Nov. 1, 2006
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes |
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State dressed only seven scholarship players on Wednesday night, but that was all it needed as the Aztecs posted an 88-80 victory over Point Loma Nazarene in an exhibition game at Cox Arena. The victory was the 11th consecutive exhibition game win for San Diego State.
Playing in front of 4,511, the largest exhibition crowd in school history, the Aztecs used a 28-5 run over the final seven minutes of the first half and the first three minutes of the second half to take control of the game. San Diego State led the final 26 minutes of the contest and owned a 22-point second-half advantage before settling for the eight-point victory.
"I thought we got a little fatigued at the end," head coach Steve Fisher said. "For whatever reason I thought we shot the ball too quickly. They got hot and made a couple (of threes) and next thing you know we are playing too fast and trying too hard."
The Aztecs were led by the 2006 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Brandon Heath. Heath scored a game-high 30 points and added a game-best six assists. The senior connected on 10-of-17 shots from the field and played all 40 minutes. Sophomore point guard Richie Williams also played the entire game and recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Sophomore center Chris Lamb came off the bench to tally 15 points and six rebounds. Lamb, who scored four points all of last season, connected on 5-of-8 shots from the field and added six boards.
Lorrenzo Wade, a sophomore transfer from Louisville, made his Aztec debut memorable with a pair of crowd-pleasing dunks en route to 12 points and six rebounds. Junior forward Mohamed Abukar played 28 minutes and contributed 18 points and five rebounds.
Two true freshmen saw action for the Aztecs. Jer'Vaughn Johnson started and played 19 minutes, while Jon Pastorek came off the bench to play 17 minutes and recorded eight rebounds.
The Aztecs played tonight without projected starters Kyle Spain (sprained foot) and Jerome Habel (team suspension) as well as key reserves Matt Thomas (back) and Brett Hoerner (team suspension). Spain, who injured his foot toward the end of Tuesday's practice, is listed as day-to-day.
Last season, the teams tangled in a regular season game at Cox Arena. The Aztecs won that contest 88-77, but trailed much of the first half and led by just six points at intermission. Tonight was a different story as SDSU built a 15-point lead after 20 minutes of play.
San Diego State will open the regular season at the Shamrock Invitational in Moraga, Calif., against Murray State on Friday, Nov. 10. The Aztecs first regular-season home game will come on Wednesday, Nov. 15,t vs. UC San Diego.