Aztecs bid adios to Laramie, and it’s 7,220 foot elevation in a convincing win over Wyoming.
San Diego State put together a complete game beatdown against Wyoming in their final trip to Laramie. Most teams struggle in the rarified thin air of Laramie, but the Aztecs showed no signs they were oxygen deprived as they managed to suffocate the Cowboys in all facets of the game. The convincing 74-57 win moves the Aztecs to 12-4 on the season and an undefeated 6-0 in conference play and a six game winning streak. Wyoming dropped to 11-6 on the season and 2-4 in Mountain West Conference play. Aztec Coach Brian Dutcher used his bench frequently to maintain the team’s stamina and momentum. The Aztecs ran the Cowboys out of The Arena-Auditorium in front of 4,556 fans. The Aztecs completely dominated the game in fast break points by a 11-3 margin. They also dominated in the paint with 34 points against Wyoming’s 14. The Aztecs led by as many as 24 points while shooting 50% from the field and 41% from three point. They were paced by Reese Dixon-Waters with 13 points. Miles Byrd added 12 more and Tae Simmons game off the bench to add 10 more. The Aztecs managed to have 11 players in the scoring column in what was a complete and dominating game. The Cowboys were led by Nasir Meyer with 13 points on 6/11 shooting and Gavin Gores added 12 points and 8 rebounds. Leland Walker added an additional 10 points and five assists for the Cowboys in a losing effort.
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The two teams played competitive for the first ten minutes of the first half while upping their lead to 38-25 at halftime. In a play indicative of the game, Aztec guard BJ Davis took an inbounds pass and dribbled the length of the court for a layup at the halftime buzzer. It helped that the Cowboys were as cold as the snowy high plains, shooting only 24.% in the first half including a five minute stretch without a basket. They continued their woes in the second half going through a seven minute stretch with only one basket. The win improves Coach Dutcher to 14-1 against Wyoming and 5-0 at the Arena-Auditoriuim.
“We played pretty well at both ends of the floor,” Dutcher said. “That’s a pretty good effort against a team that was 9-1 at home and scoring 90 points a game. To come in here and hold them to 57, we’re playing good basketball.
“Three road wins, I don’t care what conference you’re in, are three road wins We’ve got three of them right now and we’re pretty proud of that.”
The Aztecs are now tied for first place with Utah State with 6-0 conference records. The Aggies sport an impressive 15-1 record on the season. The Aggies beat Nevada 71-62. The Azecs next play New Mexico at Viejas Arena. The Lobos are in third place. Needless to say, the Saturday game will be an important one for both teams.
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On Wednesday, the Aztecs started slowly, missing six of their first eight shots. They found their range, finishing the half going 11 of 18 shooting the rest of the first half while building their lead. The Cowboys tried to rally to within ten points. Miles Byrd had a response, drew a foul and two free throws, Pharoah Compton managed a hook basket, Magoon Gwath added a three as did Tajh DeGourville and finished off with an in-the- paint jumper from Dixon-Waters. The Aztecs held their lead, unlike the most recent overtime win against Boise State in which they lost a 24-point lead. With the Aztecs shooting better than 50%, they raise their winning mark to 73-2 over the last 75 games when they shoot at that pace.
Saturday will see a busy slate of conference games with Grand Canyon hosting Utah State, Nevada travelling to Air Force, UNLV visiting San Jose State and Fresno State hosting Wyoming. All eyes will be on the Aztecs Saturday with their matchup against New Mexico. The conference has nine teams with a better than .500 winning percentage with Utah State, San Diego State, New Mexico and Nevada holding the lead at present. All these games are leading up to a behemoth matchup between the Aggies and Aztecs on January 31 in Logan. The Aztecs could have 16 wins and the Aggies could have 19 by the time they both meet. The Conference is a good conference, but are highlighted by the presence of these two schools, who will follow each other into the Pac-12 next season.
