Davis scores 26 as the Aztecs pull away late to beat Bethune-Cookman, 88-75
San Diego State led by one point at halftime on Wednesday afternoon at Viejas Arena, then outscored Bethune-Cookman 35-22 over the closing stretch to win 88-75 and stay unbeaten. Latrell Davis scored a season high 26 points, and Elzie Harrington added 18 points with a career best eight assists.
SAN DIEGO: The Aztecs needed most of the afternoon to shake a visitor that would not go away. San Diego State beat Bethune-Cookman 88-75 on Wednesday at Viejas Arena, on Steve Fisher Court, for its third straight victory to open the season. It was the first meeting between the two programs, and the win ran the Aztecs' record against the Southwestern Athletic Conference to 12-0.
The Aztecs scored first, on a pair of Elzie Harrington free throws, and the first half stayed tight from there. Six straight points from Tae Simmons, Chance Gladden and Harrington tied the game with 8 minutes and 26 seconds left in the half, and Harrington led all first half scorers with 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting. At halftime the margin was a single point, 36-35.
The frontcourt wakes up, and the close is 35-22
Harrington opened the second half scoring with his second three point shot of the game, and five unanswered points from Bear Cherry opened a seven point lead with 16 minutes left. The starting frontcourt did the heavy work inside: Simmons and Cherry combined for 25 points on 11 of 13 shooting, Cherry finishing with 15 and Simmons with 10, and the Aztecs outscored the Wildcats 52-28 in the paint.
Bethune-Cookman tied the game at 53 in the second half. From that point the Aztecs outscored the Wildcats 35-22 through the final buzzer, with Latrell Davis scoring eight of his points in the final 13 minutes and 30 seconds. The teams traded free throws in the last minute before Simmons closed it out with a layup at the 12 second mark.
Davis finished as the game's top scorer, a season high 26 points on 73 percent shooting. Harrington finished with a season best 18 points and a career best eight assists. Next for the Aztecs is a neutral site game against New Mexico State in the Compete 4 Cancer Classic, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 15, at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside.
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