San Diego State Aztecs @ New Mexico Lobos Basketball Recap

San Diego State 87 New Mexico 77


With every passing game the head coach Steve Fisher's San Diego State Aztecs seem to pass another test.  First it was running through their out-of-conference schedule unblemished.  Next came a showdown with league rival Nevada-Las Vegas.  On Saturday night, the sixth-ranked Aztecs travelled to Albuquerque to take on Steve Alford's New Mexico Lobos at the Pit, one of the nation's toughest road venues.  With the aid of a balanced offensive attack, San Diego State passed that test as well.

Point guard D.J. Gay's career high 30 points paced the Aztecs to their fourth conference victory in as many attempts.  The diminutive floor general, who is often a forgotten man on Montezuma Mesa playing in a lineup which includes potential All-American Kawhi Leonard, was simply at the top of his game.  Gay hit on 7-of-14 shot attempts, including a staggering 7-11 from beyond the arc.  He also added 9 free-throws on 14 attempts as the Aztecs exercised the demon of their last trip to The Pit, where they lost a heartbreaking overtime contest.

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The Lobos got off to a great start, ushering in a 12-0 run to take an early 7 point lead.  But following a San Diego State run to take the lead, New Mexico would never seriously threaten again.  UCLA transfer Drew Gooden had 23 points and 14 points to pace the Lobo attack.  Despite getting to the free-throw line 35 times and doing a nice job defensively against the Aztec frontcourt, the Lobos simply didn't have enough firepower to keep their homecourt winning streak running past 16 games.

San Diego State continues to get monster individual performances from Leonard and Tapley.  Leonard scored 19 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists while Tapley added 15 points and 5 rebounds.  Leonard and Tapley are efficient on the offensive side, shooting 7-of-13 and 5-of-8 from the field respectively.  The Aztecs hit on 13-of-25 attempts from the three-point line and went to the line 29 times.

Beyond Gordon's career night, Dairese Gary had 23 points and 7 assists while Kendall Williams added 11 for the Lobos.

The Aztecs are now 19-0 on the season and after a home contest with Air Force scheduled for the 19th of January will travel to Provo to take on tenth-ranked and once-beaten Brigham Young.  One thing is for certain, the 2011 season will continue to provide San Diego State with many challenges as it can produce.

By: Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Staff Writer