SAN DIEGO – Buckle up Aztecs men’s basketball fans. This has the makings of a wild, up-and-down season.
The Aztecs prevailed in a closer-than-expected 63-58 season-opening win over crosstown rival UCSD Wednesday night. A very tight game against the Tritons after coming off a dominating performance in its exhibition against Cal State San Marcos.
Though both games were vastly different, SDSU has flashed a depth of talent that could make it a clear contender in the Mountain West Conference this season.
But with eight new faces and an entirely new starting lineup, San Diego State will also be a team looking for consistency and cohesive team-play well into the new year.
In this 2024-25 version against the Tritons, SDSU was led by its version of the killer B‘s – Byrd, Boyd and BJ. The backcourt trio of Miles Byrd, Nick Boyd and BJ Davis made plays down the stretch to turn a five-point deficit into a five-point win.
Now in his third season, Byrd in his first collegiate start ever, had a breakout game in this season’s lid-lifter. He connected on four 3-pointers finishing with a career-high 20 points to lead the Aztecs.
But Byrd’s talents extend to every area of the court. In addition to the points, Byrd filled up the stat sheet tallying 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 4 blocks—becoming just the second player in Div. I over the last 10 seasons to do so. He’s an emotional player and his many contributions show he has the game to match the swag.
In his Aztecs’ debut, Florida Atlantic transfer Boyd was the steadying influence down the stretch. The senior made winning plays time and again.
In the final few minutes Boyd scored on a reverse layup, crossed over his defender to make a beautiful dish to Jared Coleman-Jones for a bucket, and then drew a charge on the defensive side that ended a Triton’s threat.
Finally, the sophomore Davis ended the night with 11 points, same as Boyd, while also collecting 4 rebounds from his guard spot.
Early in the season, Davis has shown an on-court maturity and confidence well beyond what his limited collegiate playing experience might suggest. The young man knows what it takes to play winning basketball, and he doesn’t shy away from the moment.
If this young Aztecs squad is going to bloom early, these three killer B’s will need to play well as the team waits for returning scoring leader Reese Waters to return from a stress reaction in his foot.
At halftime SDSU’s lead was a less-than-impressive two points, 24-22. With 9:09 left in the game, the situation had turned much worse. UCSD led 48-42, after a made 3-pointer by Milos Vicentic.
And that’s when the SDSU branded Aztec Defense put the lid on the basket and shackles on the Tritons. Over the next six minutes of game action, UCSD scored a whopping two points.
The game changed when SDSU clamped down on the sharp-shooting Tyler McGhie. The Triton’s leading scorer on the night with 21 points on five made 3’s didn’t record a point in the game’s final 9 minutes and 59 seconds.
An early observation is that San Diego State’s defense will need to improve on its ability to keep opposing guards and wings from penetrating into the paint for easy buckets.
In recent years, the Aztecs have enjoyed the work of bigs like Nathan Mensah and Aguek Arop – skilled big men who could switch out on the opponent’s perimeter players and keep them away from the basket.
Coleman-Jones, Pharaoh Compton, Magoon Gwath and Miles Heide have the length and athleticism to be good defenders, but there is definite work to be done on this end of the floor.
Luckily, the long arms of Gwath and Compton mean blow byes may frequently turn into defensive recovery blocks on unsuspecting guards. SDSU collected 8 blocks in the win over UCSD.
While early, it’s obvious this year’s Aztecs team has talent and lots of it. The question will be how soon can all these gifted individuals gel and turn into a cohesive unit, one that has a chance to compete in November when the schedule has a plethora of tough opponents waiting.
San Diego State’s men’s basketball team takes to the home court next on Tuesday, November 12 for a game against Occidental College. Tip is set for 7:00pm.
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