NO LETUP FOR AZTECS AGAINST RAMS
Balanced scoring, plus no second-half woes add up to win
Twenty-one minutes, 35 seconds.
That’s how long it took San Diego State to score 45 points Tuesday night.
It took them a full 40 last Wednesday in a harrowing victory at Fresno State, and the question coursing through the minds of perpetually anxious fans was whether it was an aberration or the start of an ill-timed trend with March around the corner.
Answer: aberration.
The No. 22 Aztecs might have dipped a spot in the Associated Press poll this week but their offense certainly didn’t, amassing 41 points in the first half en route to an emphatic 77-58 win against Colorado State that kept their flag firmly planted atop the Mountain West.
“We’re jelling at the right time,” forward Jaedon LeDee said. “We’re all coming together. I know where my spots are. I know where everybody else’s spots are. It’s a good time to play basketball at San
Diego State.”
“We were all clicking tonight,” guard Darrion Trammell said.
That gets the Aztecs (22-5) to 13-2 with three games to play: a gimme at home against last-place Wyoming in the March 4 regular-season finale, preceded by road games at fifth-place New Mexico on
Saturday and secondplace Boise State on Tuesday.
Win them all, and they’re outright champions. Go 2-1 but beat Boise State, and they’re outright champions. Go 2-1 but don’t beat Boise State, and they’re assured of no worse than a share of the title.
“It will define what this year is going to be for us as far as the conference title run,” coach Brian Dutcher said of the road trip.
They’ll leave San Diego with plenty of forward velocity, having won five straight and nine of 10 since the lone home defeat of the season, 76-67 against New Mexico on Jan. 14.
You might remember that night. Nathan Mensah fouled out with 8:20 left in a one-point game, compliments of an iffy foul whistled by official Gerry Pollard for his fourth followed a quick technical foul for his fifth. (The Aztecs are 1-5 the last six times he’s fouled out in regulation.)
So who’s on the officiating crew last night for the first time since? Pollard.
And who got in early foul trouble on a pair of iffy calls in less than three minutes? Mensah, although, in Pollard’s defense, it was his crewmates who called them.
Mensah sat out the remainder of the half … and it didn’t matter a bit. Jaedon LeDee subbed in and had 10 points and six rebounds by intermission. Aguek Arop subbed in and added nine points.
“Most other teams in the country couldn’t survive that, when your starting center and defensive player (of the year) goes out two minutes into the game,” Dutcher said. “But we’re super deep at that position. Jaedon came in and did a great job. And then if Jaedon gets tired, we can go to AG. We’re deep and we’re dangerous at that center position.”
Referee karma did eventually smile on the Aztecs. Eric Curry collided with Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens in the back court late in the half, and Stevens lost the ball as he tumbled to the floor as the Rams coaches fumed at Curry. Arop shrugged, picked it up, drove and was fouled, making both free throws with 18.4 seconds left for a 41-26 halftime lead.
The 41-point first half was a welcome return to form after the Fresno State hiccup. Before that, the Aztecs had posted 43, 44 and 43 points in the opening 20 minutes.
But that’s the first half. That’s typically not the problem.
It’s been maintaining that defensive intensity over the second 20 minutes, a point of emphasis over the last few weeks. And in that regard, they showed improvement, or perhaps maturity, extending the lead into the 20s and keeping it there until the final seconds.
“We definitely talked about it at halftime,” LeDee said. “That’s just something we’re trying to grow, especially at this time of year. We don’t want to take the foot off the (gas).”
The Aztecs entered the night with only one player averaging double figures but got doublefigure scoring from five, matching a season best: LeDee with 14, Matt Bradley with 13 despite leaving the game momentarily with a banged-up finger on his
shooting hand, Micah Parrish with 12, and Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell with 11 each.
For Trammell, it ended a four-game drought without double figures (and only 13 total points). He also had five assists against only one turnover and was the plus/minus leader, with the Aztecs plus-20 points with him on the floor.
The final stats largely belied the final score. SDSU shot 48.1 percent, CSU shot 48.0. SDSU was a pedestrian 6 of 21 beyond the arc, CSU was 3 of 14. Rebounding was within three of each other.
But the Rams (12-16, 4-11) had 16 turnovers — 10 in the first half — against SDSU’s full-court pressure designed to tire Stevens, who regularly plays all
40 minutes (and finished with 15 points, three under his average that ranks second in the conference). The Aztecs also shot 14 more free throws and made 12 more.
Bench scoring: 35-19, Aztecs. CSU’s longest scoring run: 4-0.
“One of the things about their team this year is the bench has really given them a ton,” CSU coach Niko Medved said. “They’re very, very deep. Everybody comes in and gives them something. Clearly, for them, too, coming off the bye week you could tell they were well rested, and their depth really wore us down.
“We obviously had an opportunity to beat them at our place. They took it to us today.”
Notable
Adam Seiko was part of his 110th career victory, most in school history, passing Skylar Spencer’s 109. The all-time record by a Mountain West player is BYU’s Jimmer Fredette with 112
This makes it 15 times in the last 18 years that SDSU has won at least 22 games.
The Aztecs are 14-1 at Viejas Arena this season with one game left.
John Tonje led Colorado State with 18 points. Other than Stevens (15), no one else had more than seven.
The Rams had 18 fouls, 10 more than the Aztecs, who also won the turnover battle, 16-9.