San Diego State alumnus and program great Lamont Butler was shown on the videoboard, seated courtside. The former Aztec, whose March Madness heroics are forever etched into SDSU lore, sent Viejas Arena into a standing ovation.
Moments later, the current Aztecs delivered a performance worthy of the standard he helped set.
Behind a dominant second half, San Diego State rolled past Colorado State 73-50 Wednesday night, improving to 15-5 overall and 9-1 in Mountain West play, remaining alone atop the conference standings despite being without two starters.
“This was a really good win today,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “Even though this is a home game, I looked at this as a trap game because we are in the middle of four games and three of them are on the road. So, the one thing you can’t do is lose the one home game. It’s hard enough to win on the road.”
That trap door never opened.
Without Elzie Harrington and Magoon Gwath, SDSU tightened its rotation and leaned on its defense, its depth and its shot-makers. Reese Dixon-Waters led the way with 16 points on an ultra-efficient 7-of-9 shooting night. Pharaoh Compton added 15 points off the bench and Miles Byrd chipped in 10 as the Aztecs turned a six-point halftime lead into a blowout.
Before the opening tip, Dixon-Waters was honored for surpassing 1,000 career points, a milestone he reached in the previous game against UNLV.
“I was just very thankful,” Dixon-Waters said. “Obviously, I was hurt last year, so I was happy to be back out there playing. To be able to reach that milestone is pretty cool. All my teammates were supportive of me, so that was a cool little moment.”
The night didn’t start smoothly. SDSU went nearly three minutes without a basket and trailed 5-2 early. Colorado State, one of the nation’s best three-point shooting teams, opened 2-for-4 from deep and came in having hit 10 or more three-pointers in three straight games.
But once the Aztecs found their footing, they took control.
BJ Davis, making his first start of the season in place of Harrington, wasted no time, scoring four quick points. Dixon-Waters tied the game with a fadeaway jumper, then buried a step-in three to give SDSU an 11-8 lead. The Aztecs followed with an 11-0 run, holding the Rams scoreless for several minutes as the defense locked in.
“They probably would have fired me if I didn’t [start BJ],” Dutcher said. “Leading scorer, leading in assists, so I had to play him. BJ did a good job… He can play both positions. He did a good job running the whole team today.”
Colorado State kept bombing away from the perimeter, 5-for-16 from three in the first half and briefly trimmed the margin late, but SDSU answered with another 8-0 run. Compton got the crowd going with a fast-break dunk, and the Aztecs took a 33-27 lead into halftime after shooting 54% to force nine turnovers.
Byrd then opened the second half by drilling three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. Dixon-Waters followed with a mid-range jumper, Miles Heide added a free throw and Byrd added a dunk, stretching the lead to 41-27.
Byrd even had a moment of redemption. After missing a one-handed windmill attempt that launched high off the rim, he stole the ball again on the next possession and finished with a slam. This time, with two hands.
The Rams briefly answered with two threes, but Dixon-Waters took over. He scored five straight points to ignite a 9-0 run, then later buried a corner three for his 16th point, sending Viejas into a roar and pushing the margin past 15 for good.
Compton joined the party, finishing an alley-oop and throwing down his second dunk of the night.
“They are just getting better every game,” Dutcher said. “Reese was super efficient, and he was really good on the defensive end as well. And then Pharaoh came off the bench. He is also shooting a high percentage and taking high–percentage shots. He makes that effort play where all of a sudden he is above the rim and dunkin’ the ball. Real happy with both of them.”
Pharaoh Compton’s 15 points marked his career high against a Division I opponent.
“Just taking pride in our defense,” Compton said. “Just knowing that if we step up and lock in on that side of the floor, no team can compete with us. I feel like we’re buying into the coaching more, buying into what the coaches are telling us for the game plan and sticking with that through the whole game.”
Dixon-Waters finished with a game-high 16, Compton had 15 on 6-of-7 shooting, Byrd reached double figures, and Davis added nine points and five assists.
The Aztecs shot better in every phase: 54% overall, 46.2% from three and 76.5% at the line, while winning the paint (30-14), bench points (34-22) and steals (10-5).
It was a complete performance on a night when the Aztecs could not afford a slip, taking care of business to remain alone in first place in the Mountain West.
San Diego State now turns its attention to Saturday’s showdown at Utah State, a 10 a.m. PST tip in Logan that will air nationally on CBS, with their conference lead at stake once again.
