SAN DIEGO STATE 2005-06 BASKETBALL - GAME NO. 3 San Diego State (1-1/0-0 MWC) vs. Southern Miss (1-1/0-0 C-USA) BASKETBALL GAME NOTES Sunday, Nov. 20, 2005 X Fairbanks, Alaska X Carlson Center (5,703) Radio: XPRS-1090 AM X Television: none San Diego State Takes on Southern Miss in the Third Place Game of the Tidbits... 10th Annual BP Top of the World Classic San Diego State (1-1) looks to claim its second consecutive third place finish in an in-season tour- Brandon Heath has 50 nament Sunday afternoon at the 10th annual BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. The double-figure scoring Aztecs will play Southern Miss at 12:30 p.m. AST (1:30 p.m. PST) with the contest being broadcast on games in his career and 55 with his five assists on XPRS-1090 AM (The Mighty 1090). There is no television coverage of the event. Fewest points Saturday afternoon, has led allowed by the The Aztecs are coming off a narrow 66-63 semifinal round loss to Illinois-Chicago Saturday after- the team in that category 21 Aztecs in a noon. Foul trouble hurt SDSU early as Mountain West Conference preseason Player of the Year, season-open- Marcus Slaughter, picked up two quick fouls just three minutes into the game. San Diego State trailed times in 61 career games. ing road game 13-3 at one point, but came back to even the score at 20 thanks to a burst of energy redshirt freshman The Los Angeles native has since Dec. 14, Tim McGrath provided in his first collegiate game. also led the team in scoring 1936, when True freshman Kyle Spain made his first career start for the Aztecs and grabbed a game-high 10 26 times in two-plus sea- they defeated rebounds. The Newark, Calif., native also chipped in with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting in 32 min- sons. Chapman, 46- utes of action. Saturday’s game marked the second straight contest in which a true freshman earned 44. the starting nod (Richie Williams started the season opener this past Thursday against Alaska True freshman point Fairbanks). guard Richie Williams Despite limited playing time, Slaughter finished with nine points (4-of-7 shooting) and five became the ninth freshman 1K rebounds in 23 minutes of action. in Steve Fisher’s coaching San Diego With a win on Sunday afternoon, the Aztecs will finish in third place in the eight team field. career to start a season- State juniors opening game this past Brandon Coincidently, SDSU finished third among eight schools in the 2003 EA Sports Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii. That season, San Diego State defeated Ohio State, fell to Dayton and beat the host Thursday (Juwan Howard, Heath and Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Marcus school Chaminade. Jerod Ward, Albert White, Slaughter are The Aztecs, the media’s selection to win the Mountain West Conference, return four starters and closing in on six players that started at least six games last season off a squad that finished 11-18 overall. The record Bradley Jackson, Steve Sir, 1,000 career was a bit misleading as SDSU went 0-4 in overtime games and lost eight games in which it led in the Brandon Heath and points. Heath final 10 minutes of the game. The awards didn’t stop there as Slaughter and Heath, both earned Williams). has 986 career numerous preseason league player of the year honors. In addition, the Aztecs also return starters in points, while senior guard John Sharper and center Mohamed Camara. Senior center Trimaine Davis and sopho- Trimaine Davis posted Slaughter has more guard Matt Thomas also are back for the Aztecs. career highs of 13 points (5- accumulated This is the seventh time in Steve Fisher’s coaching career that his squad has returned at least four of-6 FGs) and three blocks 742 points. starters off a team he coached. In the previous six seasons in which that has occurred, Fisher has guid- in the SDSU’s season-open- ed his team to the postseason, advancing to the NCAA Tournament on five occasions. His postseason ing win over the Nanooks (NCAA and NIT) record in those six seasons is a remarkable 19-5, including two NCAA Runner-Up of Alaska Fairbanks. 