SDSU GETS A RUN
Aztecs top Saint Katherine, which enjoys early thrill
Saint Katherine junior Kamron Fleming, all 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds of him, stepped into the center circle for the opening tip of the Firebirds’ game against San Diego State on Wednesday night at Viejas Arena.
He looked across and looked up, at Nathan Mensah — 6-10 with a 7-5 wingspan.
The referee tossed the ball up. Fleming didn’t bother jumping.
But before you hear about the Aztecs’
39-2 run and their 49point lead and the 83-41 final score, shrug and figure, well, yeah, consider the small consolation — the lifetime memory — that the small guys from Saint Katherine managed in the opening minutes of a game that was never going to be close.
Score at the first media timeout: 2-2.
Score when SDSU coach Brian Dutcher subbed in his second unit: team that plays in a 12,414-seat arena 4, team that plays home games in a San Marcos rec center 8.
Score with 12½ minutes left in the first half: Aztecs 9, Firebirds 11.
The Firebirds’ primary colors are maroon and something called sandstorm, and it was only a matter of time
before one of Biblical proportions descended upon them. Keshad Johnson scored, was fouled and made the free throw for a 12-11 lead, and the Aztecs never trailed again.
The hosts scored on 13 of their next 16 possessions while the visitors did on, gulp, just one of their next 21.
There was an SDSU run of 19-0, a Saint Katherine basket, then an SDSU run of 20-0.
“The younger Brian Dutcher might have been upset,” the older Dutcher said. “I know I’ve got a good team and I know we play the right way. … I told the team: Saint Katherine might not be as talented as them but they run good stuff. They’re going to be hard to guard in some aspects.
“Once we settled in and got comfortable with what they were doing, we started to get stops and the offense started to f low a little better as the half went on.”
Jordan Schakel changed hairstyles and changed his shooting fortunes, leading the Aztecs with 16 points after a 1-of-7 game against UC Irvine. Terrell Gomez, starting in place of Aguek Arop, added 13 points of 5-of-7 shooting. Freshman Keith Dinwiddie had 12 points off the bench, all on 3-pointers.
By the time the walk-ons checked in, the score was 8132 with 3:44 to go, which means the Aztecs had outscored them 72-21 since their early deficit.
At that point, the only question was whether the Firebirds would eclipse the 35 points they scored at Viejas Arena seven years ago. They did, but only after a hail of late 3s from Jesus Hernandez Jr.
The Aztecs were originally supposed to host Colorado State on Thursday and Saturday to open their Mountain West schedule, only for the Rams to pause practice for two weeks after two positive COVID-19 cases. Not wanting to go 13 days before a game at No. 25 Arizona State, Dutcher called the Firebirds, even if it meant playing an NAIA opponent the Aztecs beat 118-35 when they met in 2013.
“The opponent is ourselves,” Dutcher said last week. “The opponent is the standard we’ve set for how we want to play and how we want to do things. We’re not as concerned about who we’re playing. We’re concerned about our level of play. I’m expecting that we’ll come out and play at a very high level.”
And they did … after the opening 7½ minutes.
But it works out for Dutcher on two levels. For long stretches, his team looked every bit like one knocking on the door of the Top 25. And if he ever senses his players getting overconfident, he can put the opening minutes against Saint Katherine on the video screen.
As one Aztecs assistant coach screamed on the sideline: “This is too casual. This isn’t even practice casual. Come on!”
The only person absolved of guilt in Thursday’s film session will be Arop, who sat out with what was described as a minor cut on his hand. SDSU staff said the starting forward could have suited up if needed and is expected to play Sunday against Pepperdine.
“They move at a good pace,” Dutcher said. “They’re just well coached. They play the right way. What they lack in size and strength, they make up for in execution. They got us on a few back cuts. They got us on a few where we were asleep and we lost our man and it ended up in a basket. Those were all teachable moments. We’ll go back and watch the tape and learn from it.
“That’s the key to basketball. You can’t stay the same. You’re going to get better, or you’re going to get worse. And we have to get better.”