Dec. 8, 2011
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SAN DIEGO (AP) - It took both Chase Tapley and DeShawn Stephens to pull San Diego State out of an early deficit against San Diego.
Tapley scored 23 points and San Diego State rebounded from an early 12-point deficit to beat the Toreros 74-62 on Wednesday night, the Aztecs' sixth straight victory in the crosstown rivalry.
Stephens, a junior forward, had a career-high 16 points and tied his career high with nine rebounds for SDSU (9-2).
Tapley's performance was expected. Stephens surprised a lot of people, particularly the Toreros.
"He killed us," said Chris Manresa, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds for USD (4-4). "We weren't expecting that from him. He changed the game for them."
San Diego State (9-2), coming off a 64-63 upset against California, struggled with its shooting and rebounding early and fell behind 14-2.
With Tapley and Stephens doing the bulk of the scoring, it took until late in the half for the Aztecs to catch up. Stephens converted a three-point play to tie it at 33 with 2:04 before halftime and Tapley, who scored 25 points on Sunday, made a layup on the next possession for SDSU's first lead.
"That was about as slow of a start as we've had," Tapley said. "DeShawn keyed us with his rebounding and his energy."
It was the biggest comeback this season for coach Steve Fisher's Aztecs, who rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Long Beach State 77-73 in overtime on Nov. 19.