Aztecs Please Crowd With Overtime Upset of No. 7 BYU

The San Diego State basketball team got the big crowd it was looking for Thursday night, 10,465 people to be exact.

The Aztecs reacted by providing the second-largest crowd in SDSU history a fair sample of its wares, from an ugly beginning to a brilliant finish.

SDSU opened with a dismal, 0-for-8 performance from the field and closed with a crafty, driving lay-in by Bryan Williams to upset No. 7 Brigham Young University, 82-80, in overtime Thursday in a Western Athletic Conference game at the Sports Arena.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Aztecs (10-13, 3-8 in the WAC) and was the first time in six games SDSU has beaten the Cougars. BYU (20-2, 9-1) lost its first WAC game but still holds a conference lead of three games in the loss column.

Williams shot with four seconds left capped an overtime dominated by the Aztecs. He drove freely from the top of the key to sink the winning basket, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

For BYU, the overtime was its worst display of the game. The Aztecs took a 77-70 lead on a three-point shot by Tony Ross with 3:13 remaining, and the Cougars didn’t score from the field until Michael Smith tipped in a rebound with 1 minute to play in the 5-minute period, making the score 79-76.

But the Cougars came back to tie it at 80-80 on Andy Toolson’s tip-in with 28 seconds left, setting up Williams’ final shot.

The victory was quite a turnaround for a team that needed a lane violation after Williams missed two free throws to get its first point 1:32 into the game. SDSU appeared confused and rattled, scoring from the field for the first time 4:31 into the game when Mitch McMullen sank an eight-foot hook shot from the right baseline.

“Sometimes we play ugly and sometimes we play brilliantly,” said Jim Brandenburg, the Aztec coach. “The most important thing is that we ended up with the most points at the end of the game in front of a great crowd.”

That crowd, second only to the 11,044 who watched SDSU fall to DePaul, 85-69, in 1980 had little to cheer about until Tony Gwynn was introduced at courtside.

“I think that was because we had high anxiety,” Brandenburg said. “We were so stiff we could hardly bring the ball up court.”

McMullen, who was 0-3 from inside in the opening minutes, attributed his poor shooting to timidity.

“I was fading away on my shots, said McMullen, who finished with 19 points. “I was afraid I would be blocked, then I realized I had to be more aggressive.”

SDSU’s defense was plenty aggressive after the slow start. BYU entered the game leading the nation in field-goal percentage at 55.8%. Thursday, the Cougars shot 44%.

In the second half, SDSU stayed in the game behind three Ross three-pointers. He finished with a game-high 26 points, including 6 of 9 three-pointers.

SDSU traded the lead with BYU five times in the second half. BYU’s Brian Taylor sent the game into overtime when he sank two free throws with two seconds to play in regulation after he was fouled underneath by Rodney Hawkins.

Once in overtime, the Aztecs were not entirely brilliant. SDSU sent the Cougars to the line three times in the additional period, and BYU hit 4 of 5.

“We didn’t play smart down the stretch, but we did find ways to be successful when it counted,” Brandenburg said.

Indeed. SDSU blew its biggest lead of the second half, 44-38, allowing BYU to pull ahead, 51-48, on Taylor’s three-pointer from the top of the key. The Aztecs steadily kept pace with the Cougars until the end of regulation.

SDSU’s 32-30 halftime lead was limited by a 4-of-10 performance from the free throw line.

Aztec Notes

For the first time in the school’s history, all 13,741 tickets had been distributed . . . Steve Devine, a former offensive line coach at Ohio State, was added to the Aztec football staff Thursday, Coach Denny Stolz announced. Devine, 37, is expected to join Ulima Afoa in coaching the offensive line. Devine worked with Stolz at Bowling Green from 1980 to 1983 before joining the Ohio State staff.