NCAAB Game Recap - LIU at San Diego State
Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:00 PM EST

GTown
73
Duke
81
F
GMas
63
MD
86
F
MtStM
62
KY
82
F
IPFW
46
OhSt
85
F
Hou
66
Oreg
78
F
UtSt
80
LSU
78
F
Vill
83
MissSt
76
F
Xav
75
UConn
74
F(2OT)
Tex
62
Cal
45
F
Baylor
77
CoCar
65
F
Mont
56
Wash
73
F
Lib
89
Morg
48
F
Nich
54
NCAT
66
F
MTSU
74
Tul
86
F
Mia-FL
58
Fla
78
F
BethC
83
InWor
58
F
Valpa
78
GrCan
74
F
UNCW
46
Clev
47
F
Rice
75
WIMil
69
F
E MI
62
UMBC
45
F
MOSt
71
StJos
69
F
Ford
60
Nev
74
F
(N/A)
47
E IL
87
F
E KY
70
FIU
89
F
IndSt
72
LoyMa
60
F
URI
60
N TX
47
F
UMKC
74
GrgWas
68
F
Presb
57
SacHr
83
F
IlSt
65
Cin
66
F
Stetsn
55
Iona
60
F
Duques
69
AF
63
F
(N/A)
45
Furm
90
F
Tows
73
Buff
76
F
Boston
44
WVU
69
F
MorSt
50
Butl
68
F
Radf
61
Brad
70
F
GWebb
69
SouthCar
74
F
McNee
57
Rich
87
F
Lipsco
65
Navy
61
F
HCU
68
Mich
111
F
Harv
82
HolyC
74
F
(N/A)
71
SEMO
72
F
GASt
83
PVAM
74
F
N AL
61
LaTec
82
F
Albany
69
Quin
86
F
Wake
82
David
70
F
Ohio
66
Utah
80
F
S NO
53
JackSt
72
F
(N/A)
68
UTSA
90
F
W MI
63
OkSt
70
F
Evans
68
ECU
85
F
Norf
59
NW
70
F
South
86
Nebras
93
F(OT)
BGSU
77
W Ky
75
F
KennSt
40
Monm
71
F
CAPoly
70
Crei
86
F
SCSt
60
Vand
97
F
SDak
56
Ark
77
F
CenAR
98
CBU
104
F(OT)
IdaSt
65
SCla
78
F
LIU
64
SDSU
81
F
FrePa
62
LongB
93
F
Temp
70
USC
61
F

Nov 22, 2019, 10:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

LIU

32

32

64

San Diego State

38

43

81

Mitchell scores 18 to lead SDSU to 81-64 win over LIU
Sat Nov 23, 2019 12:52 AM

SAN DIEGO (AP) San Diego State let the Long Island Sharks hang around into the second half before putting them away with an impressive closing burst that kept the Aztecs undefeated.

Matt Mitchell scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and had a hand in two sweet plays as San Diego State won 81-64 Friday night.

Jordan Schakel scored 15 and had three big 3-pointers in the second half for SDSU (5-0), while Yanni Wetzell and Malachi Flynn scored 13 apiece. Flynn had 10 assists.

The Aztecs outscored LIU 18-10 in the final six minutes, with Mitchell, Flynn and Schakel leading the way.

"We just came out in the first half with low energy. We weren't fully bought into the game," Mitchell said. "Coach (Brian Dutcher) came in at halftime and he got into us and told us we had to pick it up, pick up our energy, have to rebound better, have to play better on the defensive end. I think we did a better job going out in the second half and playing hard on both sides of the floor."

SDSU's closing run started when Mitchell stole the ball and passed to Flynn, who found Wetzell for a reverse layup for a 65-54 lead.

Mitchell hit three shots down the stretch, Flynn had consecutive 3-pointers and Schakel hit the last of his three 3-pointers in the half and fourth overall.

"I think that my teammates did a great job of finding me in open spots, moving the ball as a team," Mitchell said. "I just happened to be the guy in the right spot tonight, so credit to my teammates."

Said Dutcher: "Our assists were ridiculous. Usually you would say it was a beautiful offensive performance when you get 26 assists on 32 baskets. That's amazing. So we did move the ball, but we missed a lot of shots too. We made enough to come away with the victory."

Earlier in the second half, Flynn flashed through the key, took a pass from Mitchell on the baseline and dished to Wetzell for a slam dunk and a 54-44 lead.

"Obviously in the first half we didn't make shots and that was the main thing," Wetzell said. "At halftime Coach Dutch said, `It's OK, we're going to make shots eventually.' He was more frustrated about the defensive end. We came out and started focusing more on the defensive end and we knew shots were going to fall and that's what happened."

Dutcher said the Aztecs "played hard; we just didn't have the game plan the right way to be successful. We had to flip it and play things the way we had earlier in the year. It was an adjustment we made and thank goodness we made it. I think it made their offense a lot more stagnant in the second half."

It was the second game in double digits for Wetzell, a senior transfer from Vanderbilt. The big New Zealander was coming off career-highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 66-49 win against San Diego on Wednesday night.

"To me they're an NCAA Tournament team obviously that can advance," LIU coach Derek Kellogg said. "I thought our guys played really hard, especially in the first half we were really competitive. I thought it was a good game for our guys as a measuring stick to see where we are against what I see as one of the top 35, 40 teams in the country.

"I thought their depth wore us down some," he added. "We're a little underhanded as far as size goes. They've got a nice group of nine, 10 guys that keep coming at you and then they made some shots. With 3-point shots, if you can knock down a couple of those against our zone, I thought it opened up some."

Dutcher said it "was a challenge today obviously" facing LIU's zone. "This is the first zone that we've seen all year and we saw 40 minutes of it. We did some good things against it."

The Aztecs got three straight 3-point shots during an 11-0 run in the first half that gave them control. KJ Feagin, Schakel and Mitchell each connected from behind the arc and Aguek Arop then hit a long jumper for a 17-7 lead. SDSU's biggest lead was 28-15 after Joel Mensah hit a jumper with 8:53 before halftime.

SDSU led 38-32 at halftime.

Jashaun Agosto and Raiquan Clark each scored 10 points for LIU of the Northeast Conference.

BIG PICTURE

LIU: The Sharks were hurt by four early turnovers but briefly took the lead at 7-6 after Julian Batts hit a 3-pointer. They then quickly fell behind by double digits.

San Diego State: The Aztecs are 5-0 for the first time since 2014-15, when they went to the NCAA Tournament. They've played in the postseason only twice since then, in the NIT in 2016 and the NCAAs in 2018.

UP NEXT

LIU continues a long stretch away from home when it plays at Texas Tech on Sunday. It will then play in the Las Vegas Invitational.

San Diego State hosts Tennessee State on Monday night.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

LIU PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
T. Flowers 15 0 2 8 0 0
J. Agosto 10 0 2 2 0 0
San Diego State PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
M. Mitchell 18 0 3 4 4 0
J. Schakel 15 0 0 4 2 0

Team Comparison

LIU SDSU
Points For 64 81
Field Goals 20/46-43% 32/67-48%
Three Pointers 7/21-33% 10/30-33%
Free Throws 17/26-65% 7/12-58%
Offensive Rebounds 5 7
Defensive Rebounds 30 24
Rebounds 38 33
Blocks 2 2
Steals 2 8
Turnovers 21 6
Personal Fouls 16 21
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2019-20 Reg Season - SDSU Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Fri Nov 22 LIU 64 @ SDSU 81 T. Flowers 15 M. Mitchell 18

Game Information

Stadium: Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl, San Diego, California
Attendance: 10,243
Game Time: