No. 18 Aztecs take down crosstown rival San Diego

San Diego, CA – Chase Tapley dropped in a team-high 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and No. 18 San Diego State easily handled San Diego, 72-56, Saturday at Viejas Arena.

Jamaal Franklin netted 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Deshawn Stephens went a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor for 11 points to go with six rebounds for the Aztecs (8-1), who have won eight straight since a season- opening loss to Syracuse on Nov. 11.

JJ O'Brien and Xavier Thames contributed eight points apiece in the victory.

"It was a nice win against a San Diego team that's playing very good basketball," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. "I think they're going to have a very good season as they continue to move forward."

Ken Rancifer swished home a game-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Chris Manresa and Christopher Anderson donated 11 points each for the Toreros (6-6), who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Johnny Dee and Mike Davis chipped in with nine points apiece in the loss.

"We have a bunch of young guys. It's good experience for them, but turnovers killed us," said Rancifer.

It was a one-possession game for much of the opening 20 minutes as a jumper by James Rahon gave the Aztecs a 20-18 lead with 9:16 to play in the session.

That bucket set San Diego State off on a 10-0 run, which was capped by a second consecutive 3-ball from Tapley with just under six minutes to play in the half to give the Aztecs a 28-18 advantage.

Davis buried a 3-pointer with 2:35 on the clock to cut the margin to 32-26, but San Diego went into the locker room trailing, 39-26.

San Diego State poured it on in the second half, as an easy layup by Winston Shepard put the home side ahead, 57-37 with 10:42 to play.

The Aztecs rolled the rest of the way and San Diego could never get the deficit below 14 points.

Game Notes

The Aztecs own a 27-17 advantage in the all-time series between the squads and have won seven straight meetings and 10 of the last 11 overall ... San Diego State shot an efficient 52 percent from the floor, while holding the Toreros to just 38.3 percent shooting, including 5-of-15 from beyond the arc ... The Aztecs converted 13 San Diego turnovers into 21 points.