Nov. 10, 2017
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San Diego Christian-San Diego State Final Box
SAN DIEGO (AP) Malik Pope scored 20 points and San Diego State gave Brian Dutcher a victory in his first game as head coach, 91-52 against San Diego Christian on Friday night.
Dutcher took over the Aztecs program after Steve Fisher retired in April. Dutcher had been Fisher's assistant at SDSU for 18 seasons, including the last six with the designation as associate head coach/head coach in waiting.
Fisher watched the season opener from the second row. Fisher's son, Mark, remains on the SDSU staff.
Pope banked in a jumper for the game's first points and SDSU jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first 1:54 before San Diego Christian (1-4), an NAIA team from suburban Santee that doesn't have its own gym, called a time out. SDSU took a 14-0 lead before the Hawks scored their first points, on a layup by Hayden Fredrick.
Jeremy Hemsley added 10 points for SDSU.
Derek Novsek led San Diego Christian with 13 and Fredrick had 10.
BIG PICTURE
San Diego Christian: The Hawks have played at SDSU for eight straight seasons. While it's usually a wipeout, it gives the Hawks a chance to play in a big-time atmosphere. The Hawks play most of their home games at a nearby junior college, and even have one this season at a large rec center.
San Diego State: Returning players Trey Kell and Pope were joined in the starting lineup by senior center Kameron Rooks, a graduate transfer from California, and junior guard Devin Watson, a transfer from San Francisco. Dutcher took over a program that failed to make a postseason tournament or win 20 games for the first time in 12 seasons.
UP NEXT
San Diego Christian plays at Biola on Thursday night.
San Diego State plays at Arizona State on Tuesday night to complete a home-and-home series. ASU beat SDSU 74-63 last year.