San Diego State men’s basketball team beat the Air Force Falcons 53-49 in the team’s Mountain West Conference opener Wednesday at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs nearly blew a 19-point lead at halftime, but hung on thanks to five points from junior forward Winston Shepard in the final minutes of the game.
It was not the prettiest performance by the Aztecs this season, but coach Steve Fisher was satisfied with the victory.
“Can you find fault with a lot that happened in the second half? Sure you can. But good teams find ways to win,” Fisher said in the post-game press conference. “Everybody will say `Well, you’re supposed to win, you’re supposed to win’ and we’ll see more of the same in every game we play.”
Senior guard J.J. O’Brien led the Aztecs with 10 points, while redshirt-sophomore Matt Shrigley and senior guard Aqeel Quinn each contributed nine points.
It was the 23rd straight home victory for the Aztecs which set an all-time program record.
SDSU (11-3, 1-0) will now play the Fresno St. Bulldogs Saturday at 7 p.m. in Fresno.