Aztecs Find a Team They Can Beat in WAC Opener

Just when it seemed like a good time to forget about a nightmare season, San Diego State was able to hold back on throwing in the towel Thursday night.

A punching bag came to the Sports Arena in a nick of time, dressed in the blue and white uniforms of the Air Force Academy.

And the Aztecs didn’t hold back in their Western Athletic Conference opener. They defeated punchless Air Force, 69-50, before a season-low crowd of 1,486 fans.

SDSU was 1-9 in nonconference play and Air Force was 6-5, but the Falcons’ record fooled few people. Air Force, which is 13-68 lifetime in the WAC, had recorded four of its six wins against Division 2 teams.

Even so, SDSU could not take anything for granted because of the way it had played.

“It feels like last year, for a change,” Coach Smokey Gaines said. “I told my players it was a new day and we had an 0-0 record. We’re just trying to salvage as much as we can.”

Last season, the Aztecs earned an NCAA playoff berth by winning the WAC postseason tournament. This season, any win is worth celebrating.

“We are trying to look at the positive side,” forward John Martens said. “We were getting a new start with league play. And this was a good team to start off with.”

For starters, Gaines changed his lineup by playing 6-foot 1-inch Bobby Owens in place of 6-9 Kevin Brown. And at times, SDSU utilized a two-point guard offense with senior Creon Dorsey and freshman Tracy Dildy. The plan worked to perfection.

Dorsey made 7 of 11 field goal attempts and scored 14 points. Dildy had a game-high 9 steals and personal-high 11 points.

After SDSU had trailed for the first 15 minutes, Dildy tied the game on a layup, 23-23. He then hit a 16-foot jumper 4:25 before halftime, providing the Aztecs their first lead, 25-23.

The Aztecs increased their lead to 37-26 in the first 1 1/2 minutes of the second half. Martens began the half with a three-point play, then his steal led to a three-point play by Anthony Watson.

When Air Force cut the deficit to seven points, 47-40, Dildy stole the ball and drove the length of the court to score and give SDSU a 49-40 lead with 7:56 remaining.

“That’s my role,” Dildy said of his steals. “I haven’t been doing it lately. That’s why people don’t know it’s my role.”

Dorsey, the starting point guard, took on the scoring role while paired with Dildy. Coming off a two-point performance against Fresno State, Dorsey had his second-best scoring night of the season Thursday.

According to Dorsey, the two-point guard offense enabled him to score much more than he had lately.

“The thing about the two-point guard offense is that it’s like having two Napoleans out there,” Dorsey said. “We had two leaders. When you are the only leader out there, you don’t get the good shot as much. With two point guards, it doubles your chances of getting the good shot.”

Watson, coming off a one-game suspension for disciplinary reasons, led all scorers with 16 points. Jim Gulsvig led Air Force with 12 points.

The Aztecs shot 48.1% from the field, compared to Air Force’s 38.8%.

However, the key statistic was rebounding. The Aztecs outrebounded Air Force, 37-36, marking the first time they had outrebounded an opponent this season. Freshman Johnny Scruggs had a game-high 10 rebounds.

“Other teams had been overpowering us on the boards,” Gaines said. “I’ve said all along that if you get outrebounded by 10 or 12 each game, you’ll have a problem.”

SDSU had problems early against Air Force, trailing by nine points, 21-12, midway through the first half. The Aztecs turned the game around by scoring 15 of the next 17 points, eventually taking a 27-23 lead on Bobby Owens’ basket 3:40 before halftime.

Dorsey hit the final two field goals of the half, giving SDSU a 31-25 lead. Air Force never came closer than five points in the second half.

“We know we can beat somebody now,” Dorsey said. “We hadn’t been playing to win, we had been playing not to lose. From now on, we’re playing to win.”