3 thoughts: SDSU 81, San Jose State 68 … trust issues, a new play and Tim Miles

SAN JOSE – Three thoughts on San Diego State’s 81-68 win at San Jose State on Tuesday night:

1. Trust issues

It’s hard to know whether to scold or praise BJ Davis.

The junior guard was the fifth instead of first guy off the bench Tuesday, not entering the game for nearly seven minutes because, coach Brian Dutcher said without elaborating, “a couple bad practices” bumped him down the rotation.

Davis didn’t take a shot until 33 seconds remained in the first half, a corner 3 off a designed play. He still had one shot and three points with 10:59 to go when he grabbed a rebound in a forest of taller bodies, dribbled the length of the floor, scored, was fouled and made the free throw.

“The Hibachi,” as assistant coach JayDee Luster calls him, had 15 points, three rebounds and two assists over the final 11 minutes as the Aztecs went from down two to up 15.

He also, notably, ran the point down the stretch instead of any of the team’s three dedicated point guards.

Doghouse to penthouse.

“You have to stay patient,” said Davis, who is averaging 12.3 points in 20.7 minutes per game. “Everything will work itself out. If I would have worked myself up for having three points at the half, I probably wouldn’t have had a successful second half. Just staying ready and staying optimistic for opportunities that come, trying to be disciplined and keep that discipline when things get tough in the game.”

Added Dutcher: “I’ve said it before: Arguably, BJ might be our most important player, and I’m bringing him off the bench. But I don’t think there’s a better sixth man in the country, scoring, getting assists, playmaking. He’s been dynamic.”

Count Davis among those who have shown outward frustration, either in practice or games, while Dutcher tries to keep everyone happy with an 11-man rotation.

Davis’ comments afterward offered a window into this team’s personal and personnel struggles.

Asked how a game seemingly in control, up 12 in the first half, quickly wasn’t, Davis said: “Our lack of focus. I think we lost concentration. If we want to win a Mountain West championship, we’re going to have to be dialed in at all times. … We really have to digest these lessons.”

And why do they drift in and out of focus?

“I think we just need to be more cohesive, together,” Davis said. “We can get closer to each other and really understand each other. I feel like at times we might not understand each other fully. I think if we continue to trust each other more and connect more, we’ll have no problem with that, just like how previous teams were.

“People want to make the play out there, but sometimes it’s just the extra, one more pass that you have to make. People just have to buy into their role and work to their strengths.”

2. Thumbs up and down

Fatigue, certainly, helped the Aztecs prevail.

So did two tactical tweaks Dutcher and his staff made in the closing minutes.

They went small, with four guards and forward Pharaoh Compton. That better equipped them to defend San Jose State’s diminutive guards when they drew a switch from a ball screen after repeatedly driving the Aztecs bigs en route to 24 free throws.

It’s a lineup we might see more — Davis, Elzie Harrington, Reese Dixon-Waters, Miles Byrd and Compton — as the season proceeds, given how many Mountain West teams don’t have interior size and employ five-out offensive systems that have given the Aztecs fits.

The second thing they did was flashing one thumb up and one thumb down, the signal for a new set play Dutcher installed at practice Monday. It’s actually nothing new — teams have been running a version of it for years — but it was new for the Aztecs this season and something the Spartans hadn’t seen on film.

Here’s how it works: The 4-man sets a screen in the paint for the 5-man, freeing him to sprint up the lane for a high ball screen. The point guard dribbles off the screen while the 5-man rolls hard to the basket and the 4-man lifts to the perimeter, removing the interior help on the roller. The shooters in the corner, who usually lift to the wing, stay put with the option of back-cutting along the baseline, creating a different look for the defense.

The Aztecs ran it four times in the final six minutes and scored six points.

Harrington hit a rolling Compton for an easy dunk. Davis dribbled into the paint and made a floater. Davis drew a foul and made both free throws.

“It’s something they haven’t scouted,” Dutcher said. “I’m no different than any other coach in the country. I try to install something I think will work against a particular team, and then when the time’s right, I run it. Now the next time we run it, someone will scout it and they’ll probably guard it better.

“It was today’s flavor of the week, but it may not be Saturday (against Boise State).”

3. A really good coach

Dutcher plopped into a chair after another harrowing night at the Provident Credit Union Event Center, another anxious game against an undermanned, overmatched Spartans team that remained perilously close deep into the second half.

“I’m not surprised,” Dutcher said. “Tim Miles is a really good coach, OK?”

And he is. Don’t let his 58-88 record in four-plus seasons at San Jose State fool you.

Miles was Mountain West coach of the year in 2022-23 after leading the Spartans to a 21-14 record and having conference player of the year Omari Moore. He probably should get it every year, given what he does annually with a program devoid of resources and pedigree.

Tuesday night was another masterpiece. The Spartans began the night without three players who had started games this season: Sadrique NgaNga, Ben Roseborough and JaVaughn Hannah. Then starting forward Yaphet Moundi, who leads the Mountain West with five double-doubles and had six of the Spartans’ first 11 points, limped off midway through the first half and never returned.

Then backup big Japhet Moupadele got three fouls in less than three first-half minutes.

Bench scoring: 42-2, Aztecs.

“Those in-game injuries really hurt you because you haven’t practiced without them,” Miles said. “We need all those guys. … You don’t want to make excuses, but that’s a huge deal for us, four guys who started games for us not playing. There aren’t a lot of teams that aren’t going to overcome that.”

Miles nearly did.

His starting backcourt played 34, 37 and 38 minutes. Jermaine Washington, he said, was so tired at the last media timeout that he couldn’t get off his stool to return to the court.

The Spartans made one field goal from 13:03 left until 26 seconds left, yet figured out a way to get 22 points at the line, take the lead and still be in a one-possession game against a deep, decorated Aztecs roster far longer than you figured humanly possible. The final score would have been closer had Miles not rolled the dice with a full-court press that the Aztecs burned for easy baskets.

“I don’t think it was any clear thing we did wrong; it was just the circumstance,” Miles said. “We fought till the bitter end. I thought we ran out of a little gas at the end when I kept trying to press and that’s why they extended (the lead). But you have to try to win the game, you know? We needed a turnover. I felt like there wasn’t enough time to sit back.”

A year ago, the Aztecs showed up at the Provident Credit Union Event Center and San Jose State’s two leading scorers — Josh Uduje and Will McClendon — were in street clothes. The Spartans suited up nine guys, three of whom were averaging 2.2, 2.2 and 2.0 points per game.

Miles had them up 17 at the half.