San Diego, CA
San Diego State beats Utah State, moves into first-place tie
This time, Reese Dixon-Waters watched his step.
And the senior forward’s game-high 20 points helped San Diego State get back in step in the Mountain West, leading the Aztecs to an 89-72 victory over Utah State at Viejas Arena.
“I was aggressive from the start,” Dixon-Waters said after SDSU ended a two-game losing streak and, more importantly, the Aztecs (19-8, 13-4 MW) moved into a first-place tie with the Aggies (23-5, 13-4) with three games remaining in the regular season.
“Probably our most complete game of the season,” said SDSU coach Brian Dutcher, whose team rebounded after last week’s losses to Grand Canyon and Colorado State. “We did what we had to do. We fought through a tough stretch of two really hard losses, and we got back on the winning track. … So our fate is in our hands.”
The Aztecs played with the “urgency” junior forward Miles Byrd said was necessary to finish out the regular season right. They avenged a 71-66 loss to the Aggies along the way.
When SDSU played at Utah State last month, the Aztecs could have excused their five-point loss on any number of things.
Altitude: Logan’s Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is 4,783 feet, which leaves opponents fatigued and fighting for air in a game’s waning minutes.
Injuries: The absence of SDSU sophomore forward Magoon Gwath (hip) and freshman guard Elzie Harrington (lower leg) left the Aztecs without two starters.
Bad luck: Dixon-Waters was closing in on a career-high in scoring when he stepped on a teammate’s foot with 13 minutes left. He made only one more basket thereafter (though had a game-high 19 points).
An old classic: The dog ate their game plan.
There were no excuses needed in Wednesday night’s victory at Viejas, where the Aztecs breathed in the sea-level air, welcomed Gwath and Harrington back to the starting lineup and watched Dixon-Waters provide the first-half spark.
The Long Beach native scored 15 points — including 3-for-6 on 3-pointers — as SDSU built a 46-33 halftime lead. He had 10 straight points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch when the Aztecs turned a two-point lead into 29-21 advantage. And they never looked back.
“The hungry team usually wins,” Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “The tougher team usually wins. I think you would agree. You watched that with your own eyes. They were just a tougher team tonight, more prepared. …
“We had no want-to on the defensive end. And you’re not coming into Viejas, beating these guys with your offense. We’ve never beaten them with our offense. It’s always been our defense.”
Gwath had seven points in the first half, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer. After the ball kissed off the glass and went in, the 7-footer smiled broadly. (Maybe because he didn’t call bank.)
The Aztecs picked up where they left off in the second half, this time with Byrd getting into the act. He was scoreless in the first half, but hit a 3-pointer in the first minute back on the floor. Moments later, he followed with a layup. That made it 51-33 on the way to a 24-point lead.
There was a concious effort about “not letting up,” SDSU sophomore forward Pharaoh Compton said. “Don’t let our foot off the gas because we know a lot of times this year we let our foot off the gas going into the second half.”
The Show was in full throat at that point, with the student section paying particular attention to Utah State’s Karson Templin. He became the game’s designated villain after a hard foul underneath the basket eight minutes into the game, followed moments later when he fell on top of Gwath (no call) after the big man scored.
“Boos” followed Templin from then on. There were jeers when he launched an airball with six minutes remaining and taunts when Tae Simmons dunked over him on the other end.
“I think the last two games we could have been better,” Dixon-Waters said. “But I definitely think we’re back to where we were before, with our urgency and our toughness and our attention to detail. I think today was a good step in the right direction.”
Notable
Dixon-Waters was the only SDSU player in double figures the last time the teams met. He was joined this time by teammates Taj DeGourville (12), Simmons (11) and Compton (11). Byrd finished with eight points and Harrington had four.
• Utah State’s MJ Collins, the conference’s third-leading scorer, had a quiet 18 points to lead the Aggies. Mason Falslev, seventh in the MW, was next with 14.
• The Aztecs had a 38-30 rebounding advantage in the game after being outrebounded 46-31 when the teams met in Logan.
• SDSU shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) from the floor in the second half after shooting 50 percent (16-for-32) in the first half. The free-throw line was another story, where the Aztecs went 22-for-33.
• The Aztecs’ bench scored at least 40 points for the 10th time this season.
