With the nine rows of cardboard cutouts behind their bench silent, including several dogs, the human noise generated inside Clune Arena came from Air Force coach Joe Scott screaming at his team to “MOVE … THE … BALL” and from the San Diego State bench shrieking every time a shot went in, which was often.
The loudest cheer Sunday night came with 13:47 left in what would be another rout by the Aztecs, following their 37-point win here Friday with a 91-59 decision. It came as their 13th 3-pointer made the net dance.
Nothing significant about that.
What was, was who shot it: Matt Mitchell.
Wait. Wasn’t he supposed to be sidelined at least two weeks with a hyperextended right knee that, when it happened Jan. 14, looked an awful lot like the rubber bands of ligaments inside it had surely snapped?
But after the MRI showed no structural damage, doctors said it was more a matter of pain tolerance from the bone bruising. If he could handle the pain, if he wore a brace, he could play.
And so he did, four days before his targeted return in a best-case scenario. The 6-foot-6 senior forward accompanied the team on the trip to the mountains, progressively doing more and more in practice and shootarounds. He participated in most drills at Saturday’s practice and convinced coach Brian Dutcher he was ready to play.
And so, with 17:32 left in the first half, he subbed in. He looked agile as ever, although he deferred to his teammates instead of hunting his shot as you might expect from someone averaging a team-high 15.3 points. He didn’t attempt a field goal in his first three-minute stint but got to the line for four first-half points.
Then he hit a deep 3.
Then he hit another.
Mitchell finished with 10 points (on just four shots), seven rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes. Fellow senior Jordan Schakel air-balled his first attempt of the second half but personified the team’s “next play” mentality and exploded for 13 points over the ensuing four minutes en route to 24 points and six 3s.
Terrell Gomez followed a 1 of 8 night in his first SDSU start with 5 of 8 for 15 points. Adam Seiko came off the bench for nine points, all coming on a flurry of 3s in the first half. Walk-on post Cade Alger, who scored his first collegiate points Friday, had four more Sunday in two minutes of action.
The Aztecs shot 51.7 percent overall but an even more impressive 16 of 30 behind the arc (53.3 percent). They had big advantages in bench scoring (39-17) and fast break points (12-2)
After shooting 55 percent Friday, the Falcons were still a respectable 46.7 percent, and they reduced their turnovers from 27 to 13. But that doesn’t matter when you get absolutely crushed, 42-18, on the boards. It was 16-2 on the offensive glass, and the Falcons didn’t have a second-chance point.
Other than Mitchell’s presence and a more resolute Falcons team, the game carried several similarities to Friday. The Aztecs had four early turnovers and trailed by a point before erupting for a run that gave them a double-digit cushion. Through 10½ minutes, they already had 31 points — on pace to score 119.
But then they went cold, managing 13 for the remainder of the half. That, plus an invigorated Air Force offense with quicker ball movement and an emphasis on slipping ball screens before setting them, rendered a far more competitive halftime score: 44-31.
That was eight fewer than SDSU scored in the opening 20 minutes Friday, and 15 more than Air Force did.
Concerned about the effects of prolonged exposure to the 7,081 feet of elevation, Dutcher subbed his players in shorter shifts than usual — in groups of two or three every three or four minutes. He had already gone 10 deep before the game was six minutes old. Midway through the second half, he called timeout just to get fresh bodies in.
That showed dividends as the game wore on. Air Force scored on the opening possession of the second half to close to 11 (and had a possession to cut it to single digits), but Schakel caught fire and soon the lead was 33.
It wasn’t the 52 of Friday night. But it also wasn’t a “trip to the dentist,” as Dutcher likes to call games at Clune Arena. The win evened the Aztecs’ record in the bandbox with blue seats to 11-11 in the Mountain West era.
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Matt Mitchell returns as Aztecs complete weekend sweep of Air Force - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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