Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Contact: Stan Cole

By Matt Marek

Campbell Athletics Media Services

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - Six San Diego State players scored in double figures, as the Aztecs broke the 100-point barrier for the first time since 1998 en route to a 119-82 win over Campbell Tuesday evening.

SDSU's hot shooting was too much for Campbell too overcome, as the Aztecs set numerous Cox Arena records Tuesday evening. Included in those records were total points (119), field goal percentage (.696), field goals (48) and assists (33). The 201 combined points was also a Cox arena record.

Lorrenzo Wade scored a team and season-high with 21 off the bench and Mohamed Akubar and Brandon Heath each chipped in with 19 to help the Aztecs (9-2) to their season high in scoring.

Wade shot 80 percent from the field (8-10) including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Akubar also hit 8-of-10 shots, while Jer'Vaughn Johnson scored a career high 17 points, shooting a blistering 89 percent (8-9).

The taller Aztecs held a 66-32 edge on points scored in the paint. SDSU's 48 field goals were the most ever scored against the Camels in CU's Division I history (since 1977-78), eclipsing the 47 by North Carolina State in December 1978. SDSU fell just one point shy of a Campbell opponent scoring mark. Troy State scored 120 vs. the Camels in January 2004.

Jonathan Rodriguez paced the Camels with 19 points on 9-14 shooting, plus five rebounds and five steals. Reggie Bishop and Ruell Pringle added 14 and 13 respectively for the Camels (3-3), who dropped their third straight.

Campbell made a season-high 11 three-point field goal (in 35 attempts), but hit just 7-of-14 from the line (.500) and 32-of-75 from the floor (.427) on the night.

"I thought (their players) were long and athletic and disruptive to the flow of our offense," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing. "I thought we contested their shots well, and they still made shots which made the momentum just stretch. When the game gets like that, a double-digit lead, they start relaxing and shots start falling and it can snowball. I just thought Coach (Steve) Fisher had their full attention after two losses and they were prepared to play like they played last year when they won the Mountain West Conference championship. They were longer, bigger, faster and stronger, that was the biggest problem."

Campbell came out of the gates strong, forcing SDSU into four straight turnovers to start the game. CU took an early 5-0 lead and held its biggest lead of the night at 19-12 at the 13:21 mark behind six early points by Rodriguez.

The Aztecs caught and distanced themselves from the Camels at the 11:11 mark of the first half, going on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the night. A Heath-to-Jerome Habel alley-oop preceded a Kyle Spain three-pointer to give SDSU the lead for good.

"We knew coming into the game that (Campbell) was definitely, definitely capable of getting hot," said San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher. "They were a run-and-gun team. We knew they were going to shoot the ball quickly. They were number two in the country in scoring last year and that's just their style of play. We knew there were going to be a lot of possessions for both teams. When playing a team like that, the game can change at any moment. Anytime you play a run-and-gun team, just because you're up by 15, the game is definitely not over."

Rodriguez single handedly kept the Camels in the game late in the first half. The freshman scored eight straight points over a 2:45 span to keep the Camels within four at the 5:02 mark. It was as close as the Camels would get the rest of the night as SDSU went on a 14-4 run to close out the first half with a 16 point lead.

The Aztecs dominated the second half from the start, as a 15-3 run stretching from 16:01 to the 11:15 mark gave them a 30-point lead that they held the rest of the night.

Campbell is in action again Thursday when they travel across town to face San Diego. The Camels dropped a 90-81 decision to the Toreros last season in Buies Creek. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. pst.