It was a tale of two halves for San Diego State Tuesday at Viejas Arena, as they rebounded from a slow start to run away from Wyoming in an 81-65 victory.
“Just another game with Wyoming,” said Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher.
Dutcher said there was no rah-rah halftime speech. The team adjusted after the first half, when they missed several three-point attempts, and moved to attack the basket more in the second half.
“These guys are veterans,” he said. “You don’t have to say a whole lot. You just have to give them a few adjustments and they’re ready to go. It’s not for me to motivate them.”
The Aztecs (16-4, 5-2 Mountain West) came into the game experiencing a small downturn, having lost two of their last three after enjoying a seven-game winning streak. The Cowboys (10-9, 3-3 MW) were coming off a big 98-93 victory over Nevada.
SDSU jumped out to an 8-2 lead with help from back-to-back three pointers from guard Micah Parrish and forward Elijah Saunders. But the Cowboys slowly closed the gap and even took a brief lead, 12-11.
The game would settle into a back and forth in a fast-moving first period. No team had a bigger lead than two points through the middle of the half.
Then Wyoming’s Sam Griffin started heating up. Griffin is Wyoming’s leading scorer, averaging 18.2 points per game, and had just been named Mountain West Player of the Week. He hit a three-pointer and then another basket to push Wyoming to its biggest lead at 32-27.
The Aztecs fought back, with a field goal from Lamont Butler to cut the lead to two and a jumper by Jaedon LeDee to tie it up. Then, with just seconds left, guard Darrion Trammell got his first basket of the game to give the Aztecs a slim 34-32 lead heading into halftime.
SDSU finished the half shooting 36.8% – and 21.1% on three-pointers – to lag behind Wyoming. But SDSU benefited from 13 points off turnovers in the first half.
As the second half began, Griffin remained hot, knocking down another three-pointer to build a five-point lead for Wyoming.
But then, in a moment that electrified the crowd, LeDee pulled down a rebound and ran down the court for a basket and a foul, converting the free throw.
Right after that, Butler stole the ball and drove the length of the court for a layup to give the Aztecs a 45-41 lead.
Butler expanded that lead when he hit a three-pointer from the corner and followed up by driving to the basket for two more points in a furious sequence.
The fans roared again when Trammell drove to the basket and tossed up the ball for two points and a foul that he converted for another. That gave the Aztecs their biggest lead at 54-45 with less than twelve minutes to go. Even little-used Demarshay Johnson Jr. got into the act, getting an alley oop and jamming it in.
Trammell added two more baskets and LeDee added a bruising two points from under the basket to take the lead to 64-49. The scoring continued – another Trammell basket, a Saunders three, another LeDee score under the basket, and the Aztecs lead had grown to 76-60 with two minutes to go.
The Aztecs wound up shooting 66.7% in the second half, almost doubling their first-half production.
Butler ended the game as the team’s leading scorer with 23 points, while LeDee added 17 and Trammell 12.
NOTES: The Aztecs will have a week off before their next game. They go on the road to play No. 24 Colorado State at 6 p.m. Jan. 30. The Rams (15-3, 3-2 MW) take on Wyoming before welcoming SDSU … New San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, sitting courtside, was introduced during the game to hearty applause from the fans.
