Junior guard Karlo Kovacic (Rijeka, Croatia) connected on 5-of-11 attempts from three-point range en route to a game-high 21 points as the San Diego State basketball team conducted a scrimmage at Cox Arena on Saturday morning. Several hundred fans watched the 40-minute scrimmage which was part of a two-hour 45-minute workout.
"This is right where I thought we would be," Aztec coach Steve Fisher said. "We showed that we have a lot of things to do. Likewise, I did see things I did like. We showed that we have the ability to score points."
The scrimmage, with a full officiating crew, was divided into four, 10-minute sessions with players switching teams.
One area of improvement already visible for the Aztecs is shooting. Last season, the Aztecs shot 29.9 percent from three-point range and 40.9 percent from the floor overall. In Saturday's scrimmage, seven different Aztec players made three-point field goals as San Diego State made 13-of-29 attempts (44.8 percent) from behind the arc. Overall, the Aztecs shot 47.3 percent from the field.
Junior forwards Myron Epps (Tulare, Calif.) and Randy Holcomb (Chicago, Ill.) both recorded double-doubles. Epps, the Aztecs' leading scorer from last season, scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds. Eight of his 11 rebounds came off the offensive glass. Holcomb tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds in the scrimmage.
The Aztecs received good play out of the point guard position from both junior David Abramowitz (Tijuana, Mexico) and Deandre Moore (Norwalk, Calif.). Abramowitz, a junior from the University of San Diego High, was 5-of-10 from the floor with 12 points, five assists and no turnovers. Moore, a transfer from Vanderbilt, scored nine points and added four assists.
Freshman forward Chris Walton (San Diego, Calif.) recorded a game-high seven assists, many coming on passes from the post. The University of San Diego High graduate also added seven points in the scrimmage.
Two players unable to play Saturday were Jim Roban (Las Vegas, Nev.), who continues to recover from back surgery and junior guard Al Faux (Los Angeles, Calif.), who sat out due to a sprained toe on the right foot.
San Diego State will open the season with an exhibition game against Branch West on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in Cox Arena at 7:05 p.m.
Season tickets are available through the San Diego State ticket office at (619) 283-SDSU (7378).
BOX SCORE:
REBOUNDSPLAYER FG FGA 3FG 3FGA FT FTA O D TOT TP A TO B S
Moore 2 5 1 2 4 6 0 1 1 9 4 7 1 1Walton 3 8 1 2 0 0 0 4 4 7 7 2 0 1Kovacic 8 16 5 11 0 0 1 6 7 21 1 3 0 4Abramowitz 5 10 2 4 0 0 0 1 1 12 5 0 0 1Holcomb 7 20 1 4 1 3 2 8 10 16 2 7 1 1Marion 6 9 2 4 2 3 1 0 1 15 2 3 0 1Epps 5 10 0 0 5 8 8 3 11 15 2 3 1 0Sanders 4 6 0 0 2 5 3 5 8 10 1 1 0 0Correa 5 7 0 0 2 4 1 4 5 12 2 3 2 0Smith 4 9 0 0 4 6 4 2 6 12 1 4 1 2Bland 4 12 1 2 2 4 1 2 3 11 4 4 0 1
TOTAL 53 112 13 29 22 39 21 36 57 141 31 33 6 12
TOTAL FG% - 47.3 TOTAL 3-PT. FG% - 44.8 TOTAL FT% - 56.4