Improving SDSU Still Loses by 15

If nothing else, at least San Diego State’s basketball team is making progress against Division I competition.

The Aztecs accomplished a milestone of sorts Friday in losing to North Carolina Charlotte, 81-66, in the first-round of the Volunteer Tournament. It was the closest SDSU (1-4) has come to beating a Division I team this season.

Seven days ago, the Aztecs beat Cal State Los Angeles, a Division II team, 64-60.

“We don’t consider Cal State L.A. as a win,” guard Johnny Scruggs said. “I’d feel good with a real win against a tough team. People don’t think we can win. I want to prove them wrong.”

SDSU will try for its first win against Division I competition today against Ball State (3-5) in the tournament consolation game. Tennessee (3-1) beat Ball State in Friday’s other first-round game, 78-52, and plays Charlotte (7-2) for the tournament championship.

Despite the Aztecs’ poor beginning, they have started off better than a year ago. SDSU lost a school-record seven games at the outset of 1985-86.

“No one expected us to win a lot of games this season,” Coach Smokey Gaines said. “I think we expected to be more competitive than we are. Put it that way.”

SDSU was actually competitive for 20 minutes against Charlotte, trailing at halftime, 41-38.

Darryl Gaines, Smokey’s son, kept the Aztecs close by hitting his first four three-point attempts in the half. Gaines hit 5 of 9 three-pointers overall and finished with a career-high 16 points.

“They were giving me the top of the key,” Gaines said. “I like the shot up there. The top of the key seems like nothing. I don’t think 19-feet, 9-inches is that far.”

The three-point shot also seemed easy for Tony Ross. He hit four of five three-point attempts, finishing with 14 points.

The Aztecs hit 9 of 18 three-point attempts and Charlotte was 0 of 1. But the 49ers were 13 of 18 at the free-throw line and SDSU hit 5 of 7.

Even the three-point rule couldn’t keep the Aztecs close when they began playing sloppy. They committed 5 of their 18 turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half, falling behind, 55-44, with 15 minutes remaining.

Guard Josh Lowery, considered among SDSU’s best shooters, struggled for the third straight game. Lowery scored six points in 16 minutes and may lose his starting spot to Gaines.

“Josh is really struggling,” Smokey Gaines said. “He’s in a bad slump. We need him.”

The Aztecs needed plenty of bench help against Charlotte as four of their five starters had two fouls within 9:03 of the first half. Gaines’ policy is to bench starters who commit two fouls in the first half, saving them for the stretch.

A lineup of reserves--Scruggs, Gaines, Ross, Juan Espinoza and Gary Kline--kept the game close during the first half, being outscored by only 19-15 in an 8 1/2-minute span. The reserves scored 46 of SDSU’s 66 points and recorded 15 of its 29 rebounds.

Since the first-string was blown out early in the second half, Smokey Gaines is contemplating a new lineup.

“The second unit was playing better than the first,” Gaines said. “We may make some changes . . . Overall, I thought I saw some improvement. We played better than the box score says we did. We shouldn’t have lost by 15 points.”