San Diego State Loses Record 18th Contest in a Row : College basketball: Colorado State’s three-point barrage frustrates the Aztecs, 74-66.

Bang the drum slowly and open the record book quickly.

For the third consecutive game, the San Diego State basketball team found itself in the same ZIP code as a victory, but for a school-record 18th consecutive game, the Aztecs wound up on the losing end.

They were defeated Saturday by Colorado State, 74-66, thanks to a second-half spell in which they handled the ball like it was a greased pig and during which a Ram named Tyson Maroney, who entered the game shooting 33% from three-point range, drilled them into submission with a flurry of treys.

“He took our heart out,” SDSU interim Coach Jim Harrick said. “If I had stuck Superman on him. . . . He was burying the three.”

The numbers continue to get worse as the Aztecs (2-23, 0-13) stumble toward the worst season in school history. That came in 1986-87, when Smokey Gaines’ last SDSU team went 5-25. This year’s edition has three games remaining--at Utah, at Brigham Young and at Hawaii.

Prospects don’t look good in any of those places, particularly on next week’s Utah trip. The Aztecs have lost six in a row at BYU and 10 consecutive at Utah.

Pretty soon, these guys are going to owe points in the national power ratings.

After having spent most of the season getting blown out early, the Aztecs have stayed close in the past three games, but they keep playing Charlie Brown to their opponents’ Lucy. They approach a victory and, just as they get close, their opponent yanks it away, leaving the Aztecs flat on their backs.

Like Saturday.

After trailing by five at halftime, SDSU pulled to within two, 46-44, when Ray Barefield made a layup with 12:07 to play.

The Aztecs had the momentum and the incentive for victory. They just didn’t have the correct road map. After Barefield’s layup, Maroney drilled a three-pointer.

SDSU came back, worked the ball in to Joe McNaull, and Colorado State guard Ryan Yoder stole it.

The Rams didn’t score; the Aztecs came down, worked the ball to McNaull . . . and Colorado State center Doug Larson stole it.

The Rams turned the ball over; the Aztecs came down, and Robert Ringo missed a layup.

Maroney then sank another three pointer, making it 52-44, and the Aztecs came down . . . and McNaull lost the handle on another pass.

And the next time the Aztecs brought the ball down, Virgil Smith passed the ball behind McNaull underneath the basket, and it bounced off of McNaull’s leg and out of bounds.

Maroney came down and drilled another three-pointer--he had five in a 6:20 span and finished with 16 points--and it was all the Rams needed.

It’s as if the Aztecs aren’t sure how to play when they’re in the game. They get close and they tense up.

“Yeah,” McNaull said. “We just want to get a win so badly that everybody is trying to make the game-winning shot, or get the game-winning rebound, or get the game-winning steal. We all try to do the things we need to win without it being a team effort.

“That’s not a knock against anybody. We all want to break the losing streak so bad that we’re just trying to do things we can’t do. I wasn’t playing strong; some people were forcing shots.

“We get close enough to smell it, and everyone is trying to go for the gamer, and it’s not there.”

Larson led the Rams (13-13, 7-5) with 21 points--17 in the first half. Colorado State was without senior captain Lynn Tryon, who was out with a pulled muscle in his buttocks.

McNaull had 16 points and 10 rebounds for SDSU, Tony Clark had 15 points and senior Nelson Stewart, playing his final home game for SDSU, had 11 points.

But guards Smith and Barefield combined to make only five of 22 from the field.