Monday, March 22, 2010
Vol. 95, Issue 94
THE
DAILY
w w w. T h e D a i l y A z t e c . c o m
AZTEC
Tw i t t e r : T h e D a i l y A z t e c
CITY
DATING & ROMANCE
CAMPUS CRIME
SEXTING
Take a look at the week in campus crime.
Find out what experts are saying about explicit texting.
SPORTS.....P2 CITY.....P3 OPINION.....P5 DATING & ROMANCE.....P7 TEMPO.....P14 CLASSIFIEDS.....P15 THE BACK PAGE.....P16
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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1913
SDSU’S MARCH HALTED BY TENNESSEE E D WA R D L E W I S SPORTS EDITOR
PROVIDENCE, R.I. —- San Diego State men’s basketball senior guard Kelvin Davis always trusts his teammates — even the ones shooting less than 21 percent from beyond the 3point arc. So with less than a second on the clock and freshman forward Kawhi Leonard, a 20.5 percent 3point shooter, loading up a 3-ball that could tie the game, Davis had only one thought on his mind. “He’s going to make it.” The ball flew VOLS 62 upward out of AZTECS 59 L e o n a r d ’ s hands, dropped out of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center rafters and missed everything. It didn’t even hit backboard. “He’s made big shots in the past,” Davis said of Leonard. “I have 100 percent faith in my teammates to make shots, so I thought it was going to go in.” But it didn’t. And when it didn’t, SDSU’s first round NCAA Tournament game against Tennessee — and its magical season — ended with a heartbreaking 62-59 thud in Providence, R.I. “This is a very cruel business when you don’t win and the end comes very abruptly at this time of year,” head coach Steve Fisher said. “I told our team afterwards, ‘It has to hurt, it has to hurt for more than 30 seconds.’ I’m disappointed and feel very badly for them because they won’t have the opportunity to experience what advancing means and how it feels.” The night started well for the Aztecs, who didn’t even have to take the court to receive good news. No. 14 seed Ohio knocked off No. 3 seed Georgetown just before SDSU’s matchup with Tennessee. That meant if the Aztecs were to get past the Volunteers, they would be playing a No. 14 seed in the second round.
Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor
Tennessee guard Melvin Goins buries the game-winning 3-pointer with less than 16 seconds remaining against San Diego State in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first round game.
But SDSU started off slow. Davis called it “tentative.” Fans, pundits and analysts called it nerves. Whatever it was, it put the Aztecs in a hole. SDSU shot just 32.1 percent in the first half and bricked 10 of its 12 3-point attempts. “In the tournament you can’t come out flat in the first half because you fall behind and we did,” Davis said. “We didn’t make certain plays.” The Aztecs headed into the locker room down 34-26 at the break. In the second half, they played much better. SDSU rode junior for-
ward Malcolm Thomas, feeding him in the low post, and closed the gap on Tennessee. With nine minutes left in the game, the Aztecs were tied at 45 with the Volunteers. “I was very proud of how we competed in the second half,” Fisher said. “And we gave ourselves a chance. But we talk about, ‘Make a play to win. Make important plays.’ And they made one more than we did.” Up by one, with less than 20 seconds left in the game, Tennessee guard Melvin Goins caught the ball, jacked up a 3-pointer and buried the
dagger into SDSU, giving the Volunteers a 60-56 lead. The Aztecs had a chance to tie it up with no time left on the clock, but Leonard airballed the 3-pointer, closing SDSU’s season with a loss. “We had opportunities and we couldn’t just quite make a play,” Fisher said. “Couldn’t quite get that missed rebound off a missed free throw, and to their credit when they got it, they scored. Winners move on and losers say ‘Can we play them tomorrow?’ And unfortunately we can’t play anybody until next year.”
The Aztecs finished the season 25-9, giving them the second most wins in school history. They won the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship for the third time in league history and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2005-06 season. “I love this group of players,” Fisher said. “They are compliant, non-complaining, hardworking and wanting to be taught to get better. And we did all of that. So it’s disappointing that it ends now. But I’m extremely proud of them.”
LEWIS’ LAW
Historic year ends sadly
P
Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor
ROVIDENCE, R.I. —I’ll never forget that Thursday night inside the bowels of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. When you cover a team, you grow as the players grow. You witness things the average fan doesn’t. At a practice last month, for example, I can remember sitting in the stands at Viejas Arena. I was tired and had done nothing all day. I yawned probably eight times in 10 minutes, and all I could think about was, “If I’m this tired without doing anything, how does
E D WA R D L E W I S SPORTS EDITOR
Malcolm Thomas feel as he’s getting beat up in the post in practice right now?” So you feel for the players when they lose — perhaps more than anybody else. I stood there on that Thursday night, outside the locker room in a dry, dreary hallway, and I watched Brian Carlwell, Billy White, Tyrone Shelley, Kelvin Davis and Alec
see LEWIS’ L AW on page 2