Nothing Works as Aztecs Fall Again

What is wrong with the San Diego State basketball team is not hard to describe. Bryan Williams, a junior point guard, did it in one breathless, trouble-filled monologue.

“We’re not playing good, tough defense,” he began. “We’re not rebounding. We’re not executing our offense. We’re not getting our break going. We’re getting behind, and we’re having to play catch up.”

That about sums up everything that can go wrong, and it all happened again Friday night.

The Aztecs fell behind early, never recovered and lost to Colorado State, 78-54, in a Western Athletic Conference game watched by 5,018 at Moby Gym.

The defeat was the fifth in six WAC games for the Aztecs (7-10, 1-5) and their 18th consecutive loss on the road over three seasons.

This was a game the Aztecs never gave themselves a chance to win. They have been a slow-starting team of late, but this may have been their worst early performance of the season.

“We had been using shovels (to get behind),” said Jim Brandenburg, SDSU coach. “Now we’re using front-end loaders.”

Colorado State scored the first eight points, and SDSU needed seven possessions before Rodney Hawkins made an 8-foot hook shot from the right baseline after 4:58 had been played.

After an opening like that, it seemed as if it had been much more than eight days since this same team defeated then-No. 18 New Mexico in San Diego.

“Eight days ago, we had a good half-court offense,” Brandenburg said. “It was pass, pass, pass, screen, cut, shot. Eight days later, we’ve lost it all.”

The Aztecs did not shoot badly (21 of 41 for 51.2%). But turnovers disrupted their offense and sent Colorado State (10-4, 1-1) to victory after two consecutive losses.

The Aztecs committed 18 turnovers that led to 20 Colorado State points. The Rams scored on seven of their eight fast-break opportunities. The Rams made only eight turnovers that resulted in five SDSU points, and the Aztecs failed on their only fast break of the game.

Hawkins, a senior forward who has been the Aztecs’ steadying influence, said the team has not come out playing as strongly as it should.

“We’re standing around waiting for someone to do something,” he said. “A lot of times, they’re waiting for me, waiting for me to score, for me to rebound. Well, if I don’t do it, somebody else has to pick us up.”

It didn’t happen this time. Hawkins, who scored 16 points and had 16 rebounds in a 60-57 loss at Air Force Thursday, scored 10 points and was held to a season-low 1 rebound.

Tony Ross led the Aztecs with 18 points, but no one else scored in double figures.

The Aztecs again were hurt by their lack of depth. Already missing forward Juan Espinoza because of a stress fracture in his back, the Aztecs had to play with their starting forward, Sam Johnson, slowed by a lower back problem.

But Johnson’s injury mattered little to Colorado State Coach Boyd Grant, who decided before the game he would have him loosely guarded.

“He hasn’t been scoring for them,” Grant said. “He figured we could use his man to help out inside.”

That meant trouble for Hawkins and center Mitch McMullen, who finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds.

The Rams had four players in double figures, getting 18 points from forward Pat Durham and 17 from forward Barry Bailey.