MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2022

Brian Dutcher

Nathan Mensah

Trey Pulliam

Adam Seiko

Thomas & Mack Center

San Diego State Aztecs

Postgame Press Conference

San Diego State - 63, Colorado State - 58

THE MODERATOR: We welcome San Diego State to the podium.

COACH DUTCHER: As much as yesterday's game was a defensive struggle at the start, today's game was an offensive explosion. Looked like Roddy was going to make every shot he took at the start of the game. Colorado State is a very good team, they're well-coached, they play hard, they play the right way.

But I've got a group that does the same thing. And we felt good about our performance. We shared the ball. We performed under pressure. And we found a way to win a really close game against a very good basketball team today. So we're grateful for that.

Now the task at hand is to get back to the hotel, a quick turnaround and get ready to play at 3:00 tomorrow and try to hang a banner. So that's the task. And I've got the group of guys I'll go to war with to try to do that.

Q. Adam, in that second half, the Rams really wouldn't go away. Seemed like they kept drawing the lead back to six and eight. But you guys continued to answer possession after possession. Could you just talk about your ability to keep extending the lead as the game went on?

ADAM SEIKO: Yeah, you know one thing we try and do is make sure our defense is always on point, no matter if our offense is struggling. It's a long game. It's a game of runs. We always talk about that in the huddle. We'll go on a run. They'll go on a run. But we try to stay the course, try to defend and rebound, do the little things that earn us extra possessions.

And credit to them, they fought hard. They played us well. They hit some tough shots for sure. But I'm glad that our guys made winning plays down the stretch at the end.

Q. Trey and Nathan, you had a lot of success on the screen and roll tonight. What were you seeing, how were they defending it, and why was it so open there?

TREY PULLIAM: I just seen they were hedging it. The big was out. If it's two on me then somebody got to be open. So all the bigs were rolling. That's what I saw coming off the screen. I just tried to look off the bottom end, and then just hit the big, hit my target.

NATHAN MENSAH: Throughout the game, Coach was emphasizing on me rolling straight to the rims, and Trey gave me like the first look in the first half. From there we had to like stick to it. I just saw rewarding it. So we just stick to it over and over (indiscernible) couldn't stop it no more.

Q. You guys had a 16 assists on 22 made shots. Seemed like every shot came off a back cut or you were just moving the ball really well. Matt Bradley, your leading scorer, only had five points. Could you talk what you were seeing offensively and how this game was just a collective effort?

ADAM SEIKO: Yeah, I would say we are at our best when we move the ball. We're at our best when we assist each other. We like to practice how we play. And for someone like Matt, who is getting all the attention; they're out there doubling him and playing him very hard. He understands the game. He understands that sometimes it's good for him to be a decoy out there and do the other things on the court to help us get easy buckets.

And just credit to Trey, our point guards and everybody else on the floor finding each other tonight.

Q. Trey, I'll pose this question to you. Standing in the huddle during those final 10 seconds what was Coach Dutcher telling you in that huddle before that inbound play?

TREY PULLIAM: Just to get the ball inbounds. Be strong with the ball. We had one timeout. I mean if we got caught up, if anything happened, just finish the game, really. That's it.

Q. In Coach Dutcher's five seasons now he's been to the championship, the Aztecs have been to the championship every single season. Could you say what that means about Coach Dutcher and to the Aztec assistant coaches?

ADAM SEIKO: You know, it's crazy that for the amount of time I've been here I made it to the championship every year. Coach Dutch and our staff, like we say, they have the best scout in the country, we scout the best in the country. We prepare the best in country.

And credit to our guys. Every guard on this team is selfless. No one has an ego on this team. We all come into the practice with the same mindset and goal, and that's to win the regular season conference and win the conference championship.

We have guys with experience who have rings with Trey and Nate and AG and down the line. So it's no surprise that, we feel it's no surprise we're back here again. And we're looking forward to beating Boise tomorrow.

Q. 41 wins now at the Thomas & Mack Center since the 2008-2009 season. Obviously you three haven't been here that long, since 2008, 2009, but what makes it so comfortable to play at this center, I guess?

TREY PULLIAM: You saying playing in Vegas? I just feel like it's good energy every time we come out here, especially right now with the tournament. All the fans in here. You've got fans from different programs stuff like that. So it's real intense and hostile. I mean, it's good energy in here. It's a fun place to play.

ADAM SEIKO: Credit to our fans as well. Our fans always show out when we're here, even when we're playing against Vegas, UNLV. So credit to them always.

Q. Nathan, after the game, when you were doing interviews, the fans were chanting one more year, one more year. They did that at Viejas Arena on senior night. How does that make you feel when you hear that? Does it surprise you, and is it going to weigh into your decision?

