No Way José: San Diego State’s RED jersey magic strikes again in 21-point comeback victory

Well wasn’t that fun at all was it. Just another memorable victory at Viejas for the boys in Red & Black.

Tuesday night San Diego State fought back from as much as 21 points down in the first half to beat the San Jose State Spartans 71-68. It was just as incredible as it sounds.

San José in the first half shot one of the most remarkable performances that I’ve ever seen in a live basketball game. Knocking down 3 pointer–after 3 pointer the Spartans raced out over a lost Aztecs team that couldn’t find any answers on the hardwood.

So how did the Aztecs overcome this daunting challenge—their 2nd largest comeback ever not done since vs UNLV in 2017? Here are 3 takeaways from this unbelievable Aztecs victory.

Red Jersey Magic

Just as we stated yesterday in our preview article the Aztecs put their true colors on the line by wearing their feared and famed red uniforms against the Spartans. The team is well aware of all the mystique that comes with this act and yet they embrace the pop of color in their arsenal of uniforms.

Now I’m not saying the effects of wearing red don’t exist. I mean we’ve all seen the way these games have unfolded when they do. In this chapter it was no different as San Jose State hit a remarkable 60% of 3 point shots at one point with Josh Uduje and Latrell Davis collecting 5 each. Those players are quality guys on the floor but c’mon. That’s an absurd amount of makes of which were unguardable shots for the most part.

But imagine not wearing your own team colors out of fear? Nah, couldn’t be me.

I choose to embrace this paranormal activity as a welcomed right of passage for all great Aztecs teams. You want to be considered one of those special teams with a special season—you must overcome the dark forces that come with wearing the blood red.

And that’s just what this team did.

A 21-point deficit turning into a 3-point win had to be this way. What else did you expect? In their 1st half SDSU committed 11 turnovers. In the 2nd half only 3. The Spartans continued to hit their 3-pointers but not nearly at the feverish rate as before.

Could I sit here and say the main reason for the comeback was turning the Spartans over more than they turned it over? Sure. Could I say Miles Byrd finally began to knock down his shots after going scoreless in the 1st half? Of course.

But in the end why did it happen this way? Why did the team have to dig themselves a hole before they flexed on everyone and showed their true colors? I have no idea.

You just cannot deny the sorcery the red jersey’s yield. Just embrace and overcome.

Goon Squad

Okay okay, we need to have some logic & reason to this write-up. Last week he was named freshman of the week for the Mountain West conference. Last night Magoon Gwath broke out with perhaps his finest performance to date.

Gwath had a career high 24 points on 9-15 shooting including 3-6 three pointers and 7 rebounds. Magoon put up big numbers but it was the confidence and trust in himself that visibly jumped out at you.

His decision making when to take a three did not look like hesitation, but rather in flow with the game. It was as if he was waiting, or rather expecting a better look to open up for himself. Usually one did.

When he did hunt for shots it was his footwork and mechanics off the dribble that looked so much more forceful and intentional. To say his vision and feel for the game in those isolation areas had improved is an understatement.

All of this is not to mention the defensive and rebounding improvement that he continues to show. Down were the overly anticipation of blocking shots that lead to fouls. Using his length as an asset to position for boards is also an area that can grow immensely.

Gwath’s consistency all game long held things down for the Aztecs and afforded other players to open up at different points in time to contribute to various runs.

Late Game Offense

Just as they did against Nevada the Aztecs didn’t heat up until the 2nd half. On this night it took out scoring the Spartans 42-27 in order to earn a 3 point victory. Why might you ask? I’d start with saying ball movement. Mainly because Coach Dutcher says so.

It’s not that hard to see when this team moves the ball this team wins. In the first half they were fumbling & stumbling. Something Dutch attributed to playing too fast. To me it looked as if they were playing too slow. But this is the difference between playing too fast in your mind that it comes out looking slow or just physically disjointed with your teammates.

It wasn’t until the 2nd half that Nick Boyd (11pts) opened up scoring in momentum shifting ways. But it was his 5 assists and 9 rebounds that packed so much punch aiding the activity on the glass—especially with Jared Coleman-Jones not available due to injury.

Lastly, what can you say about Miles Byrd. These Aztecs will go as far as Miles can lead them. His 13 second half points including 3 three pointers took his teammates surge and made it a complete comeback.

The spectacular high point was his acrobatic reverse layup to put SDSU ahead 71-65 with under a minute left. It was the kind of play only Byrd could make and only dare to take.

We dare both he and these Aztecs to take more.

San Diego State next faces the Wyoming Cowboys this Saturday at Viejas Arena. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 5pm PST and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.