SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State Men’s Basketball faced off against the visiting Trojans from Troy University after roughly nine days away from Steve Fisher Court. Despite falling behind by as many as 12 points with under four minutes to play in regulation, the Aztecs would rally late to force not just one but two overtime periods. Unfortunately, the comeback would fall just short with the Trojans barely holding on to escape Viejas Areana with a 108-107 victory.
San Diego State was led by Miles Byrd who poured in a team high 21 points on 58% shooting from the floor. Byrd’s heroics reached a high point late in the game on multiple occasions. First, the junior guard hit a deep, halfcourt shot as time expired to complete the second half comeback and send the game into overtime. He followed that shot up by drawing a charge as the first overtime period ended to force another five minutes of game action. Bryd rounded out his night with three rebounds and three assists.
The other big story of the night was the return of the reigning Mountain West Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, Magoon Gwath. After spending months rehabbing a knee injury suffered last season, Gwath returned to the lineup in emphatic fashion. The seven-foot center stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocks while knocking down all five of his shot attempts including a clutch pair three-point shots late in regulation.
The Aztec’s trio of Reese Dixon-Waters (16 points), BJ Davis (15 points) and Jeremiah Oden (11 points) all reached double figures in scoring. Dixon-Waters scored five points across both overtime periods and played a team high 43 minutes. Miles Heide led the Aztecs with nine rebounds while Taj DeGourville dished out a career best six assists.
As a team San Diego State shot 47% from the floor and 39% from deep. The Aztecs were able to win the rebounding battle 50-41 with five players pulling down at least five rebounds. Turnovers proved to be a key factor in the game with San Diego State giving up the ball 20 times compared to 13 giveaways by the Trojans. Troy was led by Thomas Dowd who chipped in a game high 25 points to go along with a game high 19 rebounds.
UP NEXT
San Diego State will now turn their attention to their highly anticipated trip to Las Vegas to compete in the Players Era Tournament. Their first matchup will be against #7 Michigan on Nov. 24 with a 7:30 p.m. PT tipoff. The following day, on Nov.25,5 they will face Oregon at 8:00 p.m. PT before playing one final game to be determined later in the week.