5 Factors on Aztecs Historical 108-107 Double OT Stunning Loss to Troy

So where do we begin with what we saw last night. Thousands of Aztecs fans rushed out of Viejas Arena almost as fast as when they were trying to get inside just a few hours earlier.

It was at an official TV timeout at just under the 4 minute mark and Troy was up on SDSU. They were up on the Aztecs by 12 points. You would’ve thought there was no time left on the clock and the buzzer sounded.

But I can’t really blame them. It really looked like it was not our night.

To their upmost credit, Brian Dutcher’s team scratched and clawed their way back into it as the minutes turned into seconds and when Miles Byrd knocked down this incredible half-court buzzer-beater, the Aztecs pulled off one of the most exciting desperation comebacks we’ve seen in a long time at Viejas.

Or at least the most exciting comeback that I didn’t see while also being at Viejas Arena. Sons of Montezuma livestreamed the official broadcast of SDSU’s matchup vs Troy and while my counterpart was at home watching comfortably on the computer, I somehow thought it would be a good idea to physically be at the arena to be there during the stream.

Big mistake. The stream had at least a 20-30 lag and I had to watch and record outside. Probably should’ve just left to Trujillos or Eureka. But oh well, lessoned learned.

Of course we all know by now it was just not meant to be for this Aztecs team. Troy somehow held on for 108-107 victory in 2OT’s. It was the first time a team scored over 100 points on the Aztecs at home since we can remember in the Steve Fisher era and maybe never. Certainly never in the more recent Dutcher era.

Here’s a few thoughts about the unfortunately unforgettable game.

Give It Away–Give It Away Now

This game had a most unusual flow to it. Of course we knew Troy was going to let it fly from beyond the 3 point line. We knew the Campbell brothers were fun to watch, we knew Trojans had scorers that all spread it out evenly.

What we didn’t’ expect was to see the Aztecs dominate in both free throw attempts and rebounds in the first half—only to look at the stat sheet by game’s end to see things were actually much more even.

When you look at the end of the game you realize the two big stat lines spoke volumes. The first were the SDSU turnovers with 20 to Troy’s 13. Time after time you saw inbounds gone astray, back court violations, steals from lazy passes, and a pesky Troy defense that stood out more than the heralded Aztecs defense.

Though the Aztecs did at times create steals of their own and dominated at blocks, the other stat that jumped at me were the points generated from said turnovers. Fast breaks were in favor of Troy with 29 points to SDSU’s 15. Yes, that seems to be natural with turnovers, but the Aztecs couldn’t convert their opportunities enough.

Dutcher’s Dealings

In Dutch We Trust. Yes, we believe this and live by it. We even have a t-shirt about it. But that doesn’t mean we don’t scratch our head sometimes at what we see.

Elzie Harrington the superb talented freshman looked like, well, a freshman—with 6 turnovers. Tae Simmons got only 5 minutes on the floor. How Pharoah Compton only played 10 minutes was one of those times. Dutch even recollected to it in the post game presser.

None of this is going to be a rare thing this season, so we may as well get used to it. With so much of a log-jam of talent on this roster, each game is going to feel as though someone is getting snubbed. If the team loses, those decisions to play a guy less minutes than others is going to be magnified and second guessed to the max.

It’s Dutcher’s biggest job this season to pick the correct lineup and play the hot hands accordingly. On this night, Troy made the Aztecs play their style of ball dictating the flow and making SDSU react to them. If I had the answer how to choose the correct lineups I’d be a millionaire.

Magoon’s Return Spoiled

When news broke that Magoon was going to play this night, we figured 15 minutes, maybe 20 at most. You know, just to get a good sweat, swat some balls and wave at the crowd. Gwath did all that and much much more.

Twenty points on five shots and 8 free throws was awesome. His two big 3 pointers came at such clutch moments, it was fantastic to see the big man play with an adrenaline this team needs.

Add in 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, Magoon got much needed game experience before heading to Las Vegas for the Players Era Tournament with his teammates.

He looked visibly so much bigger & stronger physically. His confidence shined from the court and the fans loved to see it. But it wasn’t a perfect performance as great as it was. But it was truly as close as you can get.

The Shot That Never Was

Miles Byrd shoots half court shots at the close of each warm up. Tuesday night it paid off.

When he nailed the most incredible buzzer beater to tie the game and send into overtime, it rivaled that of Malachi Flynn’s game winner in 2020 over San Jose State. The only problem is that I fear no one will truly remember Byrd’s shot considering the outcome of the night.

But Byrd’s 24 points, 4 three pointers, 6 free throws and 3 assists was a really great performance. Coming into the game with a jammed finger was bad news for the wing player who continues to show his toughness on the court each season.

The moment wasn’t too big for Miles. When he knocked it down yes he was on fire emotionally, but you could see him holding back knowing the job wasn’t done. It will have to be celebrated in full at a much later time.

That shot will only be fully appreciated if the Aztecs do something big this season. But if they do, if they truly do accomplish heights that they feel they are capable of, it will be that shot and hopefully many more this season, that the team will draw back upon as fire in their bellies.

Magical seasons require magical moments. The crowd that stuck around til the end of that regulation witnessed just a taste of that magic. Only time will tell if Byrd and the rest can conjure up some more.

Give Them Their ‘Spect

The buzzer beater only prolonged the inevitable loss. Can you truly say which team deserved to win or not? Maybe. Troy played to their averages and the Aztecs did not. So give the Sun Belt squad their respect. They defied all the odds, the perceived shortcomings, the travel, the tired legs of multiple games before stepping onto the Steve Fisher court.

It was another Mountain West basketball loss to an inferior conference team and the Aztecs adding to those stockpiling of regrettable losses doesn’t help.

This years Trojans team should go forward and do big things in their conference and this Aztecs fan is hoping they do. We will need this Quad 3 loss to look much much better as Fall turns to Winter and the Winter to Spring.

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Up Next: San Diego State heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era NIL Tournament. First game is against Michigan on Monday, November 24. Tip-off is schedule for 7:30pm PST and will televised on TRU Tv.