making it 50-36 Arizona. A put-back slam from Arizona’s Tobe Awaka would put the Wildcats up 20 points nearing the end of the ballgame.
A rough night on the offensive end for the Aztecs saw no player hit double figures in scoring, while Arizona had five players all score 10 or more points. A surprisingly poor shooting night from the Aztecs saw them end the game going 1-14 from three-point range and 25% from the field.
“They were bigger and longer, so we had a lot of the same shots but over bigger and higher contests,” Dutcher said.
Arizona dominated SDSU on the glass, out-rebounding the Aztecs 52-28. Teammates Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka combined for 28 of the Wildcats’ 52 rebounds, with Krivas ending with 13 and Awaka having 15.
“Rebounding was the key to the game and they got more second-chance opportunities,” Dutcher said. “I think we gave them a pretty good defensive performance, but we just didn’t finish rebounding the ball, and that was a big key in the second half.”
Reese Dixon-Waters ended the game with a team-high eight points while shooting 2-10 from the field and 0-4 from three.
“I feel like I’m in a slump right now with shooting,” Dixon-Waters said. “I’m still confident in my shot offensively.”
SDSU’s other stars in Miles Byrd and Magoon Gwath have struggled as of late for the Aztecs. Byrd ended the game with seven points on 2-7 shooting and Gwath ended the night with only three points despite a solid defensive showing.
“They got to start making some shots,” Dutcher said. “I need one of those threes to make shots for us to be competitive.”
The Aztecs now look to their Mountain West schedule, where coach Dutcher and the team know they will have to play lights out to earn a chance at an NCAA tournament bid.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where the conference is all we can look forward to now,” Dutcher said. “We have to find a way to avoid the landmines of the Mountain West and win quality games.”
