AZTECS ESCAPE FRESNO WITH VICTORY
Bulldogs unable to convert on several shots in final minute
They say the sign of a good team is that it wins even when it’s not good.
San Diego State wasn’t very good Wednesday night at Fresno State.
It won anyway.
The No. 21 Aztecs probably shouldn’t have, almost certainly shouldn’t have, after an absolutely dreadful first half and then making only one basket over the final eight minutes (and none over the final 3:40), but they’ll look less at the 45-43 final score at Save Mart Center than the Mountain West standings, where they’re still alone, somehow, in first place at 12-2.
In a word: ugly.
In two: really ugly. In three: really, really ugly.
“It was a beautiful win,” coach Brian Dutcher said, trying to keep a straight face. “We’ve won in the 90s, we’ve won the in 80s, we’ve won in the 70s, we’ve won in the 60s.
Now we’ve won in the 40s. We find a way to win. That’s it. End of story.”
This is the only regularseason meeting between the Aztecs and Bulldogs, since the game at Viejas Arena is the one they skip in the Mountain West’s unbalanced schedule. And that’s probably a good thing, because how many people want to see this matchup again?
“Every time we play Fresno State, it’s a gritty game,” senior Keshad Johnson said. “(Fresno State coach) Justin Hutson came from San Diego State and carries the same coaching philosophy that we carry. We knew what to expect. It was going to be tough versus tough. Whomever was going to be mentally and physically tough was going to come out with a win, and thank goodness we did that.”
It’s another way of saying, they won the rock fight.
The Aztecs (21-5) figured to have the advantage with
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