A Big Chat Gets Aztecs Up for First Road Win

Steffond Johnson was up past curfew Thursday night, but it did not get him in trouble. He was with Smokey Gaines, his coach at San Diego State.

Gaines did the talking and Johnson did the listening.

This was after Gaines had berated Johnson in front of the team after a loss to Colorado State.

When the Aztecs played Air Force Friday night, Johnson put together game-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 69-63 San Diego State victory.

Johnson, a 6-foot 8-inch center, was particularly dominating in the second half, when he scored 18 points against the smaller Falcons. During one stretch, he scored 14 of his team’s 18 points as the Aztecs went from a 40-34 deficit to a 52-49 lead.

“Steffond and I had more than a little chat (Thursday) night,” Gaines said. “We had a big chat. He didn’t leave my room until two in the morning. I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

Johnson had been outplayed by Colorado State center Rich Strong in a 75-72 loss Thursday. And Gaines didn’t want Johnson to forget about it.

Though they talked for hours, what Gaines had to say was really quite simple. He did not think Johnson was playing to near his potential.

“Coach wasn’t pleased with the way I had played, and neither was I,” Johnson said. “Coach said to go inside and do what I do best. He hasn’t been wrong so far. He’s batting 1.000.”

Before Friday, SDSU had been batting 1.000 at home and .000 on the road in Western Athletic Conference play. The Aztecs raised their record to 6-4 in the WAC and 7-13 overall with one for the road. Air Force, which has lost seven straight, is 1-8 and 7-13.

The Falcons are one of few teams in the WAC smaller than SDSU, so the Aztecs simply took the ball inside to Johnson. He was two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than any Air Force starter.

Johnson took control midway through the second half when SDSU trailed for the last time, 43-42. He was fouled on three straight possessions and made four of six free throws, giving SDSU a 46-43 lead. In the process, Falcon center Mike Lockwood and forward Jim Gulsvig each committed his fourth foul.

“Basically, we wanted to get them in foul trouble inside,” Johnson said. “We didn’t think they were as deep inside as us. They are one of few teams not as deep as us inside.”

Once Johnson became hot inside, shots opened up outside for guards Anthony Watson and Creon Dorsey. Watson finished with 23 points, moving into second-place on SDSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,497 points. Dorsey scored 12 points.

“We were trying to make them conscious of Steffond by getting the ball inside,” Dorsey said. “If we don’t get the ball inside to him, it’s hard for the guards to get open. Once we got the ball inside, it opened things up for the guards, and that’s when Wat opened up.”

After Johnson had provided SDSU a 46-43 lead with 10:56 remaining, the Aztecs were unable to open more than a three-point lead for the next nine minutes.

Watson had given SDSU a three-point lead, 60-57, on a 12-foot shot with 2:21 remaining.

As Air Force brought the ball down court, Dorsey stole the ball from Falcon guard Byron Clay and drove for an uncontested layup to make the score 62-57 with 1:46 to play.

“That steal was a key play,” Johnson said. “It kind of broke the game open for us. They knew they had to make their run then, and they weren’t able to.”

Dorsey gave SDSU a seven-point lead, 64-57, on two free throws with 1:14 remaining. However, Air Force still was not finished. Gulsvig tipped in a rebound and Mike Edwards made two free throws with 29 seconds remaining, cutting the score to 64-61.

But the Falcons did not get any closer.

The road win had been a long time in coming. SDSU’s only other win away from home was against Florida, 63-62, on a neutral court in Las Vegas.

In WAC play, the Aztecs had let three road games slip away. They blew a six-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation in an overtime loss to Utah. They lost in overtime to Hawaii. And they blew an eight-point lead in the second half against Colorado State.

“We knew we had fallen apart at the end in a lot of games,” Watson said Friday. “We wanted to stay close in the end tonight and not make mistakes.”