Aztecs Convert 38 Free Throws, Top Westmont

The San Diego State men’s basketball team staged a parade on Thursday night, but it had nothing to do with the fact that the Aztecs matched their victory total for the entire 1991-1992 season--two--in their fourth outing this winter.

No, the parade was to the free throw line, over and over and over again, where the Aztecs nailed a school-record 38 of 47 attempts en route to a 106-91 victory over Westmont College, an NAIA school from Santa Barbara.

Westmont made 21 of 26 attempts as the Aztecs improved to 2-2, after finishing 2-26 last year--the worst mark in school history.

Still, SDSU watched a 22-point second half lead melt to six with 4:11 left in the game and the Aztecs were forced to scramble. After setting a school record with 39 turnovers in a loss at Arizona State on Tuesday, SDSU had 23 against Westmont (4-3).

Which explains why the Aztecs were happy and relieved, but not ecstatic, after the victory.

“We’re glad we won,” said first-year Coach Tony Fuller. “But we’ve got to use better basketball judgment. I was proud of the way we made our free throws.”

But the Aztecs are learning to walk before they figure out running.

“I was really impressed that Joe McNaull was not in for the last five minutes but he was up cheering for his teammates,” Fuller said. “That’s what we need. We don’t have individual stars. We have to win as a team.”

Forward Keith Balzer had a career high 26 points against the noticeably smaller Westmont team, Courtie Miller finished with 21 thanks to 15-for-16 free-throw shooting, Tony Clark had 19 points, Chris Walters 15, McNaull 11 and Jason Hamilton 10.

Walters and Hamilton had six assists apiece.

But Westmont somehow equaled SDSU’s 36 rebounds, and then there was the turnover problem in front of 725 in Peterson Gym.

“I don’t know,” Fuller said shaking his head. “We just need to keep practicing. I never thought I’d be happy with 23 turnovers, but that’s improvement and we’ll take it.

“If we have 16 less next game, I’ll be a happy man.”

If Fuller can figure out a way to cut down on the turnovers, he might even be able to relax a bit on the bench. The Aztecs blew a 13-point lead in losing to Arizona State and never should have allowed Westmont back into this one.

“I look at the schedule and I don’t see any easy ones,” Fuller said. “People say this was an easy one, and I say:

“ ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ ”