Those who were able to secure a ticket to see the San Diego State men’s basketball team battle the University of Arizona last Thursday, may have left disappointed in the result, but nonetheless witnessed a great game between two of college basketball’s best programs out West.
Head coach Steve Fisher reiterated that message in the post-game conference.
[quote]“I think those who came got their money’s worth in terms of energy and effort and fight and atmosphere,” Fisher said. “The crowd was spectacular, led by our student crowd who never gave up—a whole lot like our team. But, we just weren’t quite good enough tonight.”[/quote]
The Aztecs welcomed the Associated Press No. 6 Arizona Wildcats to Viejas Arena as SDSU fell 69-60.
The Aztecs never held a lead as they trailed Arizona the entire game. In the first half, it was freshman forward Aaron Gordon who looked unstoppable for the Wildcats shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field, with 12 points and 3 steals in 13 minutes of play. Gordon, from San Jose, was ranked as the No. 4 high school recruit in the country by ESPN coming into this season.
[quote]“Aaron Gordon is a good player. I knew that. You knew that. The whole world knew that … He doesn’t play like a freshman,” Fisher said after the game.[/quote]
The Wildcats remained a threat the entire game, as they held their largest lead at 14 over the Aztecs in the first period before freshman forward Matt Shrigley stepped up nailing a 3-point shot before the buzzer to put the Aztecs within 11 points. Arizona held a 39-28 advantage at the half.
At one point in the second half, the Aztecs threatened to come back from 14, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to within four with less than two minutes to play. Senior guard Xavier Thames and junior forward JJ O’Brien carried SDSU with 19 points each and a late 8-2 run before Arizona head coach Sean Miller called a timeout to regroup the Wildcats.
With Arizona holding on to a 62-58 lead with 1:51 remaining, the Wildcats were revitalized coming out of their timeout as they cruised onto their own late 7-2 run doing just enough to leave San Diego with a victory.
After the game, Thames and O’Brien acknowledged the play of the Wildcats, but nonetheless were proud of their team’s effort.
[quote]“We fought hard in the second half, we gave ourselves hope,” Thames said. “I’m proud of our effort in the second half. We just have to come out like that in the next game for 40 minutes.”[/quote]
Arizona used its size to its advantage throughout the game as they outscored SDSU 34-26 with points in the paint in addition to out-rebounding the Aztecs 39-28.
[quote]“They have a good team … they rebound the ball very well and did a good job of getting back in transition,” O’Brien said.[/quote]
Next up, SDSU welcomes San Diego Christian College at 7:30 p.m. this Wednesday at Viejas Arena, where the Aztecs will be looking to get back into the win column.
Photo by Jordan Owen, Senior Staff Photographer
