SAN DIEGO – Every summer, a big chunk of Phoenix lives for a time in San Diego.
But Phoenix’s basketball-hooked university, Grand Canyon, will reside in the minds of San Diego State and its fans all year.
The Lopes brought the winter heat, backing up last month’s home win against the Aztecs by burning them at sold-out Viejas Arena for a 73-63 win Tuesday night.
GCU’s season series sweep moved it to 6-1 against San Diego State, the nation’s No. 2 all-time record for an Aztecs opponent, with the Mountain West’s first double-digit win by a Viejas visitor in 11 years.
The Lopes (17-9, 10-5 Mountain West) moved into sole possession of fourth place in the conference by knocking down the MW co-leaders with a dominant second half. Trailing 35-29 at halftime, GCU outscored San Diego State 44-30 after halftime to stun 12,414 fans who are accustomed to the Aztecs’ home win rate since 2009-10 of 89%, which trails only Kansas, Gonzaga, Duke and Kentucky.
GCU head coach Bryce Drew has led three consecutive victories against San Diego State with the common denominator of defense. The previous two wins came with the Lopes holding the Aztecs to 40.3% shooting each time, but Thursday night’s win kept the unanimous MW preseason favorite to 35.5%. Only No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Arizona have held San Diego State to a lower clip this season.
“Our energy was good,” Drew said. “We had motion to us. We were very present with each other in the huddles. It was really fun to coach these guys tonight.”
GCU led for 30 minutes, 11 1/2 of which came in the first half before it was ruined by San Diego State’s 14-3, small-ball close over 4 1/2 minutes for a 35-29 halftime lead. The Lopes unraveled in turnovers but regrouped at halftime and emerged like a series of waves crashing Black’s Beach.
With scores on its first six second-half possessions, GCU retook the lead for good while stifling San Diego State (18-7, 12-3 MW) to 3-for-13 shooting with three turnovers over nine minutes.
Just as he did in the first half, Lopes freshman center Efe Demirel set the tone with his size and physicality in the paint. As the half began with a 12-3 GCU run, Demirel scored on a reverse finish off senior guard Jaden Henley’s assist, stuffed 6-foot-8 power forward Jeremiah Oden’s dunk try and made a nifty lefthanded catch on a pick-and-roll pass from graduate guard Brian Moore Jr. for a layup.
When San Diego State’s Magoon Gwath blocked a shot that could have given the Aztecs possession with a five-point deficit and about 1:20 to go, Demirel gathered the rebound and stuck the Aztecs with a dagger of a putback for a 68-61 lead and 1:17 remaining. Earlier when the lead also had been cut to five, Demirel deflected a pass to cause a turnover.
“I thought Efe was just sensational,” Drew said. “He went up and grabbed rebounds. He protected the rim. He finished strong. I thought this was one of Efe’s best games of the year for the full package of everything he brought to the court.”
Demirel made 6 of 9 shots for 14 points and recorded his second career triple-double in a three-week span by adding a career-high 11 rebounds. He also blocked two shots.
“We know we were going to win the game, so it was smooth,” Demirel said of the Lopes’ halftime locker room. “Their fans are really crazy. It was like almost full. That was a great game. It feels good. I like it.”
But that second-half lead was in peril when Owusu-Anane and Demirel both faced early second-half foul trouble. But against a San Diego State team that hangs its hat on depth, Lopes reserve big men Wilhelm Breidenbach and Dennis Evans gave GCU crucial playing time to help extend the lead to as many as 12 points (58-46 with 8:19 to go).
Evans blocked 7-foot Magoon Gwath’s shot soon after entering and scored on back-to-back possessions with a left-handed hook follow and an alleyoop dunk from junior guard Makaih Williams.
Breidenbach, who was 3 for 28 (10.7%) on 3s this season, made a 3 for a 56-46 lead before Williams’ driving, high-arching shot stretched the lead to 58-46.
“He really played mistake-free basketball for his time out there,” Drew said of Breidenbach. “He hit a shot for us and handled the ball well. Those are great minutes from Wilhelm, and I thought Dennis gave us great minutes. He had two great finishes, the offensive rebound hook shot and the dunk. And just his presence on the defensive end.”
Since the Jan. 24 ankle injury to guard Caleb Shaw, the Lopes have needed bench production to lighten the starters’ loads. Junior guard Dusty Stromer added five points, five rebounds and two assists in 19 bench minutes. Evans played 12 minutes, a number he had only hit against Air Force, since the last time GCU beat San Diego State on Jan. 21.
“I was just trying to keep up the physicality, being ready to move and challenging everything I can,” Evans said. “We did a good job of keeping the energy. That made things smoother for the guards.
“This helps me keep myself level and doing the small things I need to do to continue progressing.”
Lopes senior guard Jaden Henley scored a game-high 21 points, giving him consecutive 20-point games for the first time this season. Henley, who is 4-0 vs. SDSU after also helping UNLV’s sweep last season, toasted Aztecs defensive star Miles Bird with a behind-the-back transition move for a first-half slam and turned a one-on-three fastbreak into a 3-point play in the second half.
When Henley made his third steal and took a flagrant foul with 54.4 seconds to play, the win was sealed on his free throws for a 72-61 lead. GCU outscored San Diego State 18-8 in points off turnovers, just by playing better transition basketball with the teams having 13 turnovers apiece.
San Diego State pressed for most of the game, but Owusu-Anane and Breidenbach were key elements to breaking it as a able passers and ball-handlers.
“In my mind, I was thinking, ‘This looks like an NCAA Tournament game,’ ” Drew said. “The physicality, the level of play out there that was going on with the shots we were making, the shots that them and Bird were making. That was high-level basketball.
“Our guys had to overcome a lot. I think it speaks to their togetherness, the mental toughness that they had and their ability to help close out the game.”
San Diego State has suffered two of its three conference losses to GCU, with the Thursday night defeat being its first conference one at home this season. The Aztecs have not lost by more than GCU’s 10-point victory margin in 15 years.
The Lopes closed out well on 3-point shooters again, limiting the Aztecs 18% 3-point shooting in the two wins (3 for 15 on Thursday, 3 for 18 on Jan. 21 with all three makes by Bird).
“They might be the top 3-point defense in the conference,” San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said. “They’re close to it. Nobody shoots well against them from 3 because they have size and they don’t have to bring extra defenders into the paint. And they’re super physical on the ball or on cutters. They push you over everything. I think anybody that has been to any game at this building this year would have to say that’s the most physical team we’ve played.”
The Aztecs were the last Mountain West team that was undefeated at home until Thursday, when Bird (18 points, 6 of 11) went beyond his defensive prowess to be the only Aztecs player to score in double figures. He did not score until the game’s 13th minute. The remainder of SDSU, which was missing injured freshman guard Elzie Harrington, went 16 for 51 (31.4%) from the field to hurt the team’s NCAA Tournament at-large possibility.
“Obviously, they made things really tough, really physical,” Bird said. “They kind of took us out of our flow.”
With five regular-season games remaining, GCU is in fourth place with a one-game lead on Nevada and trailing third-place New Mexico by one game and second-place San Diego State by two games.
Nevada and New Mexico won the regular-season series against the Lopes to have tiebreakers. The top four regular-season finishers receive a first-round bye at the March 11-14 Mountain West Championships in Las Vegas.
“We believe in ourselves, so we can do everything,” Demirel said.
