Reese Dixon-Waters continued his incredible senior season for San Diego State with his 20 points; the guard shot 6-13 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc in the Aztecs’ 89-72 win over Utah State.
Dixon-Waters is leading the Aztecs in scoring this season, averaging 12.6 points per game on 42% shooting from the field. Last night, he continued to show his experience and maturity as a leader on the court for SDSU. His 20-point performance against Utah State marked his fourth ball game of the season with over 20 points.
“We had a good game plan offensively… they found [Dixon-Waters] in those corners for open threes,” head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “Reese was dynamic; people are going to have to pay attention to him.”
Dixon-Waters started the ball game 0-2 from the three-point line and had a turnover in the first two minutes of the game, but it was just a matter of time before he settled in and got in the groove.
Aztecs guard Taj DeGourville made a beautiful swing pass to Dixon-Waters, who was wide open in the corner, where he sank his first three-pointer of the night. At the end of the first half, Dixon-Waters had 15 points as the Aztecs led 46-33 at the break.
“Today they got me going because I shot the easy ones,” Dixon-Waters said postgame. “I kind of let the game come to me, and in those moments where it’s butter, and it’s one on one, then I took those shots.”
SDSU not only relied on Dixon-Waters’ scoring outburst but also on the team’s three-point shooting and defense. The Aztecs made seven three-pointers against the Aggies, shooting one of the highest percentage clips from downtown on the season.
The Aztecs have had inconsistencies from the three-point line all season, and in the five games leading up to Utah State, they shot 28.6% from three.
With nine minutes left in the second half, DeGourville knocked down a step-back three that got called for a foul, sending him sliding onto the hardwood in front of the courtside fans. DeGourville would complete the four-point opportunity, further igniting the Viejas Arena crowd into a frenzy.
The bread and butter of SDSU basketball is its defense. Despite giving up 72 points, SDSU saw impactful defensive performances from Magoon Gwath and Miles Byrd. Gwath had nine points, nine rebounds, and a block while playing 24 minutes — the second-most minutes he’s played this season.
“He gets rebounds the others can’t get,” Dutcher said. “That’s what we need down the stretch, need his rebounding, need his shot blocking around the rim, and his presence was felt out there.”
Utah State started the ball game hot from downtown, making three shots from beyond the arc in the first five minutes of the game. After those early makes from the Aggies, SDSU shut down Utah State from three as they ended the night 4-19.
“We did a better job at not falling asleep,” Dixon-Waters said. “They run a lot of pin downs, so having to chase them does get tiring, but because we’re so deep in defense, we’ve got a lot of people that can do pretty well in keeping their man in front of them.”
