Defense. Rebounding. Rinse. Repeat.
The San Diego State Aztecs are finding their identity at the halfway point of the Mountain West Conference regular season schedule. They aren’t a shooting team. They are certainly not a 3-point shooting team. But physically and athletically, SDSU can play with anyone in their league.
Against an over-matched Air Force team Tuesday night, the Aztecs (16-6, 5-3 MWC) held the Falcons scoreless for the game’s first 9:45, eventually running away with a 70-48 win in front of 6,126 at Viejas Arena. Malcolm Thomas contributed another double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard added a game-high 15 points and 7 boards.
The Falcons had nine missed shots and four turnovers before finally scoring on an Evan Washington putback with 10:15 remaining. In the interim the Aztecs jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back.
“We did what everyone thought we should do, and we did what we had to do to win,” said head coach Steve Fisher after the game, “We were steady from the tip to the finish.”
Read more and watch video interviews with D.J. Gay and Steve Fisher after the jump: Continue Reading →
by Chris Ello on December 4, 2009
They left for the U.S. Virgin Islands 10 days ago with an undefeated record and a No. 23 national ranking. They returned home with a .500 record and no national ranking in sight.
They found no paradise at all in St. Thomas, losing three straight in the prestigious Paradise Jam women’s basketball tournament. More importantly, San Diego State lost something else: its confidence.
The mojo returned Friday night in Riverside as the Aztecs rallied from an early 10-point deficit, battled through a tight, hard-fought second half, and eventually prevailed, 66-59, over UC Riverside.
Needing their slumping stars to lead them back to greener pastures, the Aztecs got big contributions from their Big Three to climb back over the break-even mark at 4-3.
Senior guard Quenese Davis, shooting just 38% from the field, shook off a 2-for-8 first-half effort to finish with a game-high 20 points and a season-high eight assists.
Her running mate senior guard Jene Morris, who played herself to exhaustion and dehydration in the Islands, found the range in the second half, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to help SDSU finally establish control with four minutes remaining. Morris wound up with 18 points and five steals.
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