Advertisement
Advertisement

Matt Mitchell returns as Aztecs complete weekend sweep of Air Force

San Diego State guard Lamont Butler looks to pass around two Air Force defenders during Sunday's game.
(Lauren DeMarco)

Senior comes back sooner than expected from knee injury, scores 10 points in San Diego State’s easy victory

Share

With the nine rows of cardboard cutouts 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.

Advertisement

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 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. They cleared him to play Sunday with two caveats: He had to wear a large, custom-fitted brace, and he had a minutes restriction of 15.

“We wanted to get his game timing back,” coach Brian Dutcher said, “and that’s really important to the success of this team. He went through extended workouts, and his pain level was minimal. The brace gives him an extra layer of protection, and the doctors all thought that it was fine for him to get out there and play with a minutes restriction and grow those minutes as we move forward.”

And so, four days before his targeted return, Mitchell subbed in with 17:32 left in the first half. He looked agile as ever, although he deferred to his teammates instead hunting his shot as you might expect from someone averaging a team-high 15.3 points. At halftime, he had four points — all on free throws — after missing both his shots and airballing one of them.

Then he hit a deep 3.

Then he hit another.

“It was amazing,” Mitchell said of his emotions as the shot went in. “I was just glad to be back, glad to pour one in and then a second one in, just to get that feel back. I felt like I never lost a step … I felt good out there, no pain, no mental and physical restrictions.

“All I’m doing now is trying to get used to the brace. It’s definitely been different having the brace on.”

Mitchell finished with 10 points (on just four shots), seven rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes.

“It was great to have a guy like Matt out there,” fellow senior Jordan Schakel said. “He told me he was going to play earlier today, but it was just good seeing him out there, seeing it really happen. He always produces, and more than that he’s just a great leader and a guy that you always want to be out there fighting with.”

Schakel had an airball of his own, in his first attempt of the second half. But personifying the team’s “next play” mentality, he exploded for 13 points over the ensuing four minutes en route to a game-high 24 points and six 3s.

“When you airball like that, it might have used to take a toll on me,” Schakel said. “But when I watch those NBA games, I see Steph (Curry) airball, and every time he comes back and acts like it doesn’t bother him. That’s kind of what you have to do.”

Terrell Gomez followed a 1-of-8 night in his first SDSU start Friday 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, and the Aztecs were plus-30 points in his 19 minutes on the floor. Walk-on post Cade Alger, who scored his first collegiate points Friday, had four more Sunday in two minutes of action.

Other than Mitchell’s presence and a more resolute Falcons team, the second game between these teams carried several similarities to the first. Just like Friday, the Aztecs (11-4, 5-3) had four early turnovers and trailed by a point before erupting for a sustained run that gave them a double-digit cushion they never relinquished. Through 10½ minutes, they already had 31 points — on pace to score 119.

But then they went cold, missing eight straight shots and managing 13 points 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 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.

“The altitude did have an effect on us,” Dutcher said. “I know people probably don’t want to hear that. But even in shootaround today, I thought certain guys were struggling. And so we went to the bench quickly.”

That paid 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 and 7,081 feet. The win evened SDSU’s record in the bandbox with blue seats to 11-11 in the Mountain West era.

The Aztecs shot 51.7 percent overall and were an even more impressive 16 of 30 behind the arc (53.3 percent). They had big advantages in bench scoring (39-17), fast-break points (12-2) and points off turnovers (21-7).

After shooting 55 percent Friday, the Falcons (4-10, 2-8) 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 on the boards 42-18. It was 16-2 on the offensive glass, and the Falcons didn’t have a second-chance point.

“It’s those extra opportunities that we get that they’re not getting,” Dutcher said. “They get one opportunity, so shooting (close to) 50 percent they’re not getting offensive rebounds. They didn’t force us into a lot of turnovers. We had more opportunities than they had, and even if they played good offense they didn’t have enough opportunities to keep the game close down the stretch.”

Notable

Next up: Thursday against Wyoming at Viejas Arena with a rare weekday 2 p.m. tip … SDSU outscored Air Force 189-120 over the two games … Dutcher is 7-1 against Air Force as head coach … The Aztecs have won 22 straight when shooting 50 percent or better … The 16 3s are a season high ... Nikc Jackson led the Falcons with 17 points. The only other player in double figures was Chris Joyce with 13 … Freshman Joseph Octave appeared to be jawing with SDSU players late in the game. “They were talking a lot,” Octave said afterward. “I just had to let them know that I’m not about that.”

Advertisement