Nov. 8, 2001
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SAN DIEGO - San Diego State overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and outscored the L.A. City Stars 19-10 over the final 6:34 to claim an 82-80 victory at Cox Arena on Wednesday evening.
The victory, coupled with last Thursday's 109-84 win over the EA Sports West All-Stars gave the Aztecs their third consecutive exhibition win dating back to last season and completed a perfect 2-0 exhibition mark this year. This is the first time since 1998 that the Aztecs won both of their preseason contests.
"I thought we were really good in the first four minutes of the game and then became a team that reacted and didn't play with poise," Aztec head coach Steve Fisher said. "Mistakes definitely affected the way we played."
San Diego State spurted out to a 14-2 lead in the first six minutes of the contest. Junior college transfer Mike Mackell scored the games' first six points and ended the evening with a game-high 28 points on the strength of 11-of-13 shooting from the floor.
A native of Washington D.C., Mackell was 21-of-26 from the field in two exhibition games, scoring 48 points.
The L.A. City Stars, which entered the game with a 1-2 record including an overtime loss at 20th-ranked USC, stormed back and led by as many as seven points three times in the first half. The Stars settled for a 40-37 lead at intermission.
The visitors built the lead to 10 points on a Doug Silva free throw with 17:18 to play. San Diego State tied the game at 59 with 12:22 remaining on a lay-up by Aerick Sanders. The Stars used an 11-4 run to go up by seven points with 6:34 left.
But the Aztecs chipped away, taking their first lead of the second half on a basket by Mackell with three minutes remaining. San Diego State never trailed again.
Joining Mackell in double-figures were senior forward Randy Holcomb and junior guard Tony Bland. Holcomb had 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Bland added 14 points and five assists.
Junior point guard Deandre Moore, who did not play against EA Sports last week due to injury, played 29 minutes. The point guard had five points, six assists and just one turnover.
Derrick Higgins, who went 11-of-14 from the field en route to a 25-point performance, led the Stars.
The Aztecs open the regular-season against Northern Iowa on Nov. 16 at the Red Raider Classic in Lubbock, Texas.