SAN DIEGO – San Diego State earned their twentieth victory of the season in the regular season finale against the visiting UNLV Rebels. The Aztec’s outlasted UNLV 89-86 in a back-and-forth contest on Steve Fisher Court to cap off a successful senior night.
UNLV would strike first with Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn hitting a three-point shot. The game was tied with roughly 16:30 on the clock before back-to-back Gibbs-Lawhorn threes sparked an 8-0 scoring run for the Rebels. SDSU would respond with their own 11-0 scoring fueled by buckets from five different players. San Diego State would maintain a 42-39 lead heading into the halftime break. Reese Dixon-Waters led the way with 10 points and four rebounds in 17 minutes of first half action. BJ Davis chipped in nine points as well.
The second half started with another Dixon-Waters midrange jump shot. UNLV rallied with 16:42 on the clock going on a four minute, 15-8 run that tied the game 53-53. With just under 12 minutes to play BJ Davis erupted to score 18 points. Neither team would be able to pull away down the stretch with Gibbs-Lawhorn doing his best to keep the Rebels within striking distance. Behind clutch free throw shooting from Dixon-Waters and a game clinching steal by Davis, the Aztec’s secured the final victory of the regular season in Viejas Arena.
Coach Brian Dutcher’s squad was led by a career high 30 points from BJ Davis who scored 21 second half points. Davis shot 65 percent from the floor and tied his career best with four made shots from behind the arc. Dixon-Waters finished his final game in Viejas Arena scoring 19 points and pulling down six rebounds. The senior from Long Beach finished the regular season scoring in double figures 18 of his last 20 games. Miles Byrd was everywhere on the defensive end of the court, posting three blocks and three steals. It was his tenth game with multiple blocks this season and his fifteenth with multiple steals.
As a team the Aztec’s shot 55 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep. The second unit was outstanding, outscoring the Rebels reserves 52-27 with seven different Aztecs scoring at least six points. They also won the rebounding battle 33-30. SDSU wraps up the regular season with a 14-2 record on Steve Fisher Court.
UP NEXT
San Diego State now turns its attention to the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas. The Aztec’s have clinched the first-round bye and are still in the hunt for a share of the regular season title. The team will be back in action for the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 12. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network from the Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas.