Whether it was knocking down open 3 pointers and finding open teammates, or swatting shots and picking pockets, Miles Byrd’s effort on both ends mirrored the dominance by the San Diego State Aztecs in a 74-57 win over the Wyoming Cowboys on Wednesday night at Arena-Auditorium.
SDSU (12-4, 6-0 Mountain West) held a Wyoming (11-6, 2-4) team that had been averaging 90.5 points at home to just 24.1% shooting from the field in the first half and a season-low 30.9% for the game. Meanwhile the Aztecs’ offense shot 50% (28 of 56) and knocked down 41.9% from downtown.
"We switched up coverages in the second half on a few things," said head coach Brian Dutcher. "We're playing good basketball. I don't care what conference you're in, road wins are tough, and we've got three of them right now. We're pretty proud of that.”
Byrd had 12 points with a team-best four assists and two blocks along with a steal, while Reese-Dixon Waters scored a game-high 13 points on 3-for-5 shooting beyond the arc and Tae Simmons added 10 points off the bench.
Don’t look now, but that’s five games in a row that the Aztecs have had with their veteran guard duo of Byrd and Dixon-Waters both scoring in double-figures. The effect has helped rise the tide across the entire offense, with SDSU shooting 49.3% from the field as a team over the stretch.
About the only thing that didn’t go the Scarlet and Black’s way was Byrd leaving the game with just under two minutes remaining after appearing to jam his taped thumb on his right hand on a defensive play, and Sean Newman Jr. having left in the second half with an issue with right leg.
The Aztecs took advantage of a nine-plus minute first half stretch after the midway mark where their offense caught fire and defensive pressure knocked their opponents unbalanced, turning a 1-point deficit into a 13-point edge.
While Wyoming was going 1-for-15, five different players contributed to a 23-6 surge as the mix of inside and outside offense kept things rolling for the side in scarlet uniforms. Dixon-Waters knocked down a pair of triples to go with a mid-range pull up, while Simmons got a couple of buckets in transition to go with a pair of made free-throws.
Were it not for the Cowboys making five shots from beyond the arc in the opening half, the 38-25 halftime edge for the Aztecs may have been even greater. Wyoming had just two field goals inside the arc in the first 20 minutes.
SDSU’s driving attack had Leland Walker, Wyoming’s leading scorer averaging 14.5 points per game, pick up his second personal before eight minutes had been played. Walker scored just 2 points on a pair of late free throws in the first half and 10 points for the game on 2-for-7 shooting.
The closest the Aztecs would allow the Cowboys was within 10 points, as the hosts had an 8-3 spurt with just over three minutes into the second half by getting a couple of quick back cut and transition buckets to Gavin Gores.
But Byrd was again there to turn the tide, drawing and converting a pair of free throws and then finding Pharaoh Compton for one of his two straight buckets.
A 3-pointer by Magoon Gwath, who finished with 7 points and a team-best six rebounds in just 18 minutes, started another spurt. The forward added a putback and then Taj DeGourville arced home a 3-ball from the left corner to make it a 14-3 run that blew the doors open for a 21-point lead.
Dixon-Waters knocked down his third long ball of the game at the eight minute that seemed to take the air out of the balloon for Wyoming, who would not score on consecutive possessions without an Aztec response until there were under two minutes to play and the game was decided.
"We emphasized that we were up going into halftime, and we’ve got to keep this lead. They had a run, and I think I was part of that," Dixon-Waters said. "I made a lot of defensive mistakes in the beginning of that second half. We answered. The people that came off the bench and everyone that was in the game contributed and did really well."
In the battle of the top two benches in the conference and amongst the top seven in the nation, the Aztecs dominated to the tune of a 34-14 advantage, though the Cowboys were without Matija Belic and Jared Harris, who have averaged a combined 9.5 points per game with Belic averaging 17.0 minutes.
San Diego State closes their Mountain West road series with Wyoming having won their last five games in Laramie. The Aztecs have won the last 14 meetings between the two teams.
Up next is a Saturday showdown with the New Mexico Lobos (14-3, 5-1), who are coming off a dominant 87-64 win over Grand Canyon on Jan. 13. Tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m. on January 17 at Viejas Arena, with the game to be televised on CBS Sports Network with local radio coverage on 760 AM.
This story was updated at 11:48 p.m.