Aztecs get chance for ‘payback’ after controversial loss at Grand Canyon

San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher showed his team the final, frenetic seconds from the 70-69 loss at Grand Canyon last month, of Antelopes guard Makaih Williams dribbling down the floor and slicing through several Aztecs defenders before hoisting a shot that Miles Byrd cleanly swatted away …

Only for official Jeffrey Anderson to blow his whistle on the baseline, weave his way through a tangle of bodies and point at SDSU freshman forward Tae Simmons for a foul that put Williams on the line for a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left.

Make, make.

Final score: Antelopes 70, Aztecs 69.

But Dutcher didn’t show the clip to stir vengeance in his team for Tuesday night’s rematch at Viejas Arena. He showed it as a teaching tool, that should the circumstance arise again — a player dribbling the length of the floor for a last-second shot — they should funnel him to the middle instead of allowing him down the sideline with a more favorable angle to the basket.

The motivational value? He doesn’t need it.

His players all have memories.

“We lost, so it hurts,” guard Taj DeGourville said before a spirited practice Monday. “We can’t think that we got robbed, but we’re going to have to take it back, though. So … yeah.”

“It was a little frustrating,” fellow guard Reese Dixon-Waters said. “We felt like we had the game won.”

Williams’ chaotic drive and Anderson’s controversial whistle was preceded by BJ Davis, at the time an 87.7% free-throw shooter, missing the front end of a one-and-one with 7.7 seconds left and the Aztecs up one.

Davis has since admitted the uncharacteristic miss — the ball hit the front rim, back rim and side rim again before rolling off — negatively impacted him for weeks. He failed to score for the first time all season three days later at UNLV and had three more subpar performances before normal programming resumed.

SDSU players try to focus only on what’s immediately outside the windshield and resist the temptation of gazing into the horizon, but now the two games they’ve been drooling to play have come into focus: the “2” on their 12-2 Mountain West record.

They get Grand Canyon at Viejas Arena on Tuesday night.

They get Utah State, which beat them 71-66 in Logan on Jan. 31, at Viejas Arena next week.

“Payback games,” Dutcher said. “We’ll see if we can get payback or not. It’s easy to say, hard to do.”

The Jan. 21 game in Phoenix is remembered for Davis’ missed free throw and Anderson’s decision to blow his whistle from a position where officials are taught to defer to a crewmate trailing the play (and Brian Dorsey, ranked in the top 10 of the Kenpom ref ratings, had a clear view of the play and didn’t blow his).

Less remembered is that GCU led by 12 midway through the second half before SDSU rallied and took the lead on Simmons’ tip-in with 58 seconds left.

“Everybody thinks back that, oh, well, we let one slip away or (the Antelopes) were lucky to win,” Dutcher said. “They could argue that they were ahead (by) double digits late in the game, and the Aztecs shouldn’t have even had a chance to win.”

Grand Canyon (16-9, 9-5) is believed to have the most basketball NIL and revenue-sharing in the Mountain West, adding several transfers who were attracting high-dollar offers elsewhere (and beating out programs like Kansas and Louisville). The Antelopes have also played in three straight NCAA Tournaments and have a roster that ranks 13th nationally in Division I experience (and 15th in height). They’re the only team to beat both SDSU and Utah State this season.

“It’s not like we’re going to think, we’re just going to play hard and win,” Dutcher said. “We have to play better to win. We have to be better offensively against a really good defensive team. We have to continue to rebound at a high level. We’re going to have to play a really good game. We can’t just come out and play and win.

“They’re playing better than when they beat us at their place. But I think we’re playing a better brand of basketball, too.”

Dutcher won’t have freshman guard Elzie Harrington this time. Harrington had arguably his best game of the season — 16 points and three steals in 25 minutes — in the first meeting. But he hasn’t played since with what Dutcher has characterized as “lower leg pain.”

Doctors advised Harrington to rest for four to six weeks and this is the fourth. Harrington jumped in a few drills at practice Monday, but Dutcher said he’ll sit him one more game and possibly have him for Saturday’s trip to Colorado State.

The Aztecs will have Magoon Gwath, though. The Grand Canyon game was the first of six he missed with a hip injury before returning in Saturday’s 71-57 win against Nevada.

And what a return it was. The 7-foot forward had 13 points and five blocks in a mere 14 minutes, shooting 3 of 3 behind the arc and 4 of 4 at the line.

It was similar to his first game of the season after April knee surgery sidelined him for six months: 20 points, seven rebounds, 3-of-3 shooting on 3s, three blocks.

We’ll do the math for you: In games following a long layoff, he averaged 16.5 points and 4.0 blocks while not missing a shot. In his other 14 games, a more pedestrian 8.4 points and 1.4 blocks.

They’re hoping for a different outcome this time, especially now that he’s no longer wearing the protective (and inhibitive) knee brace.

“He would tell you he’s got the 2-pound knee brace off and he’s moving better,” Dutcher said. “He’s been dealing with injuries all year. Knock on wood, we can keep him healthy. Obviously, when you’re rehabbing a knee all that time, and you’re favoring that side of the body, you run the risk of putting strain on the rest of your body. And I think that’s what probably happened.

“This was the point last year when we lost Magoon for the rest of the season (with a Feb. 22 knee injury) until the NCAA Tournament. Now this is a different dynamic. We’ve added him for the last seven games.”

SDSU (18-6, 12-2) vs. Grand Canyon (16-9, 9-5)

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Viejas Arena

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: 760-AM