31 finishes and an NIT championship. SDSU plays its Southern Miss enters the third place game after losing to Denver, 44-30, Saturday night in the semi- first basketball Steve Fisher is 26-15 game in the finals. The game was an offensive struggle for both teams in the first half as the Golden Eagles took games played during the state of Alaska, a 21-15 lead going into the half. But the game quickly changed as Southern Miss shot 2-of-18 from the month of November. marking the field in the second half, including 0-for-5 from long distance, en route to nine points over the final 20 31st state the minutes. The Golden Eagles, coached by Larry Eustachy, were led by Jason Forte who scored 10 Aztec points. The game will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. Basketball pro- Up next for the Aztecs is Albany on Saturday, Nov. 26, at Cox Arena for SDSU’s home opener. gram has visit- Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. PST. ed Aztecs At-A-Glance (1-1 Overall/0-0 Mountain West) No. Name (Career G/GS) Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG Misc. Note X - Probable Starters 00 Brett Hoerner (2/0) F 6-11 206 Fr. 0.5 0.0 0.0 bpg Skilled post player that will see the floor for SDSU as a true freshman 1 X Brandon Heath (61/56) G 6-4 198 Jr. 20.5 3.0 4.0 apg Leading returner scorer in MWC; first-team preseason all-MWC 3 X Richie Williams (2/2) G 5-9 158 Fr. 7.0 3.0 2.5 apg Unbelievably quick off the dribble; 7 points, 4 assist s in first career start. 15 X John Sharper (88/26) G 6-0 190 Sr. 25.0 1.0 1.0 apg 38.8 career 3FG pct; Seen action in both games this year 20 X Trimaine Davis (72/8) F 6-7 235 Sr. 10.0 2.0 .800 FGs Career high 13 points and three blocks in season opener 21 Matt Thomas (31/11) G 6-3 200 So. 0.0 1.0 0.5 spg Seen action in first two games of the season 24 Tim McGrath (1/0) F 6-5 187 Fr. 2.0 2.0 1.0 apg Redshirt last season; High jumped 6-10 in high school. 30 Chris Lamb (0/0) F 6-10 231 Fr. --- --- --- Redshirt last season; Grew nine inches during his prep career 33 Kyle Spain (2/1) F 6-5 218 Fr. 4.5 8.0 2.5 apg Has a great body for a true freshman; Will be on the floor a lot this season 34 Mohamed Abukar C 6-10 216 Jr. --- --- --- ELIGIBLE IN MID-DECEMBER; MWC preseason newcomer of the year 42 X Marcus Slaughter (59/47) F 6-9 220 Jr. 12.5 8.0 2.5 apg 10 double-doubles last yr., 13 in career 50 Mohamed Camara (31/21) C 6-10 245 Sr. 4.0 6.5 1.0 spg Speaks 6 languanges; Avg 8.9 rebs. per 40 min.; 110 rebs. were 2nd on tm. Head Coach: Steve Fisher (Illinois State, 1967) • 266-180 (entering 15th full season overall) • 82-98 (entering seventh season at SDSU) Assistant Head Coach: Brian Dutcher (Minnesota, 1982) Assistant Coaches: Gregg Gottlieb (UCLA, 1995), Mark Hughes (Michigan, 1989) Director of Operations: Mark Fisher (Michigan, 2001) Athletic Trainer: Mark Haines (Metropolitan State College, 1987) Aztec Players SAN DIEGO STATE BASKETBALL 2005-06 San Diego State Alphabetical Roster Most Recent Div. I Season No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Exp. PPG RPG APG Hometown (High School/Previous School) 34 Mohamed Abukar F 6-10 216 Jr. Tr. 5.0 1.4 0.6 San Diego, Calif. (Rancho Bernardo High/Univ. of Florida) 50 Mohamed Camara C 6-10 245 Sr. 1L 2.4 3.8 0.5 Conakry, Guinea (Moore (Ky.) High/Riverside (Calif.) College) 20 Trimaine Davis C 6-7 235 Sr. 2L 5.2 2.3 0.2 West Pittsburg, Calif. (Pittsburg High) 1 Brandon Heath G 6-4 198 Jr. 2L 18.3 3.5 3.7 Los Angeles, Calif. (Westchester High) 00 Brett Hoerner F 6-11 206 Fr. HS --- --- --- Fullerton, Calif. (Fullerton High) 30 Chris Lamb F 6-10 231 Fr. RS --- --- --- Louisville, Colo. (Monarch High) 24 Tim McGrath F 6-5 187 Fr. RS --- --- --- Santa Monica, Calif. (Santa Monica High) 15 John Sharper G 6-0 190 Sr. 3L 6.0 1.1 1.3 Oakland, Calif. (St. Mary’s High) 42 Marcus Slaughter F 6-9 220 Jr. 2L 17.8 9.0 1.3 Riverside, Calif. (J.W. North High) 33 Kyle Spain F 6-5 218 Fr. HS --- --- --- Newark, Calif. (Newark Memorial High) 21 Matt Thomas G 6-3 200 So. 1L 6.1 3.4 1.5 Riverside, Calif. (Martin Luther King High) 3 Richie Williams G 5-9 158 Fr. HS --- --- --- Spring Valley, Calif. (Steele Canyon High) 2005-06 San Diego State Numerical Roster Most Recent Div. I Season No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Exp. PPG RPG APG Hometown (High School/Previous School) 00 Brett Hoerner F 6-11 206 Fr.