San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

Aztecs outrun the hometown Rebels 67-64

Aztecs+outrun+the+hometown+Rebels+67-64
Megan Wood

What home-court advantage and gritty play can do for a team that entered a conference tournament as the No. 7 seed facing the No. 2 seed.

After 40 minutes of play, the second-seeded San Diego State Aztecs left the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas as the victors of a 67-64 game against the seventh-seeded University of Las Vegas, Nevada Runnin’ Rebels.

The game didn’t always seem to be going SDSU’s way, though. Troubled by the physicality of UNLV sophomore forward Christian Wood, the Aztecs entered the half facing a six-point deficit.

“(UNLV) moved (Wood) into different spots tonight to make him hard to guard, and he was hard to guard,” SDSU head coach Steve Fisher said. “He was a load for (us) today.”

But then senior guard Aqeel Quinn stepped up — stepped up big.

“When we came out (for the second half) we came out as a unit,” Quinn said. “(The first half) was not Aztec basketball.”

Quinn entered the game having averaged 11 points on the season, while scoring 12, seven and seven points in his last three games. He walked off the court Thursday night with 21 points to his name, going 5-6 from 3-point range and 8-10 from the field.

The Aztecs were also aided by the offensive output of senior forward JJ O’Brien, who managed to net 15 points to complement his four-rebound performance.

Amid an arena filled with equal parts Aztec fans and Rebels faithful, SDSU shot 18-28 from the free-throw line.

“We have the greatest fans imaginable…and they travel,” Fisher said. “Our fans are here and they’re not going to miss a game.”

Up next for the Aztecs is a Friday matchup against either Colorado State University or California State University, Fresno.

About the Contributors
Kristian Ibarra, Sports Editor
Kristian Ibarra is the sports editor at The Daily Aztec. He's a journalism senior minoring in rhetoric and writing studies. His work has been featured in various publications, such as The Daily Aztec, U-T San Diego and Bleacher Report.
Matthew Bain, Managing Editor
Matthew Bain is the managing editor for The Daily Aztec. He’s a senior journalism major with the Honors minor in interdisciplinary studies. His work has been featured in the The Daily Aztec, North Coast Current, SB Nation and Four El Magazine. He spent this past summer as a sports reporting intern with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Megan Wood, Photo Editor
Megan is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in journalism at SDSU. She is currently the photo editor at The Daily Aztec and has experience photographing a range of subjects from sports to breaking news as well as editing photos for web and print. In summer, she joined inewsource as a multimedia intern where she works alongside investigative reporters to produce multimedia stories, interpret data and manage social media. She hopes to pursue a career in photojournalism after graduation in May.
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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
Aztecs outrun the hometown Rebels 67-64