Kawhi Leonard Named to USBWA All-District IX Team

March 9, 2010

San Diego State Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card

Fourth-Seeded San Diego State Begins Quest for Third Mountain West Conference Tournament Title on Thursday Against Fifth-Seeded Colorado State in Las Vegas

With a school-record five consecutive 20-win seasons and five straight Mountain West Conference upper-division finishes to its credit, fourth-seeded San Diego State (22-8 overall; 11-5 MWC) opens play in the 11th annual Conoco Mountain West Conference Championships on Thursday when the Aztecs face fifth-seeded Colorado State (16-14 overall; 7-9 MWC) in the second of four quarterfinal games.

Game time at The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas is set for 2:30 p.m. PT and the game will be televised in high definition by both CBS College Sports and The Mtn. In the San Diego market, the game can be seen on Channel 4 San Diego HD. Ari Wolfe (play-by-play), Blaine Fowler (analyst) and Anne Marie Anderson (sidelines) will have the call. The contest can be heard on XTRA Sports 1360 AM with Ted Leitner handling the action.

San Diego State continued its quest toward a school-record fifth straight postseason berth, with a 61-42 victory at Air Force Saturday in the regular-season finale. Playing without Tyrone Shelley (right thumb) and Chase Tapley (left hand), San Diego State only had six players in the normal rotation available for the game. It didn't matter, however, as San Diego State limited Air Force to just 14 first-half points, including 39.1 percent shooting for the game, and outscored the Falcons 12-2 from the free-throw line to record its largest margin of victory ever in a game at the Academy.

For the second consecutive game, SDSU led wire-to-wire and kept Air Force off the board for the first 5:01 of the contest. Junior Malcolm Thomas scored 18 points and added nine rebounds, while freshman Kawhi Leonard had 18 points and seven boards. The two players combined to make 15-of-20 field goal attempts (75.0 percent) in the game.

Thursday will mark the 66th meeting between the teams, with the Rams owning a 35-30 series lead, The Aztecs have had the upper-hand of late, winning six straight in the series and 11 of the last 12 encounters between the teams. San Diego State claimed a 64-52 victory in Fort Collins on Jan. 30 and a 68-55 decision in San Diego on March 3. The current six-game winning streak for San Diego State is the longest in series history.

The Aztecs are 24-21 all-time in Division I league tournaments and 17-8 in the opening games of Division I conference tournaments. San Diego State is 10-8 all-time in the MWC championship, claiming the title in 2002 and 2006. The Aztecs are 5-1 in the event when owning the higher seed.