Aztecs Beat Cal Poly Pomona to End Their 22-Game Skid : College basketball: SDSU bounces back against Division II school after being behind by eight points at the half.

Invite them to the White House. Bring in the movie makers. Give them shoe contracts.

After 336 days and a school-record 22 consecutive losses, the San Diego State basketball team won.

Overcoming 28% first-half shooting and an eight-point halftime deficit, the Aztecs eked out a 72-68 victory over Division II Cal Poly Pomona in front of 1,142 in Peterson Gym.

NBA scouts will be arriving momentarily.

“I wouldn’t say I felt (the losing streak), but when that’s all you hear, you can’t help but think about it,” said new SDSU Coach Tony Fuller, who notched his first head coaching victory. “I was feeling something. I don’t know what it was.”

For a minute, it was amnesia. When the final buzzer sounded and SDSU was safe, after nearly blowing a 13-point lead in the final four minutes, Fuller calmly shook the hand of Cal Poly Pomona Coach Kevin Patterson, turned, walked off the court, alternately looking down and straight ahead, reached the doorway and realized . . .

He forgot to stop by the radio table for his postgame interview.

Fuller wheeled around and accomplished the task.

“I wanted to get out of there before they changed their mind,” Fuller said sheepishly.

You couldn’t blame him. Ahead, 68-55, with 4:27 left, the Aztecs watched Curtis Bell pop two three-pointers and then saw Jerry Curtin sink another to help cut SDSU’s lead to one, 69-68, with 47 seconds left.

SDSU guard Chris Walters, though, made two free throws with 42 ticks left, then Jason Hamilton made the second of two with 23 seconds to play to preserve the victory.

Walters led SDSU (1-1) with 17 points and Hamilton had 13, but nobody sparked the Aztecs more than Marcus Banks, who finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Banks, a sophomore from San Antonio who rarely played last season, dropped 45 pounds during the summer and has been a stunning surprise.

“I was like, running every single day,” Banks said. “I thank my father for that. He went out with me and pushed me.

“When I wanted to chuck it or say forget it, he stayed with me.”

For a while, it looked like Cal Poly Pomona (2-1) would embarrass SDSU. The Aztecs trailed at halftime, 30-22, after stumbling through a miserable first half.

Joe McNaull, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, was called for traveling on three occasions in the first half. SDSU committed 12 turnovers--and 12 more in the second half. They had six in the game’s first four minutes.

The Aztecs made only four field goals in the game’s first 15 minutes. They finished the half with seven. But SDSU went on a 14-7 run to open the second half.

What did SDSU talk about at halftime?

Would you believe boxing?

“We talked about the Muhammed Ali-Joe Frazier fight in 1971,” Fuller said. “Frazier beat Ali in a unanimous decision, but Frazier had to go to the hospital for three weeks.”

Point taken.

“We talked about competing,” Fuller said. “I don’t mind losing, but there’s a way to lose. USD came in and kicked us, and these guys saw that and thought they were going to come in and kick us, too.”

Now, these guys are going to have to learn how to win. Sunglasses usually go along with winning, as do gold chains and agents.

Heck, they didn’t even dump a tub of ice water on their coach.