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BYU pulls away late to get the win at home
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The Aztecs lost a close one to rival BYU 66-60. It was a close game the whole way through, and in the end BYU was able to make shots and SDSU wasn’t.
For the Aztecs, the game was a mess the whole way through. Picking up where they left off against UC Riverside, the offense never found its rhythm. Key players Chad Baker, Lamont Butler, and Matt Bradley all picked up two fouls in the first half and had to sit until the second, limiting their chances to get into a game flow. Baker picked up his second foul within minutes of entering the game. Bradley got his second on a 50-50 charge-block call that went BYU’s way with eight minutes left in the half. With two of their best shooters out, SDSU had struggle scoring unless it was right at the rim.
Despite the offensive woes Trey Pulliam was able to hit a floater with under 30 seconds in the half to bring the score to 32-30 in favor of BYU.
The second half was a back and forth of BYU pulling away by three to five points, and then SDSU closing the gap. With seven minutes left in the game it seemed the Aztecs might have caught a break led by sophomore Keith Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie had a fantastic sequence where he stole the ball from Barcello and hit Pulliam in transition for a layup. The next offensive possession he hit a corner 3 (the third and last 3 of the night for the Aztecs), and then drew a charge against Seneca Knight. The score was 54-53 Aztecs.
Then Baker was called for flopping, letting Barcello tie the game with a technical free throw, and the Aztecs weren’t able to close the gap again. In the end, the offensive woes were too much to overcome for the Aztecs. The defense played great all night long, but being unable to hit free throws or 3-point shots really limited the Aztecs in one of the hardest arenas to play at in the nation.
https://twitter.com/aztec_mbb/status/1459420471343005700?s=21
Nathan Mensah finished with a game high 18 points, and also contributed 8 rebounds and a block.
Barcello led the way for BYU, finishing with 17 points and three assists.
In the end it will go down as a quad 1 loss for the Aztecs, so it’s not damaging to their at-large chances.
The Aztecs play Arizona state next Thursday at home. Through two games their defense has been fantastic but they’ll need to figure out their shooting situation if they want to make a run this season.
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