Dec. 21, 2010
No. 7 San Diego State-San Francisco Final Box in PDF Format 
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Kawhi Leonard had his eighth double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds for San Diego State, which downed San Francisco 62-56 in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Tuesday night. The teams combined for 29 turnovers, but Leonard's performance buoyed the Aztecs in their first of two games in Las Vegas.
"It's a bit of a surprise," said Leonard, who tied his season high in points and set a new personal best in rebounds. The double-double was the 25th of his career.
"They came out playing harder than us and we just needed to do as well as we did in other games," he said.
Neither team went ahead by more than one score during the second half until Malcolm Thomas hit a layup with less than four minutes left to give San Diego State (13-0) a 53-48 advantage.
San Francisco (4-7) pulled within three points with 31 seconds left after Rashad Green converted a layup and free throw, but couldn't tie.
D.J. Gay had 14 points for the Aztecs but said his team's performance wasn't up to par.
"You can't go into the league and have games like this. It's something that definitely needs to change," Gay said. "The only positive from this game is the win."
Michael Williams had 16 points for the Dons, while Angelo Caloiaro and Perris Blackwell each scored 14.
San Diego State salvaged its hottest start ever in its first game as a top 10 team in the AP Top 25 poll, winning its 13th straight game. The streak is the second longest in the country behind No. 1 Duke.
The Aztecs and Dons each cost themselves multiple chances to build lasting momentum.
During one stretch in the second half, San Diego State forward Billy White stepped out of bounds while driving along the baseline, then Green turned it over on the following possession. Gay then tried to inbound the ball, but stepped on the line and turned it over again.
A few moments later, SDSU head coach Steve Fisher shouted at his team to "rebound the ball" as San Francisco lined up for a free throw because his team hadn't boxed out during the last play.
"We didn't compete out there," Fisher said. "The most important thing you can do is have effort. Now it has to be hard and smart--it can't just be wild."
"And when we had effort, it wasn't smart," he said.
San Francisco coach Rex Walters said the Aztecs' win showed their players didn't get frazzled despite their performance.
"The good teams find a way to win when they don't play their best game," Walters said.
The Aztecs shot 51 percent from the floor for the game--63 percent in the second half. San Francisco shot 42 percent from the floor.
The teams were tied 31-31 at halftime after San Diego State showed moments of strength, but inconsistency on offense and defense during the opening period.
The Aztecs built a 14-5 lead midway through the first half, but blew it in less than four minutes, committing four turnovers during a 9-0 San Francisco run.
San Diego St. got hot again toward the end of the half, but Caloiaro hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game.
"The more talented team won, but the harder-playing team lost," Fisher said. "Sometimes it's not fair, but that's how this game is played."
The Aztecs play IUPUI on Wednesday night at the South Point Arena.