What San Diego State’s Miles Byrd said after loss at UNLV
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San Diego State suffered a setback on Tuesday night, dropping their penultimate regular season game at UNLV, 74-67. The Aztecs led by two points at halftime before allowing the Runnin’ Rebels to outscore them by nine points over the final 12 minutes to seal the victory.
UNLV shot 12-24 from three-point range for the game and shot 65 percent from the field in the second half to take control. Sixth-year senior Julian Rishwain, a veteran of 145 games who’s previously played at Boston College, San Francisco and Florida, finished with a career 26 points while knocking down six of his nine attempts from long range. Jaden Henley and Jailen Bedford combined for the other six three-pointers as the Runnin’ Rebels swept the regular season series from the Aztecs for the first time since 2012-13.
San Diego State scored 30 points in the paint but struggled from the perimeter, shooting 7-29. Nick Boyd (19) and Miles Byrd (15) were two of four Aztecs to finish in double figures but San Diego State was unable to slow down a hot-shooting UNLV squad.
In the loss, Miles Byrd became the first player in the Mountain West Conference history to rack up a stat line of at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks while making multiple three-pointers.
Here’s everything sophomore Miles Byrd said after Tuesday’s loss.
Opening statement:
“It was a tough loss. We had a lot on the line. We’re well aware that we needed to come out and get this one done. You have to tip your cap to them. They made double their game average with 12 threes. They made a lot of tough ones, some late, some momentum killers. You’ve got to give them credit. They played well. Shout out to them.”
On how frustrating it is to face a team shooting that well:
“A lot of it was self-imposed. As a team, we pride ourselves on how we pick up defensively, and how we turn guys and make it hard. They are without their point guard right now. We were allowing them to be a little too comfortable and get to what they wanted. When you're down a Dedan Thomas type of guy, everybody gets a lot more freedom. Everyone's going to play a lot better. Shout out to Julian Rishwain, who was 6-of-9 from 3 and scored 26 points, his career high. He played well.”
On the difficulty of UNLV’s shots:
“I think we played good defense. We could have picked up the pressure a little bit. As much as it hurts to keep saying, I think the lack of maturity with our team is showing at the start of games. We come out flat too much. We know what it is to be San Diego State in this conference. Every team wants to give you their best shot.”
On his stat line:
“We know the type of defense they play and that the skip pass is going to be there. I was stepping in with confidence, and at the end of the day, I think it comes down to me being able to hit shots for our team, and I wasn't able to do that today. I think all of us can say that there were at least three or four shots that we took that we want to get back. There are also two or three shots that I took that I know I should make 90% of the time. That's the game of basketball. That's why you play it and that's why you love it.”
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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.