Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Diego State
Fresno State Falls to San Diego State, 58-47
1/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2015
Box Score | Notes | USATSI Gallery 
By Stephen Trembley
strembley@csufresno.edu
www.GoBulldogs.com
SAN DIEGO -- The Fresno State men's basketball team struggled to find its offensive rhythm and did not get enough defensive stops in falling 58-47 at defending conference regular season champion San Diego State on Tuesday night at Viejas Arena inside Aztec Bowl.
Even with the loss, Fresno State (10-11, 5-3 Mountain West) remains just a game back of first-place in the conference standings.
The Bulldogs played the Aztecs tight early - leading 12-11 midway through the first half and worked itself into a 19-19 tie with 4:33 remaining in the opening 20 minutes. But SDSU countered with a 13-3 run, including a stretch of scoring 11 consecutive points, to lead 32-22 at halftime. The Aztecs eventually built as large as a 17-point lead at 43-26 with 12:15 left in the game and cruised to the final buzzer.
"I think we did enough early from a defensive standpoint to be right where we needed to be," Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said. "The things that we had been doing were working for us and we were getting the kind of looks we wanted to get and we got away from that. I told the guys in the locker room, the next step for our program and team is growth and maturity."
Fresno State was led by Marvelle Harris (13 points) and Paul Watson (10 points). Senior forward Alex Davis added eight points and a season-best 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who as a team had four assists paired with 14 turnovers and shot 36.5 percent from the floor.
Aqeel Quinn scored 16 points and Winston Shepard had 11 points and nine rebounds to lead San Diego State to its fifth win in six games.
The Aztecs (16-5, 6-2 Mountain West) avenged a 59-57 loss at Fresno on Jan. 3 that snapped a streak of 47 straight victories against California teams. SDSU also bounced back from a 79-73 loss at Colorado State on Saturday and moved into a tie for first in the league race.
JJ O'Brien added 12 for the Aztecs and reserve big man Angelo Chol scored 10.
Up Next
Fresno State completes its two-game road swing by visiting Colorado State on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. PT. Saturday's contest in Fort Collins will also be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and 940 AM ESPN Radio.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"Be Bold!" --- Mini-plans for the 2014-15 Fresno State men's basketball season are available starting at $36 through the Bulldog Ticket Office at the Save Mart Center, over the phone at 559-278-DOGS and online at www.GoBulldogs.com.
