Unbeaten Aztecs Win by 25 at Baylor

The San Diego State basketball team won its second game of the season by defeating Baylor, 83-58, Tuesday in Waco, Tex.

Sam Johnson led SDSU (2-0) with 16 points and tied his career record set last year against New Mexico. Half of Johnson’s points came in the last 4 minutes of the first half.

SDSU had its biggest margin of victory since beating Dartmouth last year at home by 27 points, and it tied the record for the biggest victory on the road, set in the 1982-83 season, when SDSU defeated Saint Mary’s, 80-55.

“To go on the road for the first time and win is a tremendous plus,” Coach Jim Brandenburg said. “It has to give us a little confidence and momentum for our upcoming schedule. It showed we’re making progress and that’s what really pleased me.”

Michael Best scored 15 for SDSU and Tony Ross and Mitch McMullen added 10 each. McMullen and Johnson both fouled out.

“I was pleased that our efficiency level did not drop off when we went to our bench,” Brandenburg said.”

Julius Denton led Baylor with 18 points. Baylor, which lost to Memphis State in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament last year and drops to 0-3.

The victory provided Brandenburg with some answers about Best, a junior transfer from Clemson who redshirted last season and had gone scoreless in the team’s season-opening victory Saturday against Delaware.

“It was just a matter of time until Michael came around,” Brandenburg said. “We worked on his shot today. I think that gave him a little more confidence.”

And the Aztecs were more balanced on offense against Baylor than in the season opener, when McMullen scored 21 points.

“We were so inside-oriented and dominant in the first game,” Brandenburg said, “that (McMullen) got involved and no one else did. Tonight we may have overcompensated and got outside dominance. That’s not necessarily bad because we can work toward a balance from there.”

A layup by Dana Jackson with 11:57 left in the half put SDSU ahead, 16-11, and a 10-3 run stretched the lead to 26-11, including a 3-pointer by Best and an inside shot by Ross.

SDSU was helped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Ross and Best.

The Bears cut the lead to 10 points with a Michael Hobbs jumper with 4:25 left in the half, but that was as close as they came in the period.

The Aztecs led, 48-30, at halftime, after Denton narrowed the lead with a 44-foot shot at the buzzer.

It was the first regular-season game Baylor played in the newly built Ferrell Center.

The Aztecs meet UC Irvine Friday at the Sports Arena at 7:30 p.m.