Oct. 1, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
|
| No. 7: San Diego State 93, Fresno State 78 |
December 8, 2001 | Recap | Stats
In what was the most anticipated home game to date during Steve Fisher's two-plus seasons on Montezuma Mesa, San Diego State proved to be up to the challenge as they welcomed former Western Athletic Conference rival Fresno State to Cox Arena. The Bulldogs made the trip south and became the first non-conference top-25 team to take on Fisher's bunch inside Cox Arena as they entered the contest ranked No. 21 in the AP and No. 16 in the coaches poll. But just like age, Fresno State's ranking was just a number as the Aztecs earned a 15-point victory, 93-78, to record their their first win over a ranked opponent since 1998.
Why it was memorable: Winless in its last seven games against nationally ranked opponents and 0-3 under Fisher, San Diego State had a tall assignment in facing Jerry Tarkanian's Bulldogs. The contest was intriguing for obvious reasons, but it also pitted two coaches against each other who had won national championships earlier in their careers.
The Aztecs held a lead for most of the first half and never trailed by more than three points. Nearly 10 minutes into the game, SDSU went ahead by seven, 24-17, after Al Faux nailed a three-point attempt only to have Fresno State go on a 13-6 run to tie the score at 30.
Aerick Sanders put an end to the Bulldog run with a pair of free throws, which fueled a mini 8-3 spurt to open up a five-point, 38-33, lead. But like the earlier run the Aztecs put together, Fresno State responded with authority by scoring eight straight points before yielding the final three points of the half to SDSU to give the Scarlet and Black a slim 41-40 advantage at intermission.
Coming out of the locker room, San Diego State came out firing and jumped out to 58-47 lead thanks to a 17-7 scoring outburst in the first 5:30 of the second half. After the Aztecs upped their lead to 12, the Bulldogs slowly chipped away and reduced their deficit to five at 71-66 with six minutes to play.
But as it did the whole game, SDSU put together a scoring run and found a way to stop Fresno State in the final minutes. Six straight points came from Brandon Smith, Randy Holcomb and Mike Mackell to start a 14-2 explosion that led to the Aztecs leading by 17 at 85-68 with just 1:53 to play. During the run, Mackell racked up eight points, while Smith and Holcomb each had three.
Despite a dunk by future NBA player Chris Jeffries to break the streak, San Diego State kept applying the pressure, and led by as many as 21 points late, to guarantee the 15-point rout.
SDSU's victory was just the second in 29 tries against ranked opponents since beating No. 7 Brigham Young back in 1988 and just the second win against Fresno State in 19 games dating back to 1978.
The Aztecs finished the game with four players in double figures and were led by Faux's 25 points. Holcomb scored 19, while Mackell and Tony Bland added 17 and 15, respectively.