Aztecs Fall to Colorado St., Remain Winless in WAC

San Diego State made history on its stop at Colorado State University Saturday night, but not the kind Aztec Coach Smokey Gaines would like preserved in the record book.

For the first time in their nine years in the Western Athletic Conference, the Aztecs are 0-4 after an 84-79 loss to the Rams in front of 4,501 in Moby Gym.

“Inconsistency--that’s a good word for it,” Gaines said. “It’s been like that all year long.”

For a while, however, it appeared the Aztecs (2-12 overall) would cheat the records books. SDSU was down by one, 38-37, at halftime and then led early in the second half.

But when the Aztecs’ starting front line of Rodney Hawkins, Juan Espinoza and Gerald Murray got into foul trouble, SDSU was in trouble. And it didn’t help when Tony Ross and Josh Lowery lost their three-point shooting touch down the stretch.

The Aztecs made 28 of 75 field goals, including 6 of 22 three-point shots.

“Once you get three or four fouls, you tend to play a little softer,” Gaines said.

SDSU’s box-and-one defense did shut down Colorado State guard David Turcotte, who finished with 13 points. But the Rams (2-2, 8-7) got their share of points inside with 6-foot 8-inch center Pat Durham getting 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Lowery led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. However, Ross--SDSU’s top scorer with an 18-point average--finished 1 of 7 for three points.

“He struggled tonight,” Gaines said. “He’s a much better shooter than he showed.”

Said Tony McAndrews, Colorado State coach: “We were never in control, but we did the things we had to do to win the game.”

Hawkins and Murray scored 10 second-half points each, and Durham sat out in foul trouble, to keep the game within the Aztecs’ reach.

SDSU pulled to within three, 70-73, with two minutes left and had a chance to get closer with a minute remaining. But guard Johnny Scruggs missed two free throws and Hawkins, who rebounded Scruggs’ second miss. He was fouled and made a free throw.

Bailey then made a three-point play to extend the Rams’ lead to 78-71. CSU sealed the victory by hitting 6 of 7 free-throw attempts in the final 40 seconds.

The Aztecs continue their four-game trip with their third stop at Brigham Young Thursday night.