SDSU wraps Players Era Festival with listless loss to Baylor

LAS VEGAS – Waterfowl, no problem.

Furry land mammals with sharp claws and a ferocious demeanor, not so much.

San Diego State’s hopeful win against the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday was sandwiched between less impressive efforts against the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines and, on Wednesday night in college basketball’s Players Era Festival, the Baylor Bears.

The program that prides itself on defense, rebounding and taking care of the ball in crucial moments did none of the above – or at least not nearly enough of the above – in a 91-81 loss at Michelob Ultra Arena against the Big 12’s Baylor that wasn’t as close as the score indicated (the Bears led by 18) and once again raised questions about this team’s viability as NCAA Tournament material.

This was always going to be a battle of fatigue, both mental and physical, the inevitable result of two teams playing their third high-level game in 48 hours.

Would the Bears still have legs with an undersized seven-man rotation that likes to run and press for 40 minutes?

Would the Aztecs, who rested bodies in two lopsided games and regularly go 12 deep, be able to wear them down?

The answers: Yes and no.

It was SDSU (3-3) that tired in the second half, surrendering a decisive 12-0 run that turned a one-point lead into an 11-point deficit in a hail of turnovers and unsecured rebounds. Five of the turnovers came in the space of six possessions during the run, as many as they had the rest of the night.

The Bears (5-1) entered the night ranked 16th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (the rate they corral their own misses) after crushing both Vegas opponents on the glass – 45-28 in a win against Creighton and 48-34 in a loss against St. John’s. Rebounding was relatively even at halftime, but then the Bears began punking SDSU on the boards as well.

The Aztecs didn’t shoot 67.2% again, as they did in the 97-80 win against Oregon, but they weren’t awful, either, finishing at 47.5% overall and 42.3% on 3s.

They had five players in double figures: Miles Byrd (13), Reese Dixon-Waters (12), Elzie Harrington (12), BJ Davis (11) and Sean Newman Jr. (10).

But both starting bigs had goose eggs, and Magoon Gwath had maybe the least productive game on his college career: His line: 10 minutes, zero points, two rebounds, one block, three fouls.

The game started, and there was an immediate regression to the mean for an SDSU team that had its most accurate shooting night since 2013 and only the fourth time in the 27-year Mountain West era the Aztecs have been that blistering hot.

Their first shot attempt was an airball by Byrd chucked up at the shot clock buzzer.

Second possession: turnover.

Third possession: missed 3, also at the shot clock buzzer.

Then Gwath got his second foul on an ill-advised pursuit of the offensive rebound and went to the bench for the final 17:53 of the half.

The Aztecs followed that with a 10-0 run, sparked by a 3 from Harrington, a surprise starter for Taj DeGourville at point guard. But the Bears pulled ahead 40-33 with points on five straight possessions to close the half – two baskets coming on backdoor cuts that the Aztecs pride themselves on not surrendering.

The Aztecs caught a break, though, with 0.6 seconds left before the break, when Baylor’s Cameron Carr hacked Newman attempting a desperation 3 from 35 feet. Newman made all three ensuing free throws, and their halftime deficit was a more manageable 40-36.

All those good vibes dissipated 10 seconds into the second half, when Gwath picked up his third foul fighting through a screen.

The Aztecs got back into the game with an 8-0 run with Gwath, Byrd and Dixon-Waters all on the bench. They led 54-53 when Baylor appeared to turn it over with an errant pass out of bounds.

But Bears coach Scott Drew challenged the call, and after a lengthy review it was overturned. The Bears had the ball instead, and Obi Agbim – Aztecs fans might remember him from Wyoming – drained a 3 to ignite a 12-0 run of their own to regain control of the game.

Dutcher reinserted his starting lineup, to no avail.

Baylor missed a free throw but got the offensive board and scored.

The Aztecs went to the other end and Harrington had an open to the basket for a dunk … but lost the ball of the way up.

The Bears went to the other end and missed, got the offensive rebound, had a shot swatted by Gwath, got the offensive rebound and scored.

65-54, Bears.

Timeout, Aztecs.

Goodnight, Aztecs.