Aztecs Get Two Enthusiastic Assists : Crowd, Konek the Sixth Man Give San Diego State a Lift

Every basketball team needs a sixth man. San Diego State not only had a sixth man, but also a seventh man Thursday night for what may have been the biggest game in the school’s history.

A crowd of 8,843, fifth largest in the Aztec record book, served as an enthusiastic “sixth” man.

And when point guard Creon Dorsey got into foul trouble early in the second half, Jeff Konek came off the bench and filled the more traditional role of sixth man more than adequately.

The Aztecs went on a 19-6 run with Konek in the lineup and went on to a 76-63 win over Texas El Paso in the Sports Arena.

Afterward, Coach Smokey Gaines loosened his tie and tried to put the evening in perspective.

“This was a major lift for our program, no doubt about it,” he said.

Gaines was quick to acknowledge the role of the crowd.

“I’ve been saying it for five years--give us a crowd of 10,000 instead of 2,500 and we will be a better basketball team,” Gaines said. “The crowd was like a sixth and seventh man for us tonight.”

As Gaines observed, the fans were out early. Not long before tipoff, students formed two lines the length of the floor to welcome the Aztecs onto the court.

Waving their bright red pompons and cheering as if they had already made the NCAA tournament, the SDSU faithful established their presence. Never mind that many of them were attired in shorts, in deference to the balmy temperatures that prevailed Thursday.

“Playing here with so many fans was the key advantage for us,” Konek said. “It was great to hear so much enthusiasm.”

Konek had to be warned by Gaines not to be too enthusiastic when he replaced Dorsey five minutes into the second half.

“I was concerned about Creon because he has been our catalyst all year,” Gaines said. “Jeff went in and did a solid job. I told him to get the ball in low to our big men and to take good care of of it.”

Konek said Gaines had a few other words of advice.

“He told me to calm down and be under control,” Konek said. “I was real excited, but I wasn’t jumpy. I knew what I had to do.”

It was, from almost every angle, a positive evening for the Aztecs. As Gaines noted with just a touch of sarcasm, “I just hope it was enough to get the fans back for Saturday night’s game (against New Mexico).”