News Scrapbook 1986

Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Co) Times (San Diego Ed.) (Cir. D 50,010) (Cir. S 55,573)

OEC 12 1986

5£1:!pl Tracy Dildy said. "It's pitiful. I don't think that team is that much better than we are. I can't under- stand why we can't get a win." Scott Thompson, USD's 7-foot center, was one of the reasons. Thompson dominated inside agamst the much smaller Aztecs. h1 tmg 10 of 14 field goal attempts to finish with a game-high 21 pomts. "I think we have more power ms1de than SDSU," Egan said. "We got the ball inside a lot and Scott really had a good day. When he does like he did today, he's a handful." SDSU (0-3) had its problems from the begmning. USD scored nine unanswered points twice early on, taking leads of 13-4 and 24-6. The Toreros' biggest lead was 43-12 with 2:38 remaining in the half. USD (3-2) led at halftime, 46-20, and extended its lead 1.o 30 points, 70 40, with 7½ minutes remaining. The Aztecs actually wouldn't have come so close if not for eight successful three-point shots in 18 attempts the second half. "We just prayed bad, and that's it," Gaines said "Thf>re's nothing else to say. Write what you want to write because we stunk the place up. There's no beating around the bush." Actually, Thursday's game was the closest SDSU had come to winning this season. "We expect to get beat this year, but not by 32, 17 and l6 pomt.8," Games said. "That concerns me a little bit. We need to get a win under our belt; . ' USD was commg off consecutive road losses agamst Nevada Reno (81-80 in overtime) and Montana State (76-66). The Toreros dominated mside from the outset, taking their first six shots within the lane. It typified how the night would go. USD forward Mark Manor had 15 pomts and a team-high 8 rebounds, and forward Nils Madden scored 14. Guard Paul Leonard also scored 14points. SDSU forward Rodney Hawkins had IO points and a game-high 12 rebounds. However, forward Ger- ald Murray was held scoreless in six mmutes and center Kevin Brown had 5 points in 17 minutes. DIidy led the Aztecs with 17 01:-i:,~. USD hit 33 of 54 ffeld goal attempts (61/1 % ) ani:i SDSU was 25 of 67 (37.3% ). The Tot'eros were 2 of 5 from three-point range and SDSU was 8 of 22.

USD Wins City Bragging Righ_ts With 83-67 Rout ~q - By STEVE~LAN, Times Staff Writer SAN DIEGO-Perhaps Smokey Gaines was right. There doe not appear to be a rivalry between hlS San Diego State Aztecs and the University of Sao Diego Toreros. Rivalries are supposed to feature cross-town teams, close games and sizable crowds. The last two certainly weren't evident when SDSU and USD met Thu day night in the Sports Arena. • Aztecs' size proves big problem. Story, Page 22. USO was a runaw y v.mner, 83-67, in front of 3,325 fans. When w the game out of reach? Maybe It was when USO hit its first eight field goal attempts including two three-pointers, to take an 18-6 le..d. a 1t wh n the Toreros scored 19 of 20 pomts midway through the half, taking a 32-7 lead. Or maybe the game was over beforehand when USD Coach Hank Egan called it very important and Games said it was no big d al 'Tl! tell you what- his is a rivalry.'' USD guard Enc Muss Iman said. "I think it means something to be No. 1 m San Diego. I don't care what anybody says. We beat them last year, o I would hope they'd want to get us back this year If more people said it was a rivalry, maybe more peopl would've been here. If a business- man picks up the paper and sees their coach say 1t isn't a nvalry, why wowd th businessman want to come?" Games reiterated his original statement. "'Everyone wants to make a big deal out of USD,'' he said. "It's not Georgetown-St. John's or Michigan State-Michigan I think USD gets much more fired up than wedo." Afterward in the Aztec locker room, players were anything but fired up They went qUietly about thell' business, ome saying t e didn't want to talk about the game. "This 1s as down as l'\-e been in my life," guard Plea • e see ROUT, ace 2%

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USO's 7-foot center, Scott Thompson, goes up for a shot against SDSU's Tracy Dildy and Gerald Murray (right) in first-half action. The Toreros won, 83 67.

