With San Diego State having just seven scholarship players available, it was almost a given that fatigue would be a factor for the Aztecs basketball team against Point Loma Nazarene last night.
Still, the Aztecs finished their lone exhibition of the 2006-07 season on top, thanks to an 88-80 victory at Cox Arena.
Playing before a crowd of 4,511, the largest on hand for an exhibition game in school history, SDSU used a solid defensive effort early and key shots late to counter the Sea Lions' perimeter shooting, which resulted in 14 three-point field goals.
“We did a really good job contesting threes in the first half,” Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. “The second half, fatigue had to be a big factor, and we got a little frustrated when they started to come back a little bit. We took five or six shots during that stretch that would have been better served if we made another pass.”
That allowed PLNU to cut what was a 22-point deficit with 17:45 left in the game to 85-80 when Matt Benson hit a long shot with 1:01 remaining.
The Aztecs, though, remained in control, making 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
Offensively, the Aztecs were paced by senior Brandon Heath, who scored 30 points in 40 minutes and led five players in double figures.
Behind Heath, Richie Williams had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Mohamed Abukar scored 18 and Lorrenzo Wade put in 12.
Chris Lamb, a 6-foot-10 sophomore center who scored four points all last season, tallied 15.
SDSU played without sophomore Kyle Spain, who injured his right foot in practice Tuesday. Fisher said X-rays taken yesterday were negative, but how long the injury could sideline the 6-5 sophomore is still unknown.
That means playing three games in three days short-handed at the season-opening Shamrock Invitational at Saint Mary's in Moraga is a real possibility for SDSU.
“We'll play who we've got there to play,” Fisher said. “If this is the group we have to go up to Saint Mary's, then we'll play and games like this will be helpful to us.”
Nicole Vargas: (619) 293-1390; nicole.vargas@uniontrib.com
