SAN DIEGO – While next time it counts, the San Diego State Aztecs made the most of their 87-54 exhibition game win over the University of San Diego Toreros on Wednesday night at Viejas Arena.
Ten players got 15 or more minutes of action with four scoring in double-figures, as Reese Dixon-Waters netted 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting. Mile Heide had a game-high eight rebounds, as SDSU controlled the glass 49-25 and held the Toreros to 29.3% shooting from the field.
“We’ve improved from our first performance against UCLA, and it was like (it was) the opponent, there were things we had to do that we got done, so if we’d have played UCLA again we’d have been better a certain things and I thought we were today,” said head coach Brian Dutcher.
“Our ball-screen coverages, where we sent the ball defensively…I felt like our press and our pressure were really good, yet we had 13 turnovers and they had 11, so we didn’t cause a lot of turnovers but I thought the way we played and the pressure we put on early affected their offense early.”
After allowing the opening score of the game, SDSU scored the next 13 points, taking a lead they’d never relinquish as the starting combo of Sean Newman Jr, Taj DeGourville, Reese Dixon-Waters, Pharaoh Compton and Jeremiah Oden set the tone through the first six minutes.
Yet perhaps the play that typified the SDSU opening half came after a Toreros travel with 1:13 remaining. After Latrell Davis missed a 3-pointer and Heide boarded to give him another opportunity, the second miss created a loose ball that saw four different Aztecs hit the deck trying to control the loose ball — ultimately Heide scooped it to Latrell to draw a foul.
10 of the 11 Aztecs that saw time scored points, led by 7 apiece from Compton and DeGourville. Through the first 20 the Scarlet and Black allowed only 4 points in the paint with Compton swatting a pair while Heide and Thokbor Majak also had blocks. It noticeably affected the USD offense, as Compton snatched five rebounds, while Heide and Tae Simmons each snared four.
“It starts in practice, being on the same page with who’s out there,” Compton said, who finished with 9 points, five rebounds and the two blocks. “Talking is the biggest thing as well, and I think we did a good job talking out there.”
SDSU led 48-24 at the break.
Dixon-Waters scored 11 points in the second half, while freshman Elzie Harrington scored 8 of his 12 points and Latrell Davis had 7 of his 13 points.
The Aztecs led by as much as 38, doing so twice with Majak’s dunk with 3:10 remaining the final high-water mark.
Controlling the inside was a big part all game long, as for the contest they outscored the Toreros 30-12 inside. The depth also featured, with a 43-22 bench scoring edge for the Scarlet and Black.
Once again Magoon Gwath dressed and went through all pregame activities but did not play. Miles Byrd, who was named to the Julius Erving Award Preseason Watch List as the top small forward in college basketball, did not dress for the game — according to Dutcher it was to give Byrd more time to recover from an abdominal strain.
Last week the Mountain West tabbed SDSU as the conference’s third ever unanimous preseason selection to win the league, with Byrd, Dixon-Waters, Gwath and Harrington receiving individual preseason honors.
Byrd was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year and Harrington was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year. Dixon-Waters, Gwath and Bryd also were voted onto the ten-player Preseason All-Mountain West team.
The Aztecs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament seven times and earned an NIT berth in nine of the previous ten times they were selected to win the Mountain West.
San Diego State opens the regular season against the Long Beach State 49ers, who were tabbed eighth in the Big West Preseason Coaches’ Poll. With former SDSU assistant Chris Acker as head coach, the 49ers are coming off a 7-25 season with only one returner in leading rebounder Derrick Michael Xzavierro.
“We have a lot of continuity, we have a lot of returning players that have played a lot of time together and college minutes — that makes a difference, so we should be ahead of the curve right now with our returners,” Butcher said.
Tip-off at Viejas Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4.