Dec. 12, 2009
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San Diego, Calif. (AP) - Wins against Pac-10 schools have been rare for San Diego State.
The Aztecs not only snapped a seven-game losing streak against Arizona but did it in commanding fashion.
Freshman Kawhi Leonard scored 13 points to lead a balanced attack as San Diego State routed Arizona 63-46 on Saturday night.
The Aztecs held the Wildcats to their lowest point total since 1985, and San Diego State's margin of victory was its largest over a Pac-10 school in its Division I history.
"Any time you beat a Pac-10 school, it's big. It's a resume win," San Diego State's D.J. Gay said. "It's a great win for our program."
The Aztecs (8-2) had a dismal 27-80 record against Pac-10 opponents coming into the game, but on Saturday they were the dominant team.
"From the opening tip to the final buzzer, they were the stronger, more physical, more ferocious, tougher and taller team," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "San Diego State is a big, physical, athletic, deep team."
The Aztecs defeated the Wildcats for only the sixth time in 21 games, before a sellout crowd of 12,414, tied for second highest in school history.
Derrick Williams scored 13 points to lead Arizona (4-5), and Lamont Jones came off the bench to score 11.
Leonard also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and Gay scored 12 points as San Diego State had seven players score between five and 12 points.
The Aztecs' defense controlled the game, especially in the first half as when the offense struggled. San Diego State held Arizona to its lowest point total since it scored 41 against Alabama on March 15, 1985, a span of 800 games.
"We were the better team, no doubt about it," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. "From start to finish, we competed hard and made it difficult for them to get easy looks."
Arizona shot 35.6 percent from the field, including 2-for-10 from 3-point range. The Wildcats committed 16 turnovers, 13 coming in the first half, The Aztecs' height advantage showed as they had 10 blocked shots and held a 38-26 rebounding advantage.
"(Defense) is something we've been talking about since day one," Gay said. "I think we are a much better defensive team that we were our first game. We wanted to speed them up and take them out of their comfort zone."
The Aztecs used an 8-0 run to take a 45-26 lead six minutes into the second half. Leonard hit a 3-pointer following a missed San Diego State free throw before Brian Carlwell's dunk capped the run.
San Diego State led 33-20 at halftime and by double digits the rest of the way.
With the score tied at 14-all with 12:47 left in the first half, the Aztecs outscored Arizona 11-1, highlighted by four baskets in the paint. Leonard started the run with a driving basket and finished it with a putback to give San Diego State a 25-15 lead with 7 1/2 minutes left before halftime.
Arizona scored just two baskets in the final 12 1/2 minutes of the half.