Over all a good win especially to end the losing streak against SDSU.
Every time the Rebels fall flat, there is a flurry of activity here. Posters letting us know that they are done, either for the season, or forever. I’m as guilty as anyone. More than once I’ve declared that my limit has been reached, only to return in a couple of days, with renewed hope that the season still could be salvaged.
But here we are, a day after easily our best victory of the conference season, probably the best one of the entire year, and, with a couple of exceptions (shout-out to jvhiker and Pistol Pete 1) there are crickets. We should be exulting in a fine effort by the Rebels. Yet there seem to be more posters that would prefer to call for the head of MM, than to celebrate his successes. This was a great win.
McCoy and Juiston operated together like poetry in motion. Watching them work together like that was joyful. Jordy dazzled with his blinding speed, and JoJo contributed the occasional 3-pointer, when the Rebels were putting some distance between themselves and the Aztecs.
The box score tells us that the Rebels got most of their scoring from our impressive front line. Brandon and Shakur scored 21 apiece, 48% of the total score. Juiston had a double-double, grabbing 11 boards, 5 of them of the offensive variety. He had an all-around great game, adding 5 assists and 4 steals to his stat line. And he contributed in ways that don’t show up in the box score. The energy that he brought to the game made him, easily the MVP of this win.
The four starters, JJ, JoJo, McCoy. & Juiston were responsible for 73% of the total score. Nunu, in his first start, scored just five points, on 2-for-4 shooting being responsible for one of the four Rebel 3-pointers. And his lone two-pointer was a sweet move that put the defender on his back.He didn’t force his game. He let it come to him.
And Clyburn came off the bench for the first time to contribute 5 points in 15 minutes of game-time. But I thought he also added some energy as well. Maybe he wanted to make a case for getting his starting spot back. Amauri Hardy got 18 minutes on the floor, adding 3 points. He was 1-4, all four were 3-pointers, and he was successful on one attempt he added 2 assists.
And of course, we won’t forget Mbacke Diong. The African tall boy was, once again a significant contributor, he added 7 points, 2 boards, one of the offensive variety, and a couple of steals, in his 9 minutes of playing time. Although it says that he had no blocks, I’m certain that he at least altered some shots, he is becoming a bonafide rim-protector While McCoy is miles ahead offensively, you can feel the difference around the defensive rim when Diong patrols the paint.
It’s obvious that our four regular starters are irreplaceable. Should, God forbid, one of them go down, I’m afraid our season would be hopelessly lost. That may sound silly as we are just 4-4 in conference. But I still believe, and last night’s game reinforced my opinion, that this team still has the ability to get the message and become a very dangerous opponent for any team. If there was one glaring negative to this excellent victory it would be free throws. Our inability to make them, with any consistency, will remain an Achilles Heel, as we begin to challenge some of the ,more talented teams
So, let’s celebrate a solid win over a fairly decent team at the T&M. Which is significant, considering where the Mountain West tournament is taking place (Don’t tell Steve Alford I said that).
Additionally, it should be noted that in most of their victories, San Diego St. held their opponents in the 70's, 60's, even the 50's and in the case of San Jose, 49 points. The Rebels were a bucket away (or a couple of made free throws) from 90. An impressive offensive display, vs a team that would prefer to slow things down, unless they had a fast-break opportunity.
Way to set the pace Rebels!
Go Rebels!
