Utah State's late 3 sinks San Diego State in stunner

Mark Zeigler, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Dec 28, 2024

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SAN DIEGO — It was probably only a matter of time that a young team with a new rotation crashed back to Earth, and it happened Saturday afternoon before a Fox national television audience.

As spectacular as San Diego State looked through the opening 18 minutes en route to an 18-point lead, the nation’s No. 20-ranked team looked stupefied after that and suffered its first hiccup of the season, 67-66 against Utah State at Viejas Arena on Tucker Anderson’s 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left.

The Aztecs (8-3, 1-1) completely lost the plot, as they’d say in England, flummoxed by Utah State’s halftime adjustments to its matchup zone, aimlessly passing across the perimeter before jacking up a contested shot at the shot-clock buzzer on the occasion that it didn’t expire first.

Another British soccer phrase that applied: They ran out of ideas.

It was a shocking development after a free-flowing first half in which they scored 40 points in the opening 18 minutes from all variety of ways — dunks, jump hooks, floaters, 3s, free throws.

During one timeout, Aggies coach Jerrod Calhoun screamed at his team as the Viejas Arena crowd roared: “Don’t be intimidated by these (expletive) people. It’s a basketball game. Who cares about them? It’s like you’ve never played before.”

They started listening and playing unafraid, and the Aztecs became the group that looked like it had never played before.

An 18-point margin became 11 at the half, then seven, then three, then a one-point deficit.

The Aztecs couldn’t make baskets, but they could make free throws and rebuilt the lead to 65-58 inside two minutes to go.

Then, disaster.

Complete, utter disaster.

Utah State’s Ian Martinez sailed down the lane and ran over Miles Byrd, but the officials called a block — much to the chagrin of soldout Viejas Arena. It was Byrd’s fifth foul, and he went to the bench. Martinez scored on the play and got one free throw, which he made to cut it to 65-61.

The Aztecs raced to the other end and instead of running clock, Wayne McKinney III missed a layup against a forest of defenders. Anderson followed that with a 3, and it was a one-point game.

Nick Boyd drew a foul with 51.9 seconds left, made the first free throw, missed second but corralled his own rebound and called timeout. The Aztecs, though, looked lost again on offense, unable to create any open shots and BJ Davis heaved a desperation 3 from deep at the shot-clock buzzer.

Calhoun didn’t call timeout, and Anderson hit another 3 from the right side with 6.8 seconds left — 67-66, Aggies.

SDSU coach Brian Dutcher liked his chances with a broken floor instead of calling timeout, but McKinney got only a half-look at a 3 from the right side that was short.

Buzzer.

Silence.

Aggies galloping on the floor in celebration.

The Aztecs (8-3) went from 52% shooting in the first to 25.9% (7 of 27) in the second and 0 of 11 on 3s. Boyd and Byrd were the only Aztecs in double figures with 14 each.

Martinez had 17 for Utah State (12-1). Anderson and Mason Falslev added 16 each.

When the Fox national telecast joined the game following UCLA’s 65-62 win against Gonzaga, nearly five minutes were gone. What viewers missed was a torrid SDSU start that forced an early Utah State timeout and Jared Coleman-Jones getting cut under the left eye from friendly fire when Magoon Gwath goal-tended an Aggie layup off the glass.

But they did see the Aztecs continue to build the lead to 18 points behind a flurry of offensive rebounds and 3-pointers before what has become a bad habit several times this season — the collapse late in the first half.

The margin went from 16 to 11 in a matter of seconds. Back-to-back defensive deflections by the Aztecs sent the ball rolling across the floor to Martinez, and instead of a fast break going in the other direction Martinez picked it up and drained a 3.

The Aztecs inbounded, turned it over, and Falslev laid it in at the buzzer to make it a more manageable 43-32.

The swoon continued into the second half, which the Aztecs opened with 1-of-11 shooting and soon found themselves behind for the first time all game.

In all, the Aztecs led for 36:57 of the game. In the end, it wasn’t enough.

Notable

Next up: a midweek bye followed by the first true road game of the season (and first trip outside California in more than a month), at Boise State on Jan. 4...… It is semester break but the student section was still full after SDSU sold general admission tickets there for $31 ... Many years, you’ll have the same official once or twice a season. Against Cal last weekend, SDSU had Randy Richardson for the fifth time in 10 games. Saturday, they had Michael Irving for the second straight game and fourth time this season ... Coleman-Jones returned with a bandage below his left eye with 6:12 left in the first half.