What San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher said after loss at Utah State
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San Diego State was unable to hold onto a late lead on Saturday night, falling 79-71 to Utah State.
The Aztecs (18-7, 11-5) worked their way back from a 14-point deficit in the first half and led multiple times in the second half before a late Utah State (14-4, 14-3) run sealed the win for the Aggies.
An injury to standout forward Magoon Gwath in the opening minutes of the game forced the Aztecs to change their rotation over the final 37 minutes of the game. Gwath went down with an apparent knee injury after blocking a shot and later appeared on crutches with his right knee wrapped in ice.
San Diego State limited Utah State’s Mason Falslev to three points on 1-8 shooting but had no answer for Dexter Akanno. A veteran of 131 games with previous stops at Marquette and Oregon State, Akanno had 26 points, knocking down seven of nine three-point attempts for the Aggies.
Nick Boyd and BJ Davis were San Diego State’s two double-digit scorers, finishing with 15 and 14 respectively.
Here’s everything San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said after the loss.
Opening statement:
“We show what we always show. We're gutty, we're gritty and we fought back from a seven-point deficit. We took the lead early in the second half. They built it up again, and we fought back. They got to the rim, they found the matchup they wanted and they drove the ball. We didn't have the shot blocking we normally have in there to protect the rim, and that hurt us. But that's neither here nor there. We have what we have. I thought we played well enough to win, but we didn't make enough game time plays to win. It was a gutty performance against a really good Utah State team. We had chances to win and just could not make the final plays to get it done.”
On Magoon Gwath’s injury:
“Right now, we’re calling it a sprain. That's what it will be until we get back and get an MRI and have a better idea of what we're dealing with. I think having him ready for Tuesday would be a stretch. It’s not what you want to see. I feel awful for Magoon. But as bad as I feel for him and support him, my job is to get whoever we have available ready to play on Tuesday against New Mexico, and then down the stretch in a very good Mountain West.”
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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.