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There are only so many times you can pull victory from the jaws of defeat before you lose an arm.
San Diego State, miraculously, still has all its limbs.
The Aztecs shouldn’t. But they do, trailing an unfancied opponent in the second half again and somehow rallying for a 63-61 win against Wyoming that they probably didn’t deserve based on the game’s first 32½ minutes and final 11 seconds.
Last month, it was a buzzer-beating layup in overtime at Air Force. Last Tuesday, it was coming from 21 down to survive San Jose State 71-68.
Saturday’s magic trick against a bottom-tier Mountain West foe: Down nine and seemingly comatose with 6½ minutes to go, only to outscore the Cowboys 20-0 (yes, 20-0) until the closing seconds.
Ah, the closing seconds.
The Aztecs (15-5, 8-3) were on their way not only to escaping defeat but escaping a major hit in the computer metrics because they were favored to win by 16 and they were up 10 inside 11 seconds to go.
Here’s what happened next, as unbelievable as it might sound: Wyoming made eight free throws in two seconds.
It started when BJ Davis, who has done this over and over and over all season, fouled a 3-point shooter and sent him to the line for three free throws as coach Brian Dutcher screamed, “Noooooooooo,” from the sideline.
Obi Agbim made the first two, only for Nick Boyd to start yapping to the official, get a technical foul and get ejected. Agbim made the final free throw from Davis’ foul, then two more for the T.
The Cowboys inbounded to Dontaie Allen, who pump-faked freshman Taj DeGourville into the air and – you guessed it – another foul on a 3. Allen’s three free throws cut the lead to 61-58, and DeGourville was promptly fouled.
He made the second of two, only for Agbim to drain his first 3 of the game, narrowing it to 62-61 with 1.4 seconds left.
Kimo Ferrari was fouled with 0.8 seconds left, made the first free throw and finally someone did something smart. Ferrari fired it at the rim, knowing as soon as it was touched by a player, the clock would start and wouldn’t have enough time to shoot – as opposed to giving the Cowboys inbounds pass and a chance to throw it the length of the court.
Magoon Gwath had his third straight big game, with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and six drawn fouls. Boyd had 13 points. Miles Byrd finished with 11 after another rough first half (four points, three turnovers). Miles Heide started for Jared Coleman-Jones, still sidelined with a shoulder injury, and had nine points in a career-high 28 minutes, including a couple clutch baskets in the final minutes.
Wyoming (10-12, 3-7) entered the day 178th in the Kenpom metric and 180th in the NCAA’s NET, which makes it a Quad 4 game. You can lose Quad 1s and 2s, and be fine. A Quad 3 loss is a bad but not a death knell. A Quad 4 loss is, well, more than coffee stain on the resume.
The Aztecs (15-5, 8-3) didn’t trail by 21 in the first half Saturday, so that was an improvement.
Not much else was, though. The same kind of this-shouldn’t-be-happening-at-home stuff was happening: fouling a 3-point shooter, then having Wyoming’s A.J. Mills miss all three free throws, then surrender the offensive board, then leave Mills open in the corner … for a 3.
There were passes 10 feet over the head of its intended target, passed out of bounds, dribbles off legs out of bounds, illegal screens, missed 3s (followed by more attempted 3s).
The second half opened, and the Aztecs started it by attempting two more 3s. Miss, miss.
Two possessions later, Heide, who has never made one in his career, figured, why not, and launched a 3. Off the backboard and rim.
The Aztecs led 20-14 and seemed to be building some momentum.
Number of baskets over the next 7½ minutes? One (and five turnovers).
That makes it three straight games with a 7½-minute stretch in the first half with zero or one baskets.
Notable
SDSU welcomed back nearly two dozen former players for what it calls “Alumni Day.” They were introduced at halftime and included all-time leading scorer Brandon Heath, Xavier Thames, Adam Seiko and Matt Bradley. They stayed on the court for the ceremony honoring play-by-play man Ted Leitner’s final season calling Aztecs games
• Disgruntled Miami Heat guard Jimmy Butler, who is not with the team while awaiting a trade before the Feb. 6 deadline, was sitting courtside in a San Diego Wave hat.
• The Aztecs now have a midweek bye before a two-game road trip to Colorado State and San Jose State.
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