Aztecs Are No Match for Colorado State : Best Players Hurting, Others Playing Poorly, They Lose by 20

San Diego State had little to offer Colorado State in the way of a challenging basketball game Thursday night, losing, 67-47, at Moby Arena.

The best Aztec Coach Jim Brandenburg could put on the floor against the Rams was injured Mitch McMullen (SDSU’s top scorer and rebounder), limping Sam Johnson and the ineffective guard trio of Michael Best, Bryan Williams and Tony Ross. And that wasn’t nearly good enough.

“As for us, I apologize for not (having) a better effort,” said Brandenburg, whose team is 9-10, 3-6 in the Western Athletic Conference, and losers of six of the past seven games. “We just didn’t respond to the bell as well as we should have.

“We got an old-fashioned licking; that’s all there is to it.”

The Aztecs managed to stay in it early. But when SDSU switched to a 2-3 zone defense 5 minutes into the game, CSU took off.

The Rams (12-8, 4-5 in the WAC) outscored the Aztecs, 11-3, over the next 5 minutes to break out to a 19-9 advantage with 10:13 left in the half. Andy Anderson, a reserve forward, led the charge with a 3-pointer and another basket. Guards Joel Tribelhorn and Trent Shippen each added 3-pointers of their own.

Although the game was only 10 minutes old, the Aztecs would never recover.

“As banged up as we were, I thought we’d make a basketball game out of it,” Brandenburg said. “Then we gave up some 3-pointers in the first half, and that seemed to spark them.”

SDSU fought back to 19-16, but then McMullen had to sit because of his strained left Achilles tendon. He did not return and finished with just four points, 12 below his average.

“Obviously, Mitch McMullen was having a hard time going,” Brandenburg said. “He was somewhat ineffective, so we decided to rest him.”

CSU took advantage of SDSU’s loss, going on a 16-4 run to close out the half with a 35-20 lead.

The Aztecs scored six consecutive points to open the second half, but CSU responded with an 11-0 spurt to open a commanding, 46-26 lead with 12:35 left.

SDSU could get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

“We had to substitute more, and then our offense really broke down,” Brandenburg said. “We had to discipline or patience. Nothing worked for us, so we had a long evening.”

Added Johnson: “It was just a bad game. It was a lot of different things--one of those games where you can’t put a finger on any one thing.”

For starters, try shooting. The Aztecs were 19 of 46 (41%) from the floor and 5 of 13 (39%) from the foul line.

Or how about rebounding? SDSU was beaten 36-22 on the boards--10-4 on offensive rebounds.

And finally, turnovers. Although the Aztecs finished with just 13, Best alone cost SDSU seven.

Best finished as SDSU’s top scorer with 15 points, and Bell added nine. Williams, the point guard, had just five points and two assists.

On the other side, CSU was 10 of 16 from behind the 3-point line, Tribelhorn hitting five from long range. He led all scorers with 20 points.

“They (Aztecs) were definitely not as aggressive on the defensive end as they were out there (when SDSU won, 62-57, on Jan. 5),” Tribelhorn said. “We could execute our offense, and it made for some easy shots.”

CSU forwards Pat Durham and Anderson added 12 points apiece. Durham also led all rebounders with 14.

The Aztecs play Air Force Saturday at noon (PST) in the second leg of their Western WAC road swing.