DENVER – Sometimes, a game might not come down to X’s and O’s. It could be sheer desire, a want, a will stronger than an opponent’s.For the San Diego State men’s basketball team today, the key component to victory was rebounding – with guts.”Rebounding is about heart,” said junior forward Marcus Slaughter, who grabbed an SDSU MWC Tournament-record 19 boards and 17 points in its 64-52 win against Colorado State at the Pepsi Center in Denver. “If you want the ball, you got to go get it. I’m not a 7-footer like (Ram center) Jason Smith or the rest of them. I fight hard to get it. I have a passion for getting it.”What the Aztecs also got in the victory was a pass to Friday’s semifinal game against UNLV at 6 p.m. SDSU (22-8) indeed controlled the boards when it mattered most. During one particular stretch in the second half, beginning with 12 minutes, 42 seconds remaining, the Rams (16-15) failed to get a defensive rebound for the next 8:50. In that time, the Aztecs snatched eight offensive rebounds (they had 24 total rebounds in the game).Midway through the second half, SDSU wiped the glass clean just when it was getting dirty.Although the Aztecs led by double-digits most of the game, their lead was cut to six (60-54) and after a missed jumper by Slaughter, SDSU yanked four straight offensive rebounds. Eventually, Slaughter got fouled on a shot, made the first free throw and missed the second. Freshman forward Kyle Spain was in great position, though, as he tipped it in to give the Aztecs a 63-44 lead. “There was no question we were rocked back on our heels when they cut it to six,” head coach Steve Fisher said. “And we were able to find a way to get the ball. When we were able to steady the ship ? I think it happened after a couple of extra chances, it was significant.”From then on, it was smooth sailing for SDSU, as it recorded its fourth consecutive win (including the end of the MWC regular season) and biggest margin of victory in a MWC Tourney game ever.The outcome for the Aztecs made Fisher proud of his team, even on an off-shooting game in which SDSU shot just 33.8 percent (Colorado State shot 44.4 percent).”We talked about how you had to, out of the gate, be smart and aggressive and not the reactor,” Fisher said. “And I thought we did a pretty good job of that. And good players make coaches smile, and that’s what they did today. We didn’t shoot particularly well, but we guarded hard enough to where (the Rams) didn’t shoot it particularly well.”So, it was a good win for us, a win that we’re very proud of”