Aztecs’ Road Troubles Continue in Loss to Irvine

IRVINE —  San Diego State’s five-game winning streak collided with its first true road game of the season and, whoosh, there went the Aztecs.

“Whoosh” is the sound UC Irvine fans make when one of the Anteaters makes a free throw. They were making that sound often Saturday evening in the Bren Events Center on the Irvine campus as the Anteaters defeated SDSU, 75-62, before 2,130.

UC Irvine converted 28 of 36 free-throw attempts compared to SDSU’s 11 of 20. Irvine trailed at halftime, 37-33, and was able to keep that close thanks to their 13-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line.

But road problems are nothing new for the Aztecs (5-3). They are now 3-20 over the past three seasons on their opponents’ home court. The trip to Irvine was SDSU’s first real road game of the season. The Aztecs opened the year by losing two of three games on a neutral court in the Maui Classic.

The loss came against an Irvine team off to the worst start in the school’s 25-yar history. Irvine was 1-5 going into the game and Coach Bill Mulligan was using his fifth different lineup in seven games.

The Anteaters have been having problems in particular at point guard. Rod Palmer, a transfer from UCLA, started the season as the Irvine point guard but sat out Saturday with a sprained knee; second-team point guard Ben Rishwain has a broken finger; and freshman Daryl Rigdon has a sprained shoulder.

So Craig Marshall stepped in, making his second start of the season. But it was the other guard Justin Anderson who kicked Irvine into gear against SDSU. He scorched the Aztecs for three three-point shots in the first five minutes of the second half. Those, combined with Jeff Herdman’s two free throws, pulled Irvine to within one, 45-44. Then, after Aztec center Marty Dow made a layup and subsequent free throw to give the Aztecs a 48-44 lead, Irvine went on an 11-0 run from which the Aztecs never recovered.

Each team shot 42% from the field. The game was won at the free throw line and on the boards. Irvine outrebounded SDSU, 41-32.

“I thought we got killed on the boards,” SDSU Coach Jim Brandenburg said. “Long rebounds, loose balls, and a lack of offensive execution and patience.”

Part of SDSU’s problem was Irvine center Ricky Butler. He had a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds--doubling the Aztecs’ scoring leaders (Michael Best and Shawn Jamison, 14 each) and two more rebounds than Jamison’s 10, the Aztec high.

“There was no reason to turn Butler loose for 18 points in the first half, and there was no reason to turn him loose again in the second,” Brandenburg said.

He also wasn’t happy with the fact that Irvine attempted 16 more free throws than SDSU.

“(Irvine’s) screening was like the pulling guards of the Green Bay Packers’ sweeps,” Brandenburg said. “They could have made a call every play.”

But Brandenburg also thought the Aztecs lost their poise in the second half. They shot 40% in the second half and made just one of five free throw attempts in the final 10 minutes.

“Any time you go on the road in Division I basketball, there’s a chance adversity will jump up and bite you on the rear end,” he said. “It happened tonight. It should be a learning situation for us.”

The Aztecs led at halftime, 37-33, only because they finally found some long-distance shooting range.

Their final three field goals of the half were from three-point land--two from Best and one from Michael Hudson. They were Best’s only two field goals of the half, and they came at an opportune time. His first one gave SDSU a 31-29 lead, the 13th lead change of the half.

Part of the Aztecs’ first-half struggle could be attributed to Best, who was two for seven from the field and didn’t score his first point until converting a free throw with 7:03 left. But Best wasn’t the only culprit.

Marty Dow, SDSU’s 7-feet-1, 240-pound center, picked up two fouls in the game’s first three minutes. He ended up sitting out the next five minutes, and SDSU turned a 6-4 lead into a 17-16 deficit. He finished the half with just two points and one rebound.

Then, with 8 1/2 minutes left and SDSU ahead, 20-17, Irvine scored five consecutive points. Irvine held the lead for the next six minutes until Jamison snuck inside for a layup and Best and Hudson hit their three-pointers.