San Diego State’s men’s basketball team showed off their high powered defense once again this week as they defeated CSU Bakersfield 51-27, Thursday night, at Viejas Arena, as they donned turquoise jerseys to honor Native American Heritage Month.
Through three games this season, SDSU has allowed an average of 57 points-per-game, which ranks as the second lowest in the country. The Aztecs forced 11 steals on Thursday, and held the Road Runners to a 21.6 field goal percentage on the game.
However, SDSU’s offense did not fare much better, as they were held to a 24.6 field goal percentage, and made 3 of 24 three-point attempts.
This marks the second time this week that SDSU’s offense was held to a low total, while the defense shut down their opponent. On Tuesday, the Aztecs held No. 25 Utah to 49 points, in a 53-49 victory.
“We were good defensively but we were bad offensively. However, I think the shots we had tonight were good shots,” Head Coach Steve Fisher said in the post-game press conference. “We shot 24 three-pointers tonight and I think at least 22 of them were where we wanted them, who we would want them shot by, but we didn’t make them.”
Senior forward Dwayne Polee II led the team in points with 13, but Polee struggled with three-pointers, and went 1-8 on the night.
SDSU’s most highly touted freshman, Malike Pope, got his first minutes of his career on Thursday, and had four points, with two rebounds, in his debut.
“I was thrilled when they gave him a big round of applause when he came in,” Fisher said. “We thought this game would be good to give him some game competition. He’s glad that he had a chance to play and we’ll help him to realize his wealth of potential.”
Next up for the Aztecs (3-0) is the Maui Invitational, where they will play BYU a week from now, in the first round, on Nov. 20, at 8:30 p.m. PST.