On Friday, Nov. 17 our San Diego State Aztecs took on the McNeese State Cowboys in what ended up being quite a blowout. The Aztecs took the game 83-52. It was a good bounce back win after losing to Arizona State this past Tuesday.
Junior transfer Devin Watson led the team with 20 points on 8/14 shooting and added 8 assists before leaving the game with what appeared to be a leg cramp. Senior forward Malik Pope also had a solid night adding 16 points and 9 rebounds to the winning effort. The Aztecs shot a respectable 50 percent from the field, which is not something we have been used to seeing from them in recent years.
As in previous years, the Aztecs’ defense was the strongest part of their game. They held the Cowboys to 31 percent shooting from the field and only 15 percent from beyond the arc.
All in all, this was a good win for the Aztecs, but one that should have been expected. Even with it being an easy win, the game was somewhat of a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Aztecs outscored the Cowboys 46-19. In the second, it was a lot closer at 37-33. It’s easy to look at this and be upset, but during the second half most of the starters were sitting.
Going forward, they are going to have to build off the positives from this game if they want to accomplish anything serious this season.