San Diego State slips past Colorado State in first round of MWC tourney

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, March 11, 2010 | 6:40 p.m.

With their hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in the balance, San Diego State did just enough to escape Colorado State in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Junior guard D.J. Gay made two late free throws to give the Aztecs a one-point lead, and they held on. San Diego State 72, Colorado State 71.

“We didn’t talk about the NCAA Tournament at all,” San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. “They’re well aware that we need to win to get to the NCAA Tournament.”

The Aztecs found a way to advance — barely. Colorado State took the lead at 71-70 with less than 90 seconds remaining when freshman guard Dorian Green converted a 3-point play.

San Diego State turned the ball over on its next possession, but Green missed a jumper on the other end of the floor for Colorado State.

The Aztecs pushed the ball back down the floor, and that’s when Gay was fouled with 23 seconds left. He coolly stepped to the free-throw line and made both shots.

“You can’t go to the line second-guessing yourself,” Gay said. “I’ve been there before. This time, I knew I had to make those shots.”

It was a somewhat redemptive moment for Gay, who had a rough game. Gay went 1-for-5 from the floor and was not much of a factor offensively.

Junior forward Malcolm Thomas worked as the force keeping San Diego State afloat during the tight second half. Thomas scored 15 points with seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

“I got the ball and I felt like I could go to the basket and help my team,” Thomas said. “So that’s what I did.”

For Colorado State, it’s hard not to play “what if” with the outcome of the game. The Rams leading scorer and rebounder, Andy Ogide, played only nine minutes.

Ogide was called for an intentional flagrant foul, which resulted in ejection, in the first half when he appeared to shove San Dieo State’s Brian Carlwell to the ground.

“You want to win, but you want to win with the other teams having guys that they count on,” Fisher said. “Obviously, Ogide is a huge piece to what they do. He’s an inside presence and a factor.”

The Aztecs took advantage of their interior game with Ogide absent and outscored the Rams 36-24 in the paint.

San Diego State, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, takes on No. 1 New Mexico at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Thomas & Mack Center. As for the NCAA Tournament, it appears the Aztecs have nothing to worry about.

“We just wanted to play tomorrow,” Gay said. “We didn’t come out here for one day.”