SAN DIEGO – Viejas Arena has had its share of moments over the years where the San Diego State Aztecs have unnerved their opponents down the stretch.
On Tuesday night, uncharacteristically it was the Aztecs who at times appeared sped up in the second half, as the Grand Canyon Lopes took advantage of four turnovers over the final six-and-a-half minutes and salted the season series with a 73-63 win on Tuesday night.
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Miles Byrd led SDSU (18-7, 12-3 Mountain West) with 18 points, scoring 13 in the second stanza, but the hosts shot just 31.3% from the field in the final 20 minutes, including making 2 of 13 over a nine-minute stretch where Grand Canyon (17-9, 10-5) took control.
Jaden Henley scored a game-high 21 points with three steals, while Efe Demirel added 14 points with 11 rebounds and Makiah Williams scored 11 points with seven rebounds and three assists.
A top of the key 3-pointer by Byrd 86 seconds into the second half was the last time the Aztecs held the lead, as GCU responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead. The closest SDSU was able to pull the rest of the way came on Byrd scoring an and-one to make it 43-41 GCU with just over five minutes played.
But Williams responded with a 3-pointer and Dennis Evans scored a second-chance bucket by hooking a rebound home. Grand Canyon had a 22-12 edge in paint scoring for the second half, part of a 30-26 advantage for the game.
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Trailing by 12-points with 8:21 remaining, the final SDSU kick saw the Scarlet and Black pull within 5-points twice, with Tae Simmons making a pair of free-throws after getting fouled in transition with 4:29 to play, then Byrd making a pair of at the line with 1:49 to play.
Simmons finished with 9 points and four rebounds, while Taj DeGourville had 8 points in 22 minutes off the bench — he and Byrd were the only Aztecs to make three or more from the field.
GCU closed the game out by scoring 7 of the final 9 points for the game. The Lopes have won six of the seven games all-time against the Aztecs, including winning two of three contests on The Mesa.
The opening half started out like a slug-fest, with both teams taking away clear paths to the basket and forcing jump shots. With the Lopes hitting from downtown out of the game, knocking down three of their first six attempts, the visitors were able to build a 9-point lead when Nana Owusu-Anane hit from the left wing with just over ten minutes played.
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SDSU struggled getting the ball inside early, unable to get through the length of the Lopes defenders until Pharaoh Compton scored the Scarlet and Black’s first paint bucket on a dip-under layup. Miles Heide scored 5 points in a row for the Aztecs, getting a dunk and then drawing an and-one.
But the mood began to change after a layup by Henley when Byrd hit SDSU’s first and only triple of the first half at the 7:15 mark, and then knocked the ball free and BJ Davis converted one of two at the line after getting fouled that made it a 4-point deficit.
After the Lopes had not missed more than two consecutive shots through the first 11-plus minutes, SDSU limited the visitors to just 1-for-8 shooting down the stretch to turn the game around while putting together a 14-3 scoring run heading into the break.
Byrd started it with a fading jumper on the left side of the lane off an in-bounds play, then an SDSU steal led to a Sean Newman Jr. layup. The Aztecs pulled within 1-point when Simmons shook free down low for a slam.
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The only GCU respite was another Owusu-Anane triple, but SDSU scored the final 8 points of the half with DeGourville and Simmons both converting a pair at the line. Then the sophomore guard alley-ooped to Simmons with 75 seconds before halftime that turned Viejas all the way up to ‘madhouse’ status. DeGourville added another transition bucket after a steal, then Byrd forced a 30-second shot clock violation on the Lopes final possession as SDSU led 33-29 at the break.
SDSU fell half-a-game back of Utah State for first place in the conference, with the Aggies hosting Boise State on Wednesday night.
The Aztecs will head out to Moby Arena to face the Colorado State Rams, who the Scarlet and Black beat 73-50 on Jan. 28. Tip-off from Fort Collins is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 21, with televised coverage on CBS Sports Network and a local radio broadcast on 760 AM.
This story will be updated.
