Massey Fuels Furious Rally; Aztecs Prevail : College basketball: Senior guard gets 16 points in final 8:20 as San Diego State tops Arkansas State, 59-57.

No way could the San Diego State Aztecs lose now. Could they?

Arthur Massey had the game of his life--no, the eight minutes of his life. The Aztec team that showed up Friday at the San Diego Sports Arena was colder than the night outside, and Massey had personally injected some heat.

And now Arkansas State’s Brian Reaves was at the free-throw line with the Aztecs ahead by two--thanks to Marty Dow’s basket with two seconds left. Reaves had been fouled by freshman Joe McNaull on the ensuing inbounds play. His free throw bounced high off the back of the rim and into Ray Barefield’s arms.

The SDSU guard smothered the ball, the buzzer sounded, and the Aztecs cradled a 59-57 victory in an opening-round game in the Texaco Star Classic in front of a crowd of 2,060. SDSU will face Lamar, a 99-85 winner over Drexel, at 8:30 tonight for the tournament championship. Drexel will play Arkansas State at 6.

It was Massey who, in the waning seconds, dribbled at the top of the key and looked inside. He drove, flipped a pass over to Dow for what turned out to be the game-winning dunk.

It was Massey who, in the final 8:20, had 16 points--11 in a row, a steal and an assist. He grabbed the sluggish Aztecs by the throat, shook them up and led them to victory.

“I thought our guys had a lot of heart,” SDSU Coach Jim Brandenburg said. “Arthur Massey was just going to take it upon himself to find some way to win. That he did. He took it over.”

The senior guard finished with 20 points--tying Dow for the game high--and four assists as the Aztecs (4-3) won their fourth consecutive game.

And for a while, victory looked like some distant mirage. But about the time it looked as if the Aztecs couldn’t throw in a basket if you handed them a stepladder, the game turned.

On some nights, things are so subtle you could pick one of several game-turning moments. On this night, it was as if someone slammed a sledgehammer on the arena roof when it was time for a momentum shift.

Wham! Arkansas State’s Fred Shephard drove baseline, and SDSU freshman Joe McNaull made a big-time block from behind. SDSU trailed, 42-34, and 8:20 was left in the game.

The crowd leaped to its feet, and the Aztecs took the ball down. Massey hit a three-pointer.

It was about now that it seemed like the game got stuck on fast-forward. Arkansas State came back--and Barefield took a charge. Reaves protested--and was hit with a technical foul. Massey hit both free throws and SDSU trailed, 42-39.

A minute later, Massey was fouled attempting a three-pointer. He got three free throws. Swish, swish, swish. 42-42.

With 6:07 to play, Massey hit a three-pointer. Why not? He couldn’t miss.

And now the Aztecs led, 45-42, and now it was time to scrap.

Early, Arkansas State’s inside duo of Dewayne McCray and Tyrone Hall was too much for the Aztecs. McCray, 6-6, and Hall, 6-5, were smaller than SDSU’s Dow--7-1--or Balzer--6-8--but ran amok inside. McCray had 12 points and Hall, who didn’t start, 10 in the first half.

But the Aztecs changed to a quicker, three-guard attack in the second half, let the 6-11 McNaull play a little more, and ended up shutting out both McCray and Hall in the second half.

Arkansas State led at halftime, 33-26. For one thing, the Indians dominated the boards, outrebounding SDSU, 15-7, in the first half. For another, they took advantage of poor defense. They made 15 of 26 field-goal attempts (58%)--nine of their 15 baskets were layups, and three more came from within the paint.

Then, the Indians switched to a zone, and that baffled SDSU for a time. Dow had 10 at the half and Vern Thompson had eight on three of four shooting, but other than that, it was pretty bleak.

In the first half, SDSU got a total of two points from its guards--that came from Massey--and no points from its bench. Just four players scored.

By the end, Arkansas State (5-4) still outrebounded SDSU, 28-22, but the Indians had no answer for Massey.

In the opener, Lamar (6-3) wore down Drexel (1-7) in the second half. Drexel went ahead, 68-67, on Arthur Clark’s layup and free throw with 10:34 to play, only to watch Lamar score 12 of the next 13 points.

That was enough.

“Neither team has a real strong bench,” Lamar Coach Mike Newell said. “We have a strenuous conditioning program . . . we feel like if we stay close in the first half, we’re going to go on those spurts.”

So far, he’s been right. In its first nine games combined, Lamar has been outscored in the first halves, 390-381. But the Cardinals have outscored their opponents in the second half by more than 100 points, 456-348.

Anthony Bledsoe and Daryl Reed led Lamar with 21 points apiece. Terry Bridgeman added 19, and Tommy Smith grabbed 11 rebounds.

Guard Michael Thompson had 22 points for Drexel.

So Lamar will play in tonight’s championship, but considering the the Cardinals were 7-21 last season, Newell still wasn’t overly enthusiastic.

“We’re trying to keep our head above water,” he said. “Every team we play can beat us. They’ve played a tough schedule. (Coach) Eddie (Burke) really gets the most out of their ability . . .

“Neither team is real good. It was a fun game to watch, and we were fortunate to win.”