Ugly first half, rough finish sinks Aztecs
The halftime entertainment at Viejas Arena on Saturday night for San Diego State’s basketball game against UNLV was two roller skaters on a tiny octagonal platform that could barely fit them.The secret to their NCAA Tournament resumes in recent years has been a few high-profile victories and, equally important, absolutely no bad losses.
The Aztecs took the floor without their usual verve, dazed looks across their faces, lethargic body language, sluggish, flat, uncarbonated, uninspired. They trailed by eight at the half, then by 13, then mounted an energized comeback that cut it to three and had Viejas Arena rocking, and had two possessions to tie it … and then the gas gauge hit E.
In the 15-point win against Colorado State, 10 of SDSU’s first 11 baskets were in the paint. On Saturday, their first five shots were all 3s – all misses, one deeper than the next. At the second media timeout midway through the half, they were 1 of 1 inside the arc and 1 of 9 behind it.The Rebels, meanwhile, worked the shot clock and found driving angles. A 9-0 run gave them a 25-17 lead. At halftime, it was 31-23.
On UNLV’s next possession, Jalen Hill had the ball in the left corner. The Aztecs spent much of Friday’s practice working on conservative closeouts against Hill, a sub-30% shooter on 3s. Instead, Magoon Gwath went for his pump fake and flew past him. Hill drove into the lane, his preferred action, made a short shot and was fouled.A hail of 3s from Byrd and Nick Boyd got them back in it, closing to four with 1:51 left.
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