Although the 20-game winning streak came to an end last week, the San Diego State men’s basketball team couldn’t wait to come home to start a new one. This time, the victims were the Air Force Academy Falcons.
On Saturday, coming off of a tough loss to the University of Wyoming Cowboys, the Aztecs wasted no time doing what they’ve been accustomed to doing all but two times this season: winning. SDSU defeated Air Force 64-56 to capture their 22nd win of the season, improving to 11-1 for the first time ever in Mountain West Conference play.
It was a hard-fought game throughout by both teams. The Aztecs led 24-23 at the end of the first as both teams were shooting just 34 percent from the field. Junior forward Dwayne Polee II provided a spark off the bench, leading SDSU with seven points heading into halftime.
In the second half, senior guard Xavier Thames started to heat up. With 16:25 left to play, the game was tied at 28. Thames then connected on two back-to-back 3-point shots to give the Aztecs a 34-28 advantage, while Polee II scored the next four points, including an alley-oop dunk assisted by sophomore forward Winston Shepard. Air Force wasted no time calling a timeout with 12:45 left to play, as SDSU went on a 10-0 run, which brought the sold-out crowd to its feet.
[quote]“At heart, I’m a play maker and I hope for those types of plays every game all game,” Shepard said, when asked about his alley-oop. “As soon as I seen D.P. (Polee II) running the break and it was a two-on-one situation, I knew where I was going to go with it. He’s one of the highest jumping players I’ve ever seen in my life … I already knew I could throw it up anywhere and he was going to go get it.”[/quote]
With momentum on their side, the Aztecs didn’t look back as Air Force never led in this game again. Shepard finished this game with a team-high 16 points, while Thames and Polee II finished with 13 points each.
Head coach Steve Fisher spoke after the game about Shepard’s second half surge, explaining the type of player he is to this team.
[quote]“Winston is a very, very smart basketball player. When he continues to get engaged and make easy plays, he adds so many positives to what we do,” Fisher said. “He’s a very good passer, he’s becoming a much more reliable free throw shooter; he knows how to and has the ability to get to the rim … he’s a hard guard.” [/quote]
With SDSU back in the win column, it will next welcome the Utah State University Aggies at 8:05 p.m. this Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Viejas Arena. Expect another sold-out game, as it took overtime for the Aztecs to defeat the Aggies in their last meeting.
Check out a photo slideshow of the game:
Photo by Wesley Beights, staff photographer.
