What San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said after win vs. Wyoming
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San Diego State (20-7, 13-5) passed their test on the road at Wyoming Saturday night, leaving Laramie with a 72-69 victory over the Cowboys.
The Aztecs shot 50 percent from the field for the game, knocked down nine three-pointers and committed seven turnovers yet found themselves in a war with Wyoming late in the game. The Cowboys kept their hopes alive on Saturday by outrebounding San Diego State 39 to 23, leading to 15 second chance points. Wyoming made big contributions from their bench with Matija Belic scoring 12 of his team’s 24 bench points.
BJ Davis and Miles Byrd each scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs while Jared Coleman-Jones finished with 12 points and led San Diego State with five rebounds.
Here’s everything San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said after the victory.
Opening statement:
“I've been coming here for 25 years. This looked like a Wyoming Game. Anybody that hasn’t come here and sat through these games, they don't understand. They say, ‘This opponent's lower in the standings. Don't they care? Don't they know what's at stake?’ We know what's at stake, but this is how Wyoming games look sometimes. You're a half step too slow to get a loose ball. I put on the board: ‘Fight for 40 minutes.’ If we fight for 40, we'll overcome some ups and downs, but we have to fight. And I thought we fought for 40 minutes. Were we perfect for 40 minutes? No, not even close. But I felt like we fought for 40, and that allowed us to get out of here with a victory.”
On why it’s tough to play in Laramie:
“It’s the highest [altitude] college environment you can play in. It’s a challenge. They’ve got a good team too, so it’s not just altitude. They’ve played well. They’ve played a lot of close games, and they’ve found a way to win. And we’ve played a lot of close games, and we’ve found a way to win. At the end of the day, sometimes that’s what happens.”
On changes made in the second half to get the team back on track:
“We rebounded evenly in the second half. We took care of the ball; we only had seven turnovers. We made them play in the half court. I don’t think we turned it over where they could get a fast break on us. We shot 50 percent from the field, which is pretty good, but we didn’t make free throws down the stretch. We missed free throws, and they were making step-back threes, and that’s a recipe for a shot at the end that could have tied the game for them.”
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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.