NATHAN MENSAH: I (indiscernible) the love that the fans have for me and my teammates, and how far they have seen us come. They expect the same thing over and over. But San Diego State will always be a better team with or without Nathan. After it's all said and done and with tomorrow's game I'm just focused on tomorrow's game and getting to the NCAA Tournament.

Q. Yesterday you talked about how on short turnaround you were just going to focus on adjusting as the game goes on. Colorado State opens the game making their first six shots. What happened during the first TV timeout? Did anything change defensively?

COACH DUTCHER: No, I told them that we were playing really good, that they were making hard shots, and we were getting the shots we wanted. Hopefully at some point the game would settle in -- we'd make a few and they'd miss a couple.

They got off to a great start. I thought our offense was good at the start. The ball wouldn't go in. Eventually we started making some shots.

I don't know if this has happened in a while but all nine guys who played scored a basket for the Aztecs. We got contribution from a deep bench. And that was important.

Q. Could you just talk about your team's effort? Seems like you guys got every loose ball, outrebounded them by eight. Had 13 offensive rebounds. Could you talk about that?

COACH DUTCHER: We wanted to attack the offensive glass. It's hard to score in the half court, so we have to find ways to either get a fast break, get an offensive rebound/putback. They're called easy baskets but there's nothing easy about them.

So we got enough fast-break points, not a whole lot because they do a great job in transition defense and we got a few putbacks, and that was the difference in the game.

Q. Is there are a certain level of satisfaction for you as a coach when you have nine players score? You didn't have to rely on any one guy to do a whole lot, but everybody did their part.

COACH DUTCHER: I think for a while everybody was wondering, could the Aztecs win if Matt Bradley didn't score 30 points. We've won two games where the defense has taken Matt away and other guys have stepped up made important plays. We have a good team. And they play well together.

And it's great that Matt has played enough basketball to realize that when all the attention's turned to him someone else is opened. He had three assists tonight. Matt played a good game even though he didn't put a lot of points on the board. He played a good floor game.

Q. Bradley obviously had four personal fouls and Mensah fouled out in the final minute. How much did these personal fouls, how much did that change your game plan coming into the final minute of the game?

COACH DUTCHER: They were both out there for the majority of the game. I thought Nate's last foul was kind of careless, to reach over and give them two free throws with no time running off the clock. So I've got to catch myself as a coach and realize there's still a minute, eight to go. I can teach him later. I want to teach him right at the time, I was so mad.

But I let him go sit down and hopefully we won't commit that kind of foul again. But Colorado State is dangerous offensively they were getting up the floor and making shots and attacking us downhill. Every time we made a free throw they were downhill right back at us. That's good coaching and a good, talented team we played.

Q. Quick turnaround, 15-hour turn around. What do these next hours look for you as a coaching staff getting players rested and treatment and all that?

COACH DUTCHER: I said I'll probably let them sleep until 10:00 tomorrow. And have an hour prep in the ballroom. Eat pregame at 11 and then come over here and play at three. That's all it will be.

It will be intense, whatever we do. It will be film where they've got to pay attention. It will be walking through a thing or two we think are important.

But March is for players. You play three games in three days. That's for the players. They have to be at their best. We can help them along some of the time, but right now March is for these guys to shine in hard moments and these are hard moments and we'll see how both teams shine tomorrow.

Q. What were you seeing in the middle screen and roll, and why was it so effective tonight?

COACH DUTCHER: Just that they were keeping two on the ball for a dribble or two, trying to send Trey back or hedge a little bit. So that means the roll was open. And Trey had to decide if the roll was open or if the lift was open. If they had to help back with one of the guys in the corners. He made a couple of good reads. The bigs rolled all the way to the rims. And sometimes those passes occur really late as their big is trying to scramble back.

That's a credit to Trey. Everybody runs the same stuff but you have to have players to make those plays. And Trey was the quarterback and he found the wide receiver, basically, in the end zone on a couple of those plays.

Q. I know a win tomorrow gets the automatic berth, gets another banner in Viejas. But how important is a win tomorrow in regard to seeding for the NCAA Tournament?

COACH DUTCHER: I think every game is important. I think the win today should help us seeding-wise. Then we'll play another quad one game tomorrow against Boise and we'll see how it goes.

But it's kind of nice to know I feel as if we're in the tournament. So basically we're just playing for a better seed. We've been fortunate enough to hang banners. But we have new guys in the program that have never hung one. I said let's win it for the new guys. Let's let them know what it feels to hang a banner.

So for Matt and Tahirou and Chad and some of the guys that are new to the program, try to win one for them. These guys are selfless, that's what they'll try to do.