With his shots not falling, Schakel attacks the rim to help turn tide

If Aztecs guard Jordan Schakel clanked and clunked from 3-point range early in his career, he became a non-factor. He was the marksman. He lived on the edge of the arc. He changed games with his wrist, not his legs.

Going 1 for 6 from 3 against Pepperdine on Sunday at Viejas Arena proved far from fatal, though, even though it fed a dismal longrange shooting performance by San Diego State … 2 for 19 for, ouch, 10.5 percent.

Schakel is a different player, a stronger player, a multi-dimensional player and it showed — making a trio of clutch second-half baskets attacking the rim that gave his team its first and only lead of the game — in a 65-60 stunner of a comeback against the Waves.

“Jordan wouldn’t have been able to do that two years ago,” Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said. “… There were times he would drive in and turn it over earlier in his career. Right now, he’s strong with the ball, he’s getting in there, he’s finishing with strength and balance.”

Pepperdine is flat-out good. They bruise you inside and out. When the Aztecs trailed by 16 points with 16 minutes to play and outside shots chipping paint off the rim, it was hard to imagine a pathway back.

They defended well enough to give themselves a chance to reel in the Waves, but you wondered how they would find the points. Then, Schakel scored on a twisting, doubleclutching layup while wearing a defender like a holiday sweater.

Just 33 seconds later, he was knifing through traffic again, protecting the ball with his body again, flying at the trees again, to convert a driving layup that cut the lead to 49-42 midway through the second half. With 6:17 to play, Schakel ran at the rim again — cashing in a threepoint play to give the Aztecs their first lead of the game, 52-51.

When long-range misfires mounted, Schakel adjusted.

“The conditioning I did during this quarantine break has helped me finish around the rim,” he said. “Most of all, it’s just confidence and being aggressive.”

Schakel was not that type of player before, partly because they didn’t need him to be. A year ago, Malachi Flynn rocketed through the lane when needed. Two years ago, Devin Watson did the same.

The shooter remained a shooter, through and through. Not this year. And not against Pepperdine, a game the Aztecs seemingly had lost.

Though Schakel missed five of his six 3s, he hit all but one of his two-point attempts. Tack on 4 for 5 at the freethrow line with five rebounds, one off the game high, and a more complete and more dangerous Schakel emerged.

“Throughout my years here, just trying to get more confident putting the ball on

the ground,” he said. “… In this role, people run at me and I’m able to drive to the basket. The mental aspect is more than the physical, to be honest.”

In spite of the struggles from outside, Schakel finished with a team-high 17 points.

As Schakel’s game grows, so do the options for the Aztecs.

“He’s getting to put that on display this year,” Dutcher said.

San Diego State needed every ounce and inch of Schakel’s new-found versatility. Pepperdine bolted to an 8-0 start in the first four minutes as all but one Aztecs starter logged a turnover.

It was an Ugly start, with a capital U. This of offense, a true team effort.

Nathan Mensah called for a travel on a dump into the post. Aguek Arop airballed a 3-point

attempt. Matt Mitchell whistled for an offensive foul, clearing away a defender with his arm. Schakel lofted the ball to no one as he fell out of bounds. Another turnover on a bungled handoff between Arop and Mensah followed.

All that hoops carnage in the time it takes to make a bag of popcorn.

Frustrations rose, along with the on-court temperature. When officials ruled Schakel was not in the act of shooting on a fast break midway through the first half, waving off a basket, the Aztecs bench stomped in unison like a performance of Riverdance.

When two Waves defenders planted Mitchell into the basket support with 7:09 to play until halftime, it seemed Dutcher might melt.

As the game wore on — the Aztecs wearing down the

Waves with waves of their own, finishing with a ridiculous 19-2 advantage in bench points — Dutcher wowed at the composure of veterans like Schakel.

“They don’t panic when things aren’t going well,” he said.

Schakel, asked what he told teammates at halftime with the Aztecs scoring just 20 points, delivered a message that apparently resonated.

“I think it was just about maintaining our poise,” he said. “We were down 14, but we were playing good defense. We needed to get better looks on offense. … Win or lose, be happy with your effort on the floor. That’s what I was telling myself and that’s what I was telling the team.”

Just an outside shooter? Hardly.