San Diego State defeated Air Force 77-45 Tuesday night in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on the back of a season-high 13 three-pointers, and are now tied for first place in the Mountain West Conference.
The 32-point margin of victory was the largest for a road team in Mountain West Conference history.
“This is a shooter’s gym. I told the guys that I would be disappointed if we didn’t get 70 points,” coach Steve Fisher said post-game. “Obviously, making shots makes a world of difference. We started out early making them and maintained that rhythm and flow.”
Not only did the Aztecs hit 13 threes but they converted 59.1 percent of them, a little over 20 percent higher than their season average.
Senior guard Aqeel Quinn was the leader of the three-point brigade and went 5-7, while leading the team with 17 points.
SDSU’s defense out-rebounded Air Force 33-19, and forced 12 turnovers.
Senior forward J.J. O’Brien set a career-high with five steals, and also had 11 points.
Junior guard Winston Shepard nearly had a triple-double, and ended the night with 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
Fisher knew that the Aztecs were going to have to hit their shots based off Air Force’s zone defense, and his team was up for the challenge.
“The way (Air Force) plays their zone and their match-ups, I knew we would get clean looks,” Fisher said. “I thought tonight we did a good job of not just passing it around the perimeter and having a hand in the face as we shot it.”
Since losing to Fresno St. on Jan. 3 the Aztecs (15-4, 5-1) have strung together four straight wins, and have won eight of their last nine.
The Aztecs will stay in Colorado to play Colorado St. on Saturday at 7 p.m., and the game can be seen on ESPNU.