Jan. 16, 2014
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Fresno State-San Diego State Final Box
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Xavier Thames scored 28 points and Winston Shepard keyed a 12-2 run for the No. 10 San Diego State Aztecs, who rallied to beat Fresno State 68-60 Wednesday night for their 14th straight win.
The Aztecs (15-1, 4-0 Mountain West), who often looked ragged, won their 38th consecutive game against a team from California. On Monday, SDSU reached its highest AP ranking since it was No. 6 on March 14, 2011.
Tyler Johnson had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Fresno State (8-10, 1-4), which lost for the fourth time in five games.
SDSU won it at the line. Fresno State was whistled for 25 fouls and the Aztecs made 26 of 41 free throws. SDSU was called for only 14 fouls and Fresno State was 11 of 15 from the line.
San Diego State had only four turnovers.
The Aztecs' 12-2 run started after Allen Huddleston hit a 3-pointer with 10:50 to go to give Fresno State a 46-44 lead. Matt Shrigley made the front end of a 1-and-1 and then hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give SDSU a 48-46 advantage. Thames added a 3 for a five-point lead before Johnson made a 17-foot jumper for the Bulldogs.
Shepard then took over with a spin move and a bank shot followed by a three-point play, after he was fouled on a goaltending call, for a 56-48 lead, SDSU's biggest.
Shepard scored 17 points and Josh Davis had 13 rebounds.
The Aztecs' only scoring in the final 8 minutes was from the free throw line, where they made 13 of 17 free throws. Their last field goal came when Shepard was fouled on the goaltending call with 8:01 left.
Fresno State led for most of the final 8 1/2 minutes of the first half thanks to a 27-13 run. Johnson hit consecutive 3-pointers early in the spurt and Huddleston also made a shot from behind the arc.
SDSU bounced back behind Thames, who scored eight of his team's final 10 points in the half. Thames hit the first of two free throws, then had a three-point play and a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left that gave SDSU a 31-29 lead.
Marvelle Harris made a 3 with 14 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a 32-31 halftime edge.