Another visiting team has left Viejas Arena disappointed. On Saturday, the Associated Press’ No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs defeated the University of Nevada, Reno 73-58. A school record was tied, with this victory, which was last set during the 2010-11 season of 20 straight wins. If winning means everything, SDSU’s streak is currently the third- longest active in the country, behind Syracuse University and Wichita State University.
[quote]“We love it; we’re not afraid of any competition,” junior forward Dwayne Polee II said about the Aztecs continually winning and being a target. “We know everybody is gunning for us, but we’re giving them our best shot as well.”[/quote]
The Wolf Pack played a tough game in the first half against SDSU, but still trailed the Aztecs 37-31 at the half. The defensive full-court pressure put on by SDSU seemed to be the difference in this game, forcing Nevada to 12 turnovers, while the Aztecs had just four. As a team, they converted 21 of their 73 points off turnovers, versus the Wolf Pack’s 7.
“They’re a very good team. I thought their athleticism bothered us. They were in a press all night,” Nevada head coach David Carter said. “They did a very good job of dictating the tempo for us. By the time you get the ball across half court, you only have about 20 seconds to run your offense … we got taken out of rhythm.”
Nevada senior guard Deonte Burton, who averages 21.1 points per game and leads the Mountain West Conference in scoring had a rough shooting night. SDSU limited Burton to just 11 points in 39 minutes of play, in addition to forcing three turnovers against him.
[quote]“It wasn’t just me, it was a team effort,” senior guard Xavier Thames said on matching up against Burton. “Deonte is a good player, and it was a good effort. I’m sure he will bounce back from this loss.”[/quote]
The Aztecs never slowed down in this game, outscoring the Wolf Pack 36-27 in the second half. They broke this game open when sophomore forward Winston Shepard scored back- to-back points, giving SDSU a 59-44 advantage with 8:30 left to play. Thames finished the game with a team high 17 points and five assists while Shepard finished with 16 points of his own.
Head coach Steve Fisher reiterated the message of focusing on winning the next game against the University of Wyoming rather than looking ahead at the school record.
[quote]“Our main goal is we want to win the conference. We’re barely ahead of New Mexico, and we want to win the next one,” Fisher said on the possibility of breaking SDSU’s 20-game winning streak. “Wyoming is good … we scored nine points against them in the first half last year; we’ve had troubles up there.”[/quote]
Looking to extend their winning streak to 21, the Aztecs will look to break the school record on the road against Wyoming on Tuesday, Feb. 11. SDSU improved its record to 21-1, and will remain a top five team in the AP poll again this week. The last time the Aztecs faced the Cowboys on the road ended in a 58-45 loss last season. The game will be televised live at 9:05 p.m. MT on ESPNU for fans to watch.
Photo by Jenna Mackey, Senior Staff Photographer
