Nov. 10, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - San Diego State Game Notes | Portland Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
San Diego State (1-0/0-0 MWC) vs. Portland (0-1/0-0 WCC)
Radio
KLSD AM 1360 with Chris Ello
Aztecs Look to Open Season With Two Consecutive Wins Saturday Night vs. Portland 
San Diego State (1-0) will look to start the 2007-08 season with two consecutive wins Saturday night vs. Portland (0-1) on the second day of the World Vision Classic presented by Pape' in Fresno, Calif.
Game time at the Save Mart Center is set for 8 p.m. PT and can be heard on KLSD-AM 1360. Chris Ello will call the play-by-play. There is no television coverage for the contest.
In their second game in as many days, the Aztecs will look to begin the campaign with a 2-0 record for the second straight season. Should SDSU emerge with victory Saturday night, it will mark the first time an Aztec team started a season 2-0 in consecutive seasons since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 campaigns.
San Diego State is in this position thanks to a strong defensive effort on Friday night against Liberty.
The Aztecs used a stifling pressure defense that resulted in 21 Flame turnovers and an overall shooting percentage of 34.0 percent. In addition to the defensive effort, SDSU received a balanced scoring effort as five players scored in between nine and 14 points. 
Leading the way for the Aztecs was junior forward Kyle Spain. The Newark, Calif., native shared game-high honors with 14 points (6-6 FTs) and added four rebounds. Fellow junior Lorrenzo Wade contributed 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. Most surprising was the effort of freshman Billy White, who came off of the bench to score 13 points and collect a game-high tying seven rebounds.
Another pair of forwards, Ryan Amoroso and Tim Shelton, each scored nine points. Amoroso, the Mountain West Conference preseason top newcomer, also had five rebounds, while Shelton grabbed four.
Speaking of Shelton, he and classmate D.J. Gay made history as the two became the fifth and sixth freshmen to start a season-opening game for Steve Fisher while at SDSU. Overall, the two join Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Jerod Ward, Albert White, Bradley Jackson, Steve Sir, Brandon Heath and Richie Williams as the only freshmen to earn a starting job in a season-opening contest for Fisher.
When the dust finally settled, SDSU finished the game with the 62-50 decision over Liberty to post its third consecutive campaign-opening victory. It marked the first time the Scarlet and Black won three straight season lidlifters since doing it in 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2001-02.
Portland, meanwhile, enters the game with the Aztecs having dropped its first contest of the season, 75-68, to Fresno State. The Pilots stayed close to the Bulldogs, but could not overcome Fresno State's13-for-26 three-point shooting exhibition.