The wisdom was that for the San Diego State Aztecs to knock off the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats in the Hall of Fame Series, everything would have to go right.
They got a gritty defensive effort that held the top-ranked team to equaling its fewest first half points of the season, but the offense disappeared into the desert night in a 68-45 loss at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Saturday night.
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SDSU (6-4) shot a season-low 26.3% from the field, with Reese Dixon-Waters scoring 8 points and the Aztecs not getting a second player with multiple field goal makes until Tae Simmons battled a bucket home nearly four minutes into the second half.
Meanwhile Arizona (11-0) got 11 points each from Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat, while Tobe Awaka had 15 rebounds and Motiejus Krivas had 13 rebounds and three blocks. In addition to having five players in double-figure scoring, the Wildcats had a 20-10 edge in offensive rebounding () overall and had a 32-24 edge in paint scoring.
The Aztecs watched a 7-point lead disappear thanks to an 8-0 Arizona run to close the first half, and their shooting woes continued after halftime. Just three makes over the first 10 minutes of the second, as the Scarlet and Black settled for mid-range and perimeter jump shots instead of attacking the rim. They had 13 attempts at the line in the opening half, but it took until the 8:03 mark to draw the second Wildcats foul out of the break.
Arizona generated a 15-8 edge in free throw attempts in the second half, and had a 27-19 edge in freebie tries for the game.
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The Wildcats relentlessly attacked the paint, which also created additional space for their shooters to start making from downtown. Back-to-back 3’s from Anthony Dell’Orso and Dwayne Aristode gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead (47-34) at the 11 minute mark and forced a timeout.
Arizona’s length and height gave the Aztecs fits all night on offense, with SDSU making just eight field goals in the first half and seven in the second half. BJ Davis saw his seven-game streak of scoring in double-figures end after going 1 of 12 shooting, as he, Dixon-Waters and Miles Byrd combined to go 5 of 29 from the field.
For much of the first half the game was played at the Aztecs tempo, with the Wildcats only able to manage 3 points on the fast break. The defense also held an Arizona offense that averaged nearly 31 shot attempts per half to 25, as early foul trouble for Peat meant the Wildcats top scorer played only seven minutes.
After Bradley’s pair of free throws just after the first media timeout, SDSU got back-to-back scores when Pharaoh Compton converted a pair at the line and then Jeremiah Oden splashed a 3-pointer to give the Scarlet and Black the lead that they held for over 15 minutes.
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Dixon-Waters made his first of two jumpers in the opening 20, the only Scarlet and Black player to do so, which kicked off a mini 6-0 run that pushed the lead out to 8 points near the midway mark. Davis made a pair of free throws and a Magoon Gwath paint bucket, but the make by the big at the 10:07 was SDSU’s third-to-last of the half.
The Aztecs made just two of their final 14 shots from the field, with Dixon-Waters hitting a shot and then Tae Simmons battling for a bucket on the block. But the 7 point lead evaporated over the final 1:49 of the half as the Wildcats closed it on an 8-0 run.
A key moment came with Bradley on the line again, when head coach Brian Dutcher was called for a technical foul. While Dell’Orso made just one of the two free throws, it brought life to the crowd, which roared as the senior guard hit Arizona’s first 3-pointer of the half with 32 seconds left for a 28-27 halftime lead.
SDSU returns to The Mesa for their final pre-holidays game on Tuesday, Dec. 22, when they face the DIII Whittier College Poets at 1 p.m. at Viejas Arena.
