Aztecs Get First Win of Season : College basketball: SDSU tops Texas Southern, 79-64, to advance to Longhorn Classic championship tonight against host Texas.

Most of these in-season tournaments are the same, and the University of Texas’ Longhorn Classic is no exception. There was a reason why San Diego State, Texas Southern and North Texas were invited here this weekend.

Meat.

Like most other December tournament hosts, Texas expects to gobble up the field like a socialite popping hors d’oeuvres. One after the other, in orderly fashion, with few crumbs.

Tonight, SDSU is on the platter.

The Aztecs earned their first victory of the season Friday night, 79-64, over a weak Texas Southern team. And for that, they earned the right to play Texas, which defeated North Texas, 124-107, in front of 11,579 in the Erwin Center. The SDSU-Texas game is at 6 tonight (PST).

The Longhorns (3-2) have won 15 consecutive home games and, under Coach Tom Penders, have scored 100 or more points at home 17 times in three years.

They have won six of seven Longhorn Classics, going 13-1 over that span. Of course, the fields haven’t exactly rivaled those of the NCAA tournament. . . . Texas has beaten several schools in this “classic”--Texas Pan American, Texas San Antonio, Tennessee Chattanooga, and other undistinguished foes as well--South Alabama, South Florida and Mercer.

And here come the Aztecs.

“I’d say they’re a top 25 or 35 basketball team,” SDSU Coach Jim Brandenburg said.

But for one evening, the Aztecs (1-3) weren’t concerned with what lay ahead. For the first time this season, they could enjoy the present in their postgame locker room.

“It was nice to see,” said point guard Virgil Smith, who lost his starting job Friday but still played 32 minutes, contributing seven points, seven assists and only three turnovers. “When you’re three down, it’s a little different in the locker room. For once, we’ve got the other feeling.”

Said Brandenburg: “It was good medicine for us. We were playing with no confidence. Anytime you have a chance to come back and be successful, I think, it is real positive medicine.”

Brandenburg said the Aztecs won with defense and rebounding, and the statistical summary bears him out. SDSU out-rebounded the Tigers, 40-33, and held Texas Southern (1-4) to 39% shooting from the field.

The Aztecs, on the other hand, shot a season-high 52%. They were led by Joe McNaull’s 21 points (nine of 12 from the field) and Keith Balzer’s 15 (seven of 12). SDSU also moved the ball much better than the Tigers, getting 23 assists to Texas Southern’s seven.

But the game wasn’t as simple as the final score makes it sound. SDSU got down early, 15-4, and was tied at the half, 33-33. But after a couple of baskets inside from Nelson Stewart and a few more from Balzer--and a 5 1/2-minute Tiger scoreless spell--SDSU took a comfortable 12-point margin. Although the Tigers cut it to five with 6:01 to play, SDSU maintained control.

“We just stayed with it,” Smith said. “We didn’t quit. They came out fast, and we stayed within our system.”

The double-bill was kind of like pairing Bambi with Goodfellas in a movie matinee.

The first game was played at breakneck speed throughout, throttles wide open. The SDSU-Texas Southern game was kind of like the go-cart racing at the local Family Fun Center.

In the opener, Texas trailed most of the first half. The Longhorns took a 16-14 lead when Benford Williams scored from inside with 15:40 left, but North Texas tied it a few seconds later and never trailed again en route to a 69-67 halftime lead.

This despite being out-shot by Texas in the half, 55% to 50%. But the Longhorns established themselves early in the second half, dropped the full-court trap and outscored North Texas, 27-8, as the half opened.

“What we tried to do in the first half was create a race-horse, wide-open game and get them to feel they could run and shoot with us all night,” Penders said. “It was calculated on watching them play. We felt eventually we would wear them out and go on a run.”

Which is precisely what happened.

And execution is part of the reason why Penders has had three consecutive 20-victory seasons--more than any other coach in Texas history. It is also part of the reason why the Longhorns are one of only seven schools in the nation to win their first-round NCAA tournament game in each of the past three seasons.

Aztec Notes

Guard Terrence Hamilton (broken toe) was in street clothes Friday and isn’t expected to play tonight. . . . Guard Ray Barefield sprained his ankle in the last few minutes Friday but expects to play tonight.