No. 24 San Diego State survives charging Toreros

Dec 5, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Xavier Thames (2) pushes away San Diego Toreros guard Christopher Anderson (00). Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports. /

The San Diego State Aztecs defeated the San Diego Toreros 65-64 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, CA. The Aztecs improved to 6-1, and the Toreros fell to 7-3.

The crowd was rocking at USD’s home court. Most of the fans were pulling for the Toreros, but a sizable presence of SDSU fans made the trip to show their support for the newly ranked Aztecs.

The Aztecs outrebounded the Toreros in the first half 21-14, but the Toreros hit five of six 3-pointers to keep the game tied 32-32 at halftime. USD needed to shoot well in order to compete against the much longer and athletic SDSU team. Despite being outmatched athletically, the Toreros limited the Aztecs to shooting 36.4% from the field in the first half.

The Toreros continued to play SDSU tough in the second half. Even as the Aztecs began to pull away, the Toreros stayed in the game, and fought back. Great shooting by Torero guards Christopher Anderson and Johnny Dee kept the game close. Johnny Dee hit a couple key threes down the stretch to help make it a one point game with 40 seconds to go.

Down by one, the Toreros came out of a timeout, and turned the ball over without getting off a shot. With 12.2 seconds to go, the Toreros were forced to foul Xavier Thames who hit both free throws to put the Aztecs up 63-60. Up by three, the Aztecs fouled Duda Sanadze with 7.4 seconds left. Sanadze hit both free throws, and the Toreros returned the favor fouling Thames, who hit both free throws once again.

The game lurched forward with the Aztecs fouling Christopher Anderson before he could get off a shot. Anderson hit both free throws, and the Toreros forced a turnover by tying up Thames for a jump ball. In the final seconds, Sanadze had an open shot that looked good, but failed to go down, and time expired in the ensuing shuffle for the rebound. Aztecs win 65-64.

SDSU top performers: Xavier Thames scored 17 points along with 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Skylar Spencer scored 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Dwayne Polee II scored 12 points, including a sweet alley-oop dunk. Big man Josh Davis was the game MVP grabbing 15 rebounds and scoring 10 points.

USD top performers: Christopher Anderson had a career-high 22 points along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Johnny Dee scored 21 points, and Duda Sanadze added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Thomas Jacobs grabbed 8 boards along with 3 points.

Next game: The Aztecs take on the Washington Huskies (4-3) at 3 pm ET on Dec. 8th. The game will be broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network. The Toreros play the Pacifica College Gladiators at 10 pm ET on Dec. 10th.

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