Franklin, Aztecs clamp down, blot New Mexico’s MW mark
SAN DIEGO - A week removed from a face-plant that helped knock San Diego State out of The Associated Press Top 25, Jamaal Franklin made sure the Aztecs were focused and ready against No. 15 New Mexico.
So much so that they routed the Lobos 55-34 on Saturday, New Mexico's worst loss of the shot-clock era.
JJ O'Brien had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Franklin scored 10 while leading the Aztecs' smothering defense to keep New Mexico from running away with the Mountain West race.
San Diego State (16-4, 4-2) dealt the Lobos (17-3, 4-1) their first conference defeat and snapped New Mexico's four-game winning streak.
"We needed that one," Franklin said. "It was a really big win and New Mexico is a really good team. Like Coach (Steve) Fisher always stresses, you can't win this league if you don't win home games."
New Mexico's 34 points were its fewest since it scored 32 at Utah on Jan. 31, 1976. The Lobos shot 25 percent (11 of 44) against the Aztecs, their lowest mark since at least 1965.
"As good as we were as a team, I have to start with (Franklin)," Fisher said. "For those that only look at a stat line, you don't appreciate what he brings to this team. He's the soul of our program. He willed everybody to be ready."
A week earlier, San Diego State scored only nine points in the first half of a 58-45 loss at Wyoming.
The Aztecs forced 17 turnovers and had 10 steals.
"We weren't who we were," New Mexico coach Steve Alford said. "We didn't execute our offense. We really got dominated inside, which we thought would be our strength. They beat us points in the paint; they beat us on the glass."
Kendall Williams had 14 points for the Lobos, whose 34 points tied for the second fewest in a Mountain West game. The MW record for fewest points is 33 by Air Force against Brigham Young on Feb. 3, 2003.
■ UNR 75, Boise State 59 - At Reno, Deonte Burton scored 17 points, leading four Wolf Pack players in double figures as UNR (11-8, 2-3) beat the Broncos (14-5, 2-3).
Malik Story added 16 points and six assists, and Devonte Elliott had 11 points and eight rebounds for UNR.
■ Air Force 57, Wyoming 48 - At Laramie, Wyo., Taylor Broekhuis compiled 16 points and nine rebounds to carry the Falcons (12-6, 3-2) past the Cowboys (15-4, 2-4). Air Force led all the way.
Leonard Washington had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Wyoming, but was held to five points in the second half.
■ Colorado State 74, Fresno State 63 - At Fresno, Calif., all five Colorado State starters scored in double figures, led by Dorian Green with 17, and the Rams (16-4, 3-2) built an 18-point halftime lead and cruised past the Bulldogs (7-12, 1-5).
Colton Iverson had 11 points and 13 rebounds for Colorado State.
Tyler Johnson scored 23 points for Fresno State.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HELD TO FOUR POINTS IN FIRST HALF
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Northern Illinois broke its own NCAA Division I record for futility, scoring only four points in the first half of a 42-25 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
The Huskies (4-14, 2-4 Mid-American) made only 1 of 31 field-goal attempts in the half, breaking the NCAA mark for lowest field-goal percentage in a half of the shot-clock era (3.2 percent) and tying the record for fewest field goals in a half.
Abdel Bader scored on a fast break one minute into the game on Northern Illinois' second shot, and the Huskies missed their final 29 attempts of the half. They finished 8-for-61 for the game to break the record for the lowest field-goal percentage (13.1).
Northern Illinois, with a lineup of mostly freshmen and sophomores, earlier this season set the record for fewest points in a first half with five against Dayton on Dec. 1.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
