A short-handed San Diego State team played even with Arizona State Thursday until they rode a second-half run to an 80-68 victory in Tempe.
Senior guard Jordan Schakel scored a career-high 25 to lead the Aztecs, who improved to 5-0. Nathan Mensah added 17 points and 15 rebounds.
SDSU logged the win over the No. 23-ranked Sun Devils (3-2) even while taking the court with just nine players.
The Aztecs, who entered the Associated Press poll this week at No. 24, left Keith Dinwiddie Jr., Che Evans and Keshad Johnson at home due to COVID-19 concerns, according to NBC San Diego.
Shack locking it down! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/tlpWVI03vN
— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 11, 2020
The station reported that head coach Brian Dutcher said the players are being tested and may be allowed to practice. The fears about the trio arose because of “a social setting they didn’t think was conducive to them being around the team,” according to a NBC San Diego tweet.
Dutcher, in a post-game news conference, acknowledged that his team didn’t have all its tools, but he said they offset the issue by playing together.
“What we have is enough,” he added.
San Diego State opened the game by jumping to a 14-2 lead, but over the next 10 minutes the Sun Devils clawed their way back to briefly go ahead.
It’s not the same clip again, Shack is on FIRE! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/DgprhyHrjO
— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 11, 2020
The Aztecs finished the half with a two-point advantage, as Mensah and Schakel each scored 10 points.
SDSU put the game away though with an 18-2 run that began with a three-pointer by Schakel. He made two more threes before Trey Pulliam ended the surge with a layup to give the Aztecs a 59-45 lead with just under 11 minutes to go in the game.
Dutcher credited Adam Seiko, though he only scored two points, with being the “unsung hero of the game” for his play. San Diego State also held heralded Arizona State guard Remy Martin to nine points.
“We still have a long way to go,” Schakel told the Associated Press, “but it was nice to put that kind of game together this early in the season.”
San Diego State has a week to prepare for their next game, at home against BYU. They play the 5-2 Cougars at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 18.
Nathan says not this time and Shack takes it to the hoop at the other end. #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/wbwbXhGUBe
— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 11, 2020
– Staff reports
