Dec. 14, 2004
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
San Diego (AP) - E. J Rowland scored a season-high 24 points to lead St. Mary's as the Gaels withstood a furious comeback bid by San Diego State to prevail 73-64 in a non-conference game Tuesday night.
St. Mary's (7-4) let an 11-point lead slip way when San Diego State rallied to move ahead 59-58 with 2:54 to go. But Paul Marigney hit a three-pointer to ignite a 7-0 run that put the Gaels back on top to stay.
Frederic Adjiwanou added a season-high 21 points in his first start of the season and Marigney added 17 to help St. Mary's hand the Aztecs (4-4) their third straight loss.
Brandon Heath recorded 20 points for San Diego State, hitting nine of 10 from the free-throw line. He also converted a layup to complete a 14-2 run that gave the Aztecs their only lead of the second half.
Marcus Slaughter added 15 points for the Aztecs, including nine of 14 shooting from the line.
San Diego finished 25-of-37 from the free-throw line, while the Gaels went 21-of-26. In the second half, the Aztecs didn't hit their third field goal until 6:10 remained.
In the first half, St. Mary's took a 15-8 edge with 13:10 left by scoring nine straight points, capped by a steal and layup by Rowland for his second field goal in a row.
The Aztecs closed to 33-29 at halftime, helped by a tip-in by Chris Manker at the buzzer.
The loss also ended a 17-game winning streak by the Aztecs at home during December against teams outside the Pac-10 conference.