
Despite being pounded on the inside all night, turning the ball over 14 times and shooting less than 32 percent for the game, the San Diego State men’s basketball team still had a chance in the end.
But as freshman guard Matt Thomas’ desperation 3-point shot rimmed out as the buzzer rang, the fat lady finally sang to the Aztecs.
Battling back from a 10-point deficit, SDSU put up a valiant fight against Cal in the main event of the inaugural San Diego Slam. Nearly 9,000 fans (8,978 to be exact) saw the Aztecs rally back against the Bears, only to fall 60-57, and drop their record to 4-3.
SDSU’s goal for much of the night was to either double-team on the perimeter – trying to shut down 3-point specialist Richard Midgley – or on the blocks. After an Aztec would double a player, often leaving a Bear open to slash to the basket for easy buckets.
The result? Consistent scoring in the paint, several momentum-changing slam dunks and, eventually, a positive result for Cal.
“Regardless of how many shots we didn’t make, had we done a better job defending, we would have won the game,” head coach Steve Fisher said. “We gave up too many easy baskets and didn’t provide the help when we doubled on countless layups. You have to make plays on the defensive end to win games, and tonight we didn’t do that.”
SDSU played well during spurts, going on mini-runs of around six points several times, but the team could not put together a consistent scoring block. The Aztecs too often settled for a poor shot after utilizing faulty decision making, and their inability to create open shots was the main culprit for their wretched shooting (21-60).
“Obviously, you have got to be able to make open shots,” Fisher said. “Open shots I can live with, but we took several OK shots, and had we had better movement, we would have had better shots.”
Sophomore forward Marcus Slaughter was again the man to carry the brunt of the offensive load, but his sturdy shoulders couldn’t handle the weight of the entire team. Slaughter connected on eight-of-20 shots and had 18 points, but he scored only four points during the last 14 minutes of play.
“That is coach’s decision. I want the ball – I feel like I can score,” Slaughter said. “It’s all a team thing. We need to find a way to get inside, get some easy buckets or fouls.”
Though the final outcome did not favor the Aztecs, people in the program are undoubtedly pleased with the reception of the first San Diego Slam. The crowd was the seventh largest in Cox Arena history, and both local programs – USD opened the day against USC – should benefit largely from the exposure.
“I’ll tell ya’, it was a great crowd,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said. “I really liked it today. I think Steve (Fisher) has got a great home court thing going on here, and I thought their fans were great. We loved it – we hope to come back, we’d love to come back.”