What San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said after loss at UNLV
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San Diego State dropped Tuesday’s matchup at UNLV, dropping both regular season games to the Runnin’ Rebels for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
The Aztecs (20-8, 13-6) led the game 34-32 at halftime but allowed UNLV to shoot 65.2 percent in the second half, falling 74-67 in what is likely their final true road game of the year. San Diego State had four players finish in double figure scoring led by Nick Boyd (19) and Miles Byrd (15) but shot 40 percent for the game and struggled from the perimeter, going 7-29.
UNLV (17-13, 11-8) won the rebounding battle 36-33 and knocked down 12-24 shots from three-point range, thwarting an Aztec comeback in the final minutes. Sixth-year senior Julian Rishwain poured in a career high 26 points, shooting 9-13 for the game.
Here’s everything San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said after the victory.
Opening statement:
“It was a tough defeat tonight. I put on the board, like I always do in March, win with defense and rebounding, and we let them shoot 65.2 percent in the second half. They out rebounded us, and we didn't display the toughness to get over the hump this game, and we've been tough all year. We've been down in a lot of games and found a way to fight back. They've won six out of seven. They're playing really good basketball. They make six threes a game, and they made 12 tonight against us, and that's what they did against Nevada. They made some step back, some tough threes, some well-earned shots, and when the ball is going in like that, it's tough to win. We have to see if we can answer the call, bounce back, and find a way to play our best at home on senior night against Nevada. I thought we looked tired at times. I told them that I thought we didn't look energetic. I think it was fatigue more than anything. The trip to Laramie was delayed back and we got in here with one day of prep, and I thought we looked tired, and that's not taking anything away from UNLV. They played great. They played good defense, and they played really good offense. That's not taking away from them. I just thought we looked fatigued tonight for the first time in a long time.”
On what it does to the Aztecs’ NCAA Tournament chances:
“I don't know. We have to win games. We have to go out and try to win on Saturday, on senior night, and then see where it puts us. We've been playing good basketball, and this is a tough place to play. We wanted to win, but we missed a lot of threes against them. We've taken more threes against them than anybody. We took 29 tonight and 28 the first game. We had some open looks, and we didn't make them, and I thought that it looked a lot like the Nevada game. Nevada had a lot of feet set looks that didn't go in. UNLV was making hard threes, one on one, step backs, pull ups, and that's what they did against us. We had good looks that we didn't make, and they played fantastic on offense.”
On if the Aztecs missed something defensively or if UNLV was just making hard shots:
“It's not all hard shots. We have to play with great energy. I think anybody that watched [Julian] Rishwain and [Jaden] Henley play today would say, “Shoot, those guys are good.” They're bigger guards. We have smaller guards, and they size us up and step back. And I don't think any of them were like step in, one, two, threes. The majority of their threes were off the dribble, and those are hard to guard when you're making threes off the bounce.”
On the team’s mood:
“Hopefully, it's ordinary and they're ready to get back and compete on Saturday. They know what’s on the line, they know how they have to play. This is a two-game Mountain West road trip, and we found a way to squeak one out at Wyoming. This one, we hung in there and had a lead in the second half, but obviously didn't make enough plays to win the game.”
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-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.