• SDSU’s only three-game losing streak under Dutcher came in January 2018 during his first season as head coach. The only team in the country with a longer streak without losing three straight games is Gonzaga, which hasn’t lost three straight since January 2011.
• Next up: SDSU plays at New Mexico on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT (CBS). The Aztecs won 83-79 when the teams met last month at Viejas Arena. The Lobos (21-7, 12-5 MW) lost 67-60 at Nevada on Tuesday night.
NASCAR will honor the 250th birthday of the United States and the US Navy’s 250th anniversary with a race brand new to the racing calendar.
The Anduril 250 will take place on a road course built on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California. The 3.4-mile track has 19 turns. The race is 255 miles total and drivers will do 75 laps.
Shane van Gisbergen, who is widely considered to be NASCAR’s best road course driver, will start in pole position. van Gisbergen has won seven road races in 14 total starts, and he is just two road wins away from tying Jeff Gordon’s record of nine.
nascar anduril 250: what to know
- When: June 21, 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Coronado Street Course (Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, California)
- Channel: Streaming exclusive
- Streaming: Prime Video (30 days free)
Here’s everything you need to know about today’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Coronado Street Course.
NASCAR Cup race at San Diego start time:
Today’s (June 21) NASCAR race, the Anduril 250, begins at 4 p.m. ET.
What channel is today’s (June 21) NASCAR race on?
Today’s NASCAR race won’t be on traditional television; it will air exclusively on Prime Video.
How to watch the NASCAR Anduril 250 for free:
With Prime Video, you can also take advantage of the streamer’s Shop the Race storefront, exclusively on the Amazon mobile app, to shop gear, flags, and more for your favorite driver.
NASCAR San Diego starting lineup:
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Carson Hocevar
- Ryan Blaney
- Zane Smith
- Todd Gilliland
- Daniel Suárez
- Ryan Preece
- Connor Zilisch
- Michael McDowell
- Austin Hill
- Ty Gibbs
- Bubba Wallace
- Corey Heim
- Kyle Larson
- AJ Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
- Tyler Reddick
- Austin Dillon
- Joey Logano
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Magnussen
- Chase Briscoe
- Ross Chastain
- Riley Herbst
- Cole Custer
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Cindric
- Noah Gragson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ty Dillon
- Josh Berry
- Jimmie Johnson
- Christopher Bell
- Erik Jones
- Cody Ware
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Shane van Gisbergen earned his sixth career pole and second of the 2026 season on Saturday, rocketing to pole position around NASCAR’s all-new 3.4-mile street course at Naval Base Coronado. He even touched the wall twice on his fast lap, pushing to the absolute limit.
“A little bit (surprised),” said Van Gisbergen, who went out with the first group of qualifiers. “I thought the track would be better, and I thought people would execute a bit better. As I said, it’s just so difficult. There’s three or four corners you’re seeing for the first time of the day, and it’s on your heater. Amazing. The Red Bull Chevy is really good. Thank you to Trackhouse for doing a great job from yesterday, and we just need to get the driver a bit better,” he concluded with a smile.”
Watch: SVG surprised to win Busch Light Pole at San Diego
Van Gisbergen bested Carson Hocevar by 0.0156s with a fast lap of 2:14.788s. Ryan Blaney will start third, Zane Smith fourth, and Todd Gilliland fifth. Blaney was a little bit quicker than SVG for most of his lap, but lost it through the final set of corners.
Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Connor Zilisch, Michael McDowell, and Austin Hill will out the remainder of the top ten on the starting grid.
Project 91 driver Kevin Magnussen qualified 21st for his NASCAR Cup debut. Notably, championship leader Tyler Reddick spun out, but still reached 17th on the grid. Denny Hamlin is just 19 points behind him, and will start 26th.
Watch: Reddick loops it in Turn 2 during qualifying
Some other notable drivers very deep in the field include William Byron in 27th, Chase Elliott 30th, and an injured Christopher Bell 37th. He will have Brent Crews on standby, and may finish the race for Bell on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson was the first driver to set a time, and showed just how tricky things were as he had to use the runoff area in Turn 2 to avoid an incident. Erik Jones also smacked the wall at the exit of Turn 16, but there were no red flags during the session.
NASCAR Cup San Diego ‘Anduril 250’ Full Starting Lineup
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