Jamaal Franklin's sparkling performance helped San Diego State Aztecs thrash the Missouri State Bears 60-44 Saturday.
''Heart. We've got a lot of heart. We do what it takes to win,'' Franklin, who scored 22 points and had a double-double with 12 rebounds, said.
He scored 15 points in the first half to help San Diego State take an early lead. At the end of the first half, the Aztecs were leading the Bears 29-20.
''This was the kind of game we thought we were going to have in terms of how hard we would be played. They were physical and knocked us back early on,'' The Associated Press quoted San Diego State coach Steve Fisher as saying.
Fisher added further, ''I thought our half-court defense kept them from getting good, clean looks and allowed us to win the game.''
The Aztecs were leading 39-30, but they played defensive in the second half. The Bears took advantage and rallied to pull the score 41-37, with 7:13 left. James Rahon and Chase Tapley hit consecutive 3-pointers.
The Aztecs, who lost to Syracuse in their opening game, registered their second straight win.
Anthony Downing was the top scorer for the Missouri State, with 16 points and three rebounds; whereas Keith Pickens, who joined the team after recovering from a knee injury, scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and one assist. Dorrian Williams added eight points and held two rebounds for the Bears.
''We knew they were going to come in here and give us a battle. I felt like our freshmen, I think they all battled and we played our hearts out. We just came up short,'' Downing said. ''If we would have rebounded, it would have been a different outcome than what it was.''
Forward Drew Wilson led Missouri State with nine rebounds.
''I thought it really affected us in the first half when Pickens and Christian were out for an indefinite amount of time,'' Missouri State coach Paul Lusk said. ''We hung in there. But that's our best defensive unit. And then our lack of experience showed at times.''
San Diego State will face Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their next game Wednesday. After that they will play against Southern Cal and then UCLA.
''I told our team, 'This is going to be like a road game in the league, this is going to be a Mountain West Conference road game, and you know what those are like,''' Fisher said. ''And it was.''
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