USD_J!-~es height to topple Aztecs By Donna Balancia Times-Advocate Sportswr ter SAN DIEGO - It's clear which

for another year. Last year, the Az- tecs lost to USD 81-64. In the losi g locker room, for- ward Juan Espinoza shook his head. "l don't kn w why we didn't go to our insideJame more," he said. Espinoza ha the second-highest point total for the Aztecs with 12. Trac-y Dildy had 17. "We were impatient,~ added Es- pinoza, wno fouled out with 19 sec- onds left. "We didn't make their zone work." Several times the Aztecs rushed shots, resulting in turnovers and subsequent points for the Toreros, who took time setting up their plays. "We have o learn when to take and hhen not to,~ he said. "We've gut to change. We'd talk about get- ting in ide and the next thing you knov. wed be trying to shoot from far out." In m half, Espino.ia got in- side and made all four of his at- tempts. "In the first half we were going inside and in the second half we stopped doing that," he said. "I thought the middle of the zone was wide open.~ In the second half, the Aztecs

basketball team iR the best in San Diego this year after Thursday night's display at the Sports Are- na. Before a crowd of 3,325...llnilier- sity of San Diego defeated San Diego State 83-67 with a strong in- side game, using its best weapon - height. "Tonight we ca out and we shot well,~ said se.en-foot USD center Scott Thompson, who had a game-high 21 points. "We knew in the first five minutes when we got the ball inside we were going to wm. " Mark Manor, a 6-foot-6 for- ward, scored 15 points for the To- reros, and 6 8 o ward Nils Mad- den and guard Paul Leonard each contributed 14. "Scott did a great job tonight," . SD Coarl~~""'!oM'.;:;..,>~iot!J. whose team handed the Aztecs their third loss in as many outings this season. It wm; the Toreros' third win in five games. "We have more pov. er i 1s;de and we got inside a lot," said Egan. "The rivalry plays a factor in this. We were really together."

The Toreros' win gave them possession of the Mayor's Trophy Please see Hoop, age CS

SD's Scott Thompson hooks a shot over Aztecs' Juan Espinoza.

Escondido, CA (San Diego Co.) Times Advocate (Cir. D. 32,685) (Cir. S. 34,568)

DEC 12 1986

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Co,iem ?;!, f,'> t rted hitting on three-point at- t, mpts, nma~ ing 24 points by hit- ng eight of 22 attempts. Jn the l'ir t half, they made none of four tn . Wh, t killed the Aztecs was their fir t h If hooting - they were 9- lor-30 and their failure to capi- talize on US~s. "We sturlf the place up tonight," .itec Coach Smokey Gaines said.

TIMES-ADVOCATE, Escondiq comes, I think they'll have every- thing sorted out," he said. That would include a solid starting lineup. This time, Kevin Brown was the starting center, re- placing Gerald Murray, who moved to forward after last Thurs- day's 110-78 loss to Arizona. The change bumped Espinoza to the bench. "We're still trying to get it click- ing," said Gaines. "We're trying to get the chemistry going and it's go- ing to take a while. What we need 1s a win .~

"There's no beating around the bush. We played poorly, but we played hard. If we had played the whole game like we did the last five or 10 minutes.... I don't think it was a lack of effort." Gaines said there was no getting around Thompson. "We'd try to double-team Scott and he'd still be making these shots," said Gaines. "We had four good days of real good practice. I thought for sure we'd do well." In the opening two minutes, the Torero took the lead 6-4 and were

never again threatened. They jumped out to a 24-6 lead within the first 10 minutes, paced by Thompson's 10 points and Leonard's two 3-point field goals. The Aztecs were down by 31 points with 2:38 remaining in the first half. At half the score was 46- 20. The closest the Aztecs came in the second half was the final score. "Everybody makes a big deal about the rivalry, USO versus San Diego State," said Gaines. "Well, this isn't Georgetown and St.

John's, you know. They (the Tore- ros) get more fired up for this than we do." Gaines added that he did see some good from the loss. "I think Juan and (Rodney) Hawkins responded in a positive way tonight," he said. Hawkins fouled out of the game with 47 sec- onds to go. "What we need is ag- gressiveness." Egan thinks with San Diego State's talent, the Aztecs \1\ill get it together when they need it most. "By the time the conference