SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State Aztecs have upset their opponents many times over the years at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs uncharacteristically played faster at times in the second half on Tuesday night, and the Grand Canyon Lopez capitalized on four turnovers in the final six and a half minutes to win 73-63 and set up the season series.
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Miles Byrd led SDSU (18-7, 12-3 Mountain West) with 18 points, including 13 in the second quarter, but the home team shot just 31.3% in the final 20 minutes, including 2-for-13 in nine minutes that Grand Canyon (17-9, 10-5) controlled.
Jaden Henry scored a game-high 21 points and 3 steals, Effie Demirel had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Makia Williams had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
At 86 seconds of the second half, Bird hit a key three-pointer and the Aztecs maintained the lead for the last time. GCU responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead. The closest SDSU was able to pull away was a 2-and-1 by Byrd to give GCU a 43-41 lead in just over 5 minutes.
But Williams responded with a three-pointer and Dennis Evans scored on a second-chance rebound. Grand Canyon led 22-12 in the paint in the second half and led 30-26 at the game.
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Trailing by 12 points with 8:21 left in the game, the Redblacks twice got within five points on SDSU’s final possession, with Tae Simmons hitting two free throws after being fouled in transition with 4:29 left, and then Byrd hitting two free throws at the free throw line with 1:49 left.
Simmons finished with nine points and four rebounds, and Taj Degouvier scored eight points in 22 minutes off the bench — he and Bird were the only Aztecs to score three or more points.
GCU scored seven of the final nine points of the game to close out the game. The Lopes have won six of seven all-time against the Aztecs, including two of three in Mesa.
The first half started out like a slugfest with both teams occupying clear paths to the basket and forcing jumpers. The Lopes attacked from the center of the game, knocking down three of their first six possessions, and the visitors built a nine-point lead just over ten minutes into the game when Nana Owusu-Anane struck from the left wing.
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SDSU struggled to get the ball inside early and couldn’t get past the length of Lopez’s defender until Pharaoh Compton got the Scarlet and Black’s first bucket of paint on a layup in the post. Miles Head scored five straight points for the Aztecs, first with a dunk and then tying the game.
But the mood began to change after Henry’s layup, when Bird hit SDSU’s first and only 3-pointer of the half at 7:15, then knocked the ball away and B.J. Davis hit one of two free throws at the free throw line after being fouled to make it a four-point deficit.
After the Lopes were held to no more than two consecutive field goals in the first 11 minutes, San Diego State turned the game around by limiting the visitors to 1-for-8 shooting while going on a 14-3 scoring run before halftime.
Bird started the game with a fade jumper from the left side of the lane after an inbounds pass, then an SDSU steal led to a Sean Newman Jr. layup. The Aztecs cut the deficit to one point when Simmons hit a low shot.
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GCU’s only respite was another triple from Owusu-Anane, but SDSU scored the final eight points of the first half, with Degouville and Simmons both hitting two from the free throw line. Then, the sophomore guard’s alley-oop to Simmons with 75 seconds left before halftime sent Viejas all the way to “madhouse” status. Degouville added a conversion shot after a steal, and then Bird forced a 30-second shot clock violation on Lopez’s final possession to give SDSU a 33-29 lead at halftime.
SDSU trails Utah State by a half-game for first place in the conference, and the Aggies host Boise State on Wednesday night.
The Aztecs will travel to Mobile Arena to face the Colorado State Rams, whom the Redblacks defeated 73-50 on Jan. 28. Kick-off is expected to begin Saturday, February 21, at 3 pm PT from Fort Collins, with the CBS Sports Network telecast and local radio broadcasting at 760 am.
This story will be updated.
