Nov. 1, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Game Notes | Broadcast Flip Card
San Diego State will tip off the 2007-08 season on Monday, Nov. 5, when it plays host to Point Loma Nazarene in an exhibition contest at Cox Arena. Game time is set for 7 p.m. PT.
The Aztecs, picked to finish in a tie for fourth place with New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference preseason media and coaches poll, are coming off a 2006-07 campaign that saw them finish 22-11 (10-6 MWC) and advance to the second round of the MasterCard NIT.
Leading the way is a pair of junior returning starters in Lorrenzo Wade and Richie Williams.
Wade is coming off a sophomore season in which he earned MWC honorable mention accolades after he finished the season with averages of 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.2 blocks. He also shot 47.2 percent from the field, while making over 70 percent of the free throw attempts. He enters his junior year tabbed as an all-conference player by multiple preseason publications and is one of the conference's returning leaders in rebounding, steals, blocked shots and minutes played.
Williams, meanwhile, is a two-year starter at point guard and has played in all 66 games at SDSU, making 64 starts. Named the Mountain West's best penetrator by Sporting News, Williams enters `07-08 as the league's top returning assist and steals leader after averaging, 4.6 and 2.1, respectively, as a sophomore.
Joining Wade and Williams is another junior in Ryan Amoroso. The Marquette transfer who sat out all of 2006-07 due to NCAA transfer rules, enters his first year as the MWC's preseason top newcomer, it was announced in mid-October as the league's media day in Colorado.
This game marks the second straight season in which the Aztecs and Sea Lions have hooked up in the preseason. Last season, SDSU emerged with an 88-80 victory at Cox Arena and was led by recently departed senior Brandon Heath's game-high 30 points.
Point Loma comes into the game with the Aztecs picked to finish third in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) preseason poll after finishing last season with a 19-13 overall record (10-10 GSAC). The Sea Lions, which return two starters and five lettermen, are coached by Art Wilmore who has compiled a 224-189 career record in 12 seasons. In his five-year career at PLNU, he is 81-79.
On Wednesday, the Sea Lions fell to USD, 75-61, at Jenny Craig Pavilion.