Saint Mary's-CA (27-6) At San Diego State (25-9)
GAME NOTES: The quarterfinals of the 72nd Annual NIT pits Golden State rivals against each other as the Saint Mary's-CA Gaels make a quick turn-around and head to Cox Arena tonight to take on the San Diego State Aztecs. The second- seeded Gaels are hitting the hardwood less than 48 hours after playing their second-round battle versus Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats on Monday night. In that contest, SMC allowed Curry his share of points, but in the end came up with the 80-68 win at home in Moraga. The victory was the team's third straight and the ninth in the last 10 outings. The only setback during that stretch came against Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Tournament title game, a lopsided 25-point defeat that kept the Gaels out of the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the top-seeded Aztecs have been watching from the sidelines since beating up on Kansas State last Friday in a 70-52 final at a borrowed Jenny Craig Pavilion. The win came three days after SDSU toppled Weber State in the first round of the tourney, 65-49. Like SMC, the Aztecs suffered a tough setback during the Mountain West Conference Tournament to Utah (52-50), pushing them off the NCAA bubble and into the NIT. In terms of the all-time series between these two programs, the Gaels hold a narrow 4-3 edge. SMC won the first meeting back in 1961 by a decisive 81-58 score but had a tougher time in the most recent meeting just 16 months ago with a 69-64 triumph on a neutral floor. The winner of this contest will play Baylor in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.
Of the 68 field goal attempts by Davidson on Monday night, 27 came from Curry who tallied 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the losing effort. On the SMC side, it was an excited Patrick Mills who brought the capacity crowd to life with his 23 points and 10 assists, although he did start off a bit erratic and made just 1-of-10 shots behind the three-point line on the night. Omar Samhan was responsible for 18 points and nine boards, followed by Wayne Hunter and Diamon Simpson with 12 points apiece, the latter coming up with game highs of 15 rebounds and four steals as well. Mills, who seems to be back to his old self after missing a number of games with an injury, remains the team's top scorer this season with his 18.4 ppg. Regarded as one of the fastest players in college while handling the ball, Mills is the spark that ignites the rest of the offense for the Gaels and with his 56 steals is also someone who keeps himself involved in the play at the defensive end of the floor as well. Simpson averages a double-double with 13.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest and Samhan is not far behind with 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Known for having a tough defensive stance this season, the Aztecs exerted pressure on Kansas State last week by holding the visitors to just 31.7 percent shooting from the floor and 2-of-17 behind the three-point line. At the same time, SDSU forced 18 turnovers and made good on an impressive 53.1 percent from the floor on the night. Kyle Spain topped the scoring list with 16 points, adding a team-best seven assists as well, while Billy White and Richie Williams came away with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Although he is shooting only 39.7 percent from the field this season, Spain is still responsible for 14.1 ppg, which is just behind Lorrenzo Wade and his 14.5 ppg, although the latter played in eight fewer games. Spain tallied a good portion of his 478 points at the free-throw line where he was 83.3 percent accurate (135-of-162). The forward was also tops on the glass with close to five and a half rebounds per game for the Aztecs, his 43 steals playing an important part when holding opponents to a mere 59 ppg this year.
Jumping back into action so quickly might be tough for some teams, but since the Gaels are staying relatively local and Mills still has bundles of energy SMC could easily turn this trip south into the first step in a longer trek east next week.
Predicted OutcomeSaint Mary's-CA 71, San Diego State 66Copyright 2009 Courtesy of The Sports Network.
