Dec. 19, 2003
Complete Game Notes vs. Eastern Washington (Sat., Dec. 10) in PDF Format
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Game No. 10
Eastern Wash. (3-6) at San Diego State (6-3)
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2003
7:05 p.m. PST
Cox Arena (12,414)
San Diego, Calif.
Television
Channel 4 San Diego. Jim Stone (play-by-play), Jim Brogan (analysis), John Weisbarth (sidelines), Jason Bott (producer). There is no satellite or out-of-market coverage of the game.
Radio
XPRS-1090 AM, San Diego (The Mighty 1090). John Fricke (play-by-play), John Kentera (analysis), Dave Marcus (producer).
Series
Saturday marks the sixth meeting between Eastern Washington and San Diego State with the Eagles owning a 3-2 series advantage. Last season the Eastern Washington recorded a 75-70 victory at Cox Arena on Nov. 23, 2002.
Tickets
Tickets range in price from $8-16 and are available on the SDSU website (goaztecs.com), at the Cox Arena ticket office or at any Ticketmaster (619-220-TIXS) outlet. Saturday's game is a Kids Free Holiday (free youth ticket 14 and under with the purchase of a $10 adult GA ticket.
Aztecs Play Second of Three Games in Five Days; Look for Fourth Win in Five Games Against Eastern Washington
San Diego State (6-3) celebrates the end of finals week with its second of three games in five days against 2003 NIT participant Eastern Washington (3-6) on Saturday at Cox Arena. Tip off is set for 7:05 p.m. PST and the game will be televised locally in the San Diego market on Channel 4 San Diego (no satellite coverage) and can be heard on XPRS-1090 AM (The Mighty 1090).
San Diego State won for the third time in four outings on Thursday night with a 90-71 victory over Cal Poly. The Aztecs led the final 27:06 of the contest and led by double figures the final 15:38 of the game. San Diego State had season highs for points (90), field goals (37), offensive rebounds (21), assists (22) and steals (14).
It was the fourth victory of the season for the Aztecs by at least a 19-point margin. San Diego State has a 30-point win vs. Long Beach State, a 25-point win vs. UCSD, a 22-point neutral-court win vs. Ohio State and now a 19-point win vs. Cal Poly.
Freshman Brandon Heath led the way with a game-high 20 points and added a career-high five assists. Senior forward Aerick Sanders tied a Cox Arena record for field goal percentage by connecting on 9-of-10 field goals en route to 19 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Junior guard Wesley Stokes had 16 points, a season-high tying eight assists and a season high six rebounds and a career-high tying four steals in the game.
The win catapulted San Diego State to 90th in the RPI, marking the first time the Aztecs have broken the top 100 in the index this season. Following the game SDSU jumped to 71st in the Sagarin Ratings.
Eastern Washington snapped a three-game losing streak by ending Santa Clara's six-game winning streak on Monday with a 75-65 victory in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles have three players averaging in double figures, led by senior Alvin Snow's 13.3 average.
Saturday marks the sixth meeting between the teams with Eastern Washington owning a 3-2 series lead. The teams have alternated victories in the series, with Eastern Washington claiming a 75-70 victory last season (Nov. 23, 2002). That was the season opener for the Aztecs, which hung the 2002 Mountain West Conference championship banner prior to tip-off only to see the Eagles put a damper on the festivities. This is the third straight seasons the teams have played.
Eastern Washington is trying to join some elite company. Only three non-Mountain West Conference schools have won multiple games against the Aztecs in Cox Arena (Fresno State, San Diego and USC). Since Steve Fisher arrived prior to the 1999-00 season, the Aztecs are 32-8 at home against non-conference opponents and have never lost at Cox Arena to the same opponent twice.
Steve Fisher, now in his 13th full season as a head coach, is 69-11 in non-conference home games. The only non-league school to win on the road twice against a Fisher coached team is Duke.
Following the game, the Aztecs will practice in San Diego on Sunday morning before boarding a plane for Tucson and a Monday showdown with 7th/5th-ranked (AP/Coaches) Arizona. The game against the Wildcats marks the only road contest for the Aztecs in a 24-day span from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5. San Diego State plays five of six games at home between those dates.
The Aztecs will return to San Diego on the 23rd, take the 23rd and 24th off before practicing Christmas Day in preparation for a Dec. 27th game against Washington.