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Story and photos by Liz Alper
March 1, 2017 (San Diego) - If the Aztecs wanted any shot at the Mountain West championship, they had to perform well tonight on Senior Night against Air Force after a one-point loss at Colorado State on Saturday night.
Someone spiked the seniors’ Gatorade before the game because neither team scored for the first four minutes. SDSU had no problem racking up three team fouls quickly. Air Force senior forward Hayden Graham finally broke the ice with a three three and a half minutes into the game. The Aztecs didn't score until 13 and a half minutes left with junior guard Trey Kell’s trey. Around the seven minute mark, things started to tip in the Aztecs’ favor. Though it was Senior Night, the work to keep the Aztecs in it was put in by sophomore forward Zylan Cheatham and junior forward Malik Pope. Pope hit an airy three to give the Aztecs their first lead, 17-13, with four minutes left, but overall, the first half was a very low-scoring, foul-ridden half for both teams (SDSU shooting 22.6% and the Falcons shooting just 15%). At least the Aztecs went to the locker room with the lead, 22-13.
The ball must have been deflated before the game or both teams drank more spiked Gatorade at halftime because the second half was more of the same. Only around the right minute mark did the Aztecs jump out to a nine-point lead with a monster three by Kell and another by senior forward Matt Shrigley. Despite the low scoring, the Aztecs did their job and played effective basketball, especially on defense and sent their seniors off with a 51-38 victory. Pope finished with 11 points.
“For me, it still feels like we have one more,” senior guard D’Erryl Williams said post game. “I think it’ll hit me when I get home and take a shower and just sit down and be like ‘man, that was our last one.’”
“Outside of basketball, this school has helped me a lot,” Shrigley said. “From 18 to 23...every single day...it’s a big piece of my life and it’ll be interesting to see where that fulfillment comes when it’s gone.”
“I’m going to accent all of the good things we did,” Head coach Steve Fisher said. “Our seniors deserve to go out with a victory. We found a way to get ourselves a much-needed win.”
The Aztecs’ last game of the regular season will be on Saturday when they travel to New Mexico. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. and as usual, you can watch on CBS Sports Network or listen on The Mighty 1090.F
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