A year ago San Diego State’s basketball team lost to the University of San Diego in a game that was played outdoors at Petco Park. That loss likely was the one that ended up keeping SDSU out of the NCAA Tournament field.
The college basketball season got underway with the SD City Championship between the Aztecs and Toreros. There would not be another upset this year.
San Diego State beat USD 69-59 at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs, playing without a pair of their more potent scorers in Malik Pope and Matt Shrigley (both nursing leg injuries), let its talented backcourt to most of its offensive damage. Guards Trey Kell (23 points) and Jeremy Hemsley (25 points) did the heavy lifting. The rest of the SDSU roster, which consisted of seven players on Friday night, combined for 21 points.
Sophomore guard Olin Carter III led the Toreros with 17 points. USD built a nine-point lead in the first half before San Diego State ratcheted up the defensive intensity. The Toreros scored just four points over a 12-minute span of the second half that allowed the Aztecs to build a 14-point lead.
SDSU heads to Spokane to play the 14th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs on Monday, the same night USD hosts Samford at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
