March 11, 2005
DENVER -
San Diego State Men's Basketball MWC Semifinal Round Game Notes
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Game No.29
(6) San Diego St. (11-17) vs. (2)New Mexico (24-6)
Friday, March 11, 2005
10:00 p.m. MST/9:00 p.m.PST
Pepsi Center (19,515)
Denver, Colo.
Television
ESPN. Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analysis) and Tim Sullivan (producer).
Radio
XPRES 1090-AM, San Diego. Ted Leitner (play-by-play) and Brian Kellison (producer). Pete Tenney serves as host for the pregame show.
Series
This will be the 56th meeting between the teams with New Mexico owning a 34-21 series lead. The teams have split the last eight meetings, although the Lobos have won three straight. New Mexico swept the regular-season series, claiming an 88-71 at The Pit on Jan. 31 and a 78-61 victory at Cox Arena on Feb. 26. This marks the first times the teams have met in the postseason in the MWC era, however it is the fourth time the teams have met in the postseason. The Aztecs won a semifinal game, 98-84, in the 1985 WAC tournament while the Lobos claimed wins in the 1994 WAC quarterfinal round game (61-46 in Salt Lake City) and the 1996 WAC quarterfinal round game (94-75 in Albuquerque). The teams have split the two previous neutral site meetings.
Glory's Last Chance Continues; Fresh Off A Quarterfinal Round Upset, Sixth-Seeded San Diego State Battles Second-Seeded New Mexico in MWC Semifinals
Sixth-seeded San Diego State (11-17), the only upset winner on day one of the tournament, looks to extend its season when the Aztecs battle second-seeded New Mexico (24-6) in the semifinal round of the 2005 Mountain West Conference Championships in Denver, Colo.
The first postsesaon meeting between the longtime rivals since 1994 is set for a 10 p.m. MST/9 p.m. PST and will be shown nationally on ESPN. The game can be heard in southern California on XPRES 1090-AM.
San Diego State snapped a six-game losing streak overall, a two-game MWC tournament losing streak, a four-game losing streak to Air Force and a 19-game losing streak when owning a lower field goal percentage with a 73-68 win over the Falcons.
The Aztecs overcame 13 three-point field goals and 51.0 percent shooting by the Falcons, by connecting on 23-of-29 free throws and owning a 36-21 edge on the glass. San Diego State led the final 18:15 of the contest.
SDSU's sophomore tandem of Brandon Heath and Marcus Slaughter showed while they will be two of the favorites for 2005-06 preseason MWC player of the year. Heath scored 28 points and added seven assists and six rebounds. Slaughter, who has 10 double-doubles this season, had 24 points and nine rebounds. The duo combined to connect on 17-of-29 field goal attempts (58.6 percent), 16-of-19 free throw attempts (84.2 percent), and post 52 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. The pair scored 36 of SDSU's 46 second- half points.
New Mexico cruised into the semifinal round with an 85-71 victory over Brigham Young in Thursday's quarterfinal round. The Lobos have won seven straight games, with six of those wins during the streak coming by a double-figure margin.
The Lobos lead the all-time series 34-21 and won both meetings between the teams earlier in the season. In the last meeting on Feb. 26, the game was tied in the opening moments of the second half before Slaughter was forced to leave the game due to a sprained big toe on his left foot. The Lobos went on a 17-2 run after Slaughter left the game and went on to claim a 78-61 victory. Slaughter ended the game with 13 points and eight rebounds despite playing just 23 minutes.