The Aggies played well for the first 3 quarters and then self-destructed in the 4th. The Aggies were ahead 63-55 with 6 minutes to go and then the turnover bug hit again along with a bunch of fouls. The lead disappeared and the Aztecs went off on a 22-5 run to end the game with a win 77-68. The biggest factor in the win by the Aztecs was their good 3 point shooting (8-15) and 23-26 from the line.

As well as the Aggies played for 3 quarters, this is a very disappointing loss. Shooting only 24% from 3 on 5 of 21 didn't help either. The Ags had a distinct height advantage too. SDSU doesn't have a player over 6'0 but they out hustled the Aggies and got critical offensive rebounds when the Aggie got caught flat footed.

Overall, this game was an improvement compared to the loss to Portland State. Burns was much better at PG with 12 points, 9 assists and only 3 TO's.

55-51 Aggies after 3 quarters in a really good ball game. The Ags need had a chance to stretch the lead but are shooting poorly from 3...only 3-15 for 20%.

39-35 Aztecs at the half.

The Aggies are shooting 55% overall but only 29% from 3. Turner and Sabel have 9 apiece but Sabel had to sit out the entire 2nd quarter with 2 fouls.

SDSU is shooting 47% overall and 67% from 3. The Aggies went to a 2-3 zone for a while in the 2nd quarter and it was effective in slowing the Aztecs down. SDSU has some very talented players.

33-25 Aztecs with 6:15 to go in the half. The Ags need to tighten up their defense.

24-21 SDSU at the en of the first quarter.

Both teams are playing well. Sabel has 9 for the Ags but has to sit now with 2 fouls. The Aztecs are a very experienced team. They have two 4th year players, one 5th year and two 6th year players.

The Aggies received a few votes in the polls this week but are still not in the Top 25:

FCS Coaches Poll for Week 11:

#3 Montana
#4 Montana State
#8 Idaho
#10 Sac State
#34 Aggies (4 votes)

STATS Perform FCS Poll for Week 11:

#3 Montana
#4 Montana State
#6 Idaho
#8 Sac State
#31 Aggies (5 votes)

AGS Poll for Week 11:

#3 Montana
#4 Montana State
#7 Idaho
#10 Sac State
Aggies - no votes

Man, I sure hope he stays here for next season!

Turnovers have been the Achilles heel of Jen's teams the past couple of years. PG's should be your best ball handlers and passers and, when they are prone to throwing the ball away, it's a big problem. TO's also have an emotionally negative effect on the team and tend to lead to scoring runs by opponents.

We know that Les builds guard oriented teams and we've certainly had some great guards here over the years. Pepper and Johnson are a dynamic duo for sure but, if either of them are off their game or in foul trouble, we struggle to score.

We have to have very good 3 point shooting to offset the advantage that other teams with talented size have against us. Montana got 38 points from their big men last night: 6'9 Dischon Thomas with 23 and 6'8 Laolu Oke with 15 but we only shot 30% from 3.

I totally agree with your thoughts about our chances of getting into the playoffs even if we beat Sac. Sac would be our only quality win in an otherwise very mediocre season. Our conference schedule this year was weak overall and we weren't able to take advantage of it. Even with a win over Sac, I don't think the selection committee would be impressed.

LL could be a top 5 RB in all of FCS next year. He's #13 now for rushing yards, unsure why I can't find him in rushing yards per Game, which should be even higher. — movielover

Larison has played in 7 games and has rushed for 980 yards so he is averaging 140 yards per game which would make him #2 in yards per game behind #1 Jaden Shirden of Monmouth at 142.9. Both of those players are well ahead of #3 Sam Franklin of UT Martin at 121.8.

11/12 Scores:

Portland 76 Riverside 63

Some thoughts:

1) We will not win many games turning the ball over like we have so far this year. We are averaging 18 TO's per game. Montana scored 24 points off our TO's.
2) We will not win many games when Pepper is our only consistent scoring threat.
3) We've had miserable first halves in all three games so far this year. TY took over against Pepperdine and pulled us back into the game. He never got untracked tonight: 8 points and 4 TO's.
4) We need Borra and Mani healthy and able to play. We can't win on small ball alone against teams who have talented size.
5) TY is an emotional player. When the ball is dropping for him, he can get on a burner but, when it isn't, he's prone to making mistakes and forcing up difficult shots.

A couple of good takeaways:

1) As poorly as we played in the first half, we came out and made a couple of good runs that prevented the game from being a blowout.
2) Leo DeBruhl played well and it looks like he is playing with more confidence.
3) Pepper was his reliable, talented self as usual.

No Jac Mani either. Montana was simply shooting over the top of our small line up early in the game. It's going to be very tough for us when we have 6'4 guarding 6'9. Small ball can only take us so far...

42-32 Griz at the half.

Just like the first 2 games, the Ags have dug themselves a big hole with a poorly played first half. 11 TO's already. TY with 0 points and 3 TO's.

The Aggies are killing themselves with TO's....9 already with 6 minutes to go in the half...

18-16 Montana with 10:28 to go in the first half. Pepper has 14 of our 16 points. Montana's size is really hurting us plus no offensive help at all for Pepper. He can't beat the Griz single handed...

Slow start for the Aggies as they trail 10-4 in the first 4 minutes with 4 TO's already. 8 of Montana's points have been layups.

I didn't know that games that end with penalty kicks actually go down as a tie on the team's record. So this game is listed as a tie and the penalty kicks determined which team would advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament.