The first half was promising. The second half was punishing.
San Diego State went to Nevada and went toe-to-toe with the 23rd-ranked Wolfpack for the first 20 minutes but got their doors blown off after the break en route to an 83-58 loss, falling under .500 in the Mountain West Conference.
SDSU and UNR were tied 35-35 at halftime and it looked like the Aztecs were in a position to steal a win in Reno. Then, as has happened so many times under first-year head coach Brian Dutcher, the shots simply stopped falling. The Aztecs shot a dismal 28% from the field in the second half while the Wolfpack lit them up to the tune of a 50% shooting night.
The Aztecs' leading scorer was freshman guard Matt Mitchell who had 12 points while the Wolfpack were led by Jordan Caroline's 26. Kendall Stephens was right behind him with 21 points.
Once again SDSU's defense, its calling card under former head coach Steve Fisher, was non-existent against Nevada. The Aztecs were also outrebounded and, most discouragingly, didn't give as much effort as UNR did.
San Diego State only has six regular season games left, with four of those at home. The Aztecs are 9-2 at Viejas Arena so if they want to muster any kind of momentum heading into the Mountain West Conference Tournament they need to keep playing well on the Mesa. SDSU hosts Wyoming on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m.
