Free throws hamper Aztecs

By: MICHAEL KLITZING - Staff Writer | Sunday, December 9, 2007 11:01 AM PST ∞

ANAHEIM -- When an event bears the name of John Wooden -- and the coaching legend himself is keeping a watchful eye from his center-court seat -- it would only be fitting that a game come down to fundamentals.

The free throw prowess exhibited by the San Diego State men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon was hardly worthy of the Wizard of Westwood. And it sure was costly.

The Aztecs fell to Saint Mary's 69-64 at the Honda Center in their debut appearance in the John R. Wooden Classic primarily because of deficiency at the stripe.

"You've just got to knock down shots when it counts," lamented junior wing Lorrenzo Wade.

Free throw shooting has been a bugaboo for the Aztecs (8-2) over the past couple of weeks, but it hadn't yet come back to bite them. Saturday it did when it mattered most, as they clanked their final six attempts on an 8-for-18 afternoon.

No one -- no matter how experienced -- seemed immune.

Wade missed the front end of a one-and-one with Saint Mary's leading 61-60 with less than three minutes to play. Junior guard Richie Williams missed two shots with 1:44 to go and the Gaels leading 63-60. With 54 second left and the Aztecs desperately needing to cut into a 66-62 deficit, freshman forward Billy White missed two more.

"A couple possessions where it looked like we had a chance for a 3-point play, we came up with nothing," Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher said. "You can't constantly not take advantage of those easy opportunities if you want to win."

In the end, San Diego State missed not only a chance to post a new best record in the program's Division I era through 10 games, but to earn a solid nonconference, neutral-site victory for their NCAA tournament resume.

The Aztecs led 29-24 at intermission and built their lead to as many as eight points early in the second half when the Gaels came to life.

After struggling against the Aztecs' pressure defense early, Saint Mary's -- off to a 7-0 start and a strong candidate to break into the national rankings next week -- made 51.9 percent of its shots in the second half by getting to the rim with regularity.

Saint Mary's outscored the Aztecs 13-2 on fast-break points and hit 18-of-29 free throw attempts.

Guard Tron Smith led the way off the bench, slashing to the bucket and drawing contact to score 10 of his game-high 20 points from the free-throw line.

Standout freshman guard Patrick Mills drained three second-half 3-pointers to chip in 15 points.

"They were getting to the foul line a lot," said Wade. "They put us in tough positions on the defensive end, driving the basketball a lot. Tron Smith did a great job of coming out and being very aggressive."

For the second game in a row, junior Kelvin Davis was the Aztecs' most potent offensive weapon, scoring a career-high 19 points in 25 minutes.

The Aztecs mostly held their own inside, outrebounding the Gaels 42-37.

Ryan Amoroso led the team with nine boards, but his offensive struggles continued as he turned in his second straight 1-for-11 effort from the field.

"(The loss) hurt us a lot," Davis said. "But I'd rather have this loss right now than later in the season."

Because of finals week, the Aztecs will not play again until Dec. 17 against Navy.

Plenty of time to practice those free throws.

Contact staff writer Michael Klitzing at (760) 740-6643 or mrklitzing@gmail.com.