Aztec basketball drops Boise State, 87-68, advances to MW semifinal

Sports – The Daily Aztec Junior forward Zylan Cheatham celebrates with senior guard D'erryl Williams and senior center Valentine Izundu. Anthony Reclusado, Sports EditorMarch 9, 2017
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Perhaps it was the return of the body snatchers, the attack of the clones or the magic used in Space Jam, but something was different within the Thomas & Mack Center Thursday night for the San Diego State basketball team in its win against Boise State, 87-68.
Aside from the identical jerseys, the Aztecs were a completely different team against the Broncos for 40 minutes, than the one against UNLV for 45.
SDSU blew the lid off the top from the opening tip as they scored 15 points in the first six minutes, and 42 in the half, where they only tallied 14 in the first 20 minutes against the Runnin’ Rebels the previous night.
Where the previous game they looked to be walking through the motions, tonight the Aztecs appeared determined to make their fans cheer every possession.
Which happened. A lot.
The team that has only managed one solid offensive half a game, strung together two of their best halves on the season. They shot 54.7 percent from the floor, but more surprisingly were 9 of 14 from 3-point range.
“We played the best we played all year, and we picked a nice time to do it,” head coach Steve Fisher said.
Sophomore forward Max Hoetzel was the main contributor to the team’s white-hot mark from deep, as he drained five of his six attempts. He finished the night with a career-high 21 points and 7 of 8 from the floor.
“… I’m sure any of our teammates or coach will tell you, there was a collective energy and vibe that everybody was ready to go,” Hoetzel said. “It was a great feeling, it was something I’ve never really felt all year.”
Aside from the stellar shooting mark, the Aztecs also outrebounded the Broncos 37 ...


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