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San Diego State blows past McNeese State

Dec 22, 2013 - 7:01 AM San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Josh Davis scored 12 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to lead No. 24 San Diego State to a 65-36 win over McNeese State on Saturday.

Winston Shepard scored 14 and Aqeel Quinn and Matt Shrigley finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Aztecs (9-1), who have won eight straight since falling to current No. 1 Arizona on Nov. 14.

Ledrick Eackles was the only Cowboys player in double figures with 13 points and Craig McFerrin added 12 rebounds.

McNeese State (2-9) has dropped six straight.

"No question, one of the best-coached teams I've seen this year. Of course Steve Fisher, (he is) a gentleman of the game," said Cowboys coach Dave Simmons.

The Cowboys scored the first five points of the second half to take a 23-21 lead. The Aztecs, though, countered with a 15-2 run and never looked back.

Shepard scored seven of his points in the burst and also assisted on Xavier Thames' 3-pointer that made it 36-25 with 11:31 remaining.

McNeese State managed to pull within seven after an Austin Lewis slam, but SDSU went on a 21-4 run over the next 8:12 to put the game out of reach. Shrigley hit a pair of treys on the run and Davis put an exclamation point on the burst with his breakaway dunk at the 2:02 mark.

Desmond Maxwell and Kibret Woldemichael both buried 3's in the final 32 seconds to account for the final margin.

"When you can't make a shot it doesn't look very pretty and neither team could make a shot in the first half. The way we started the second half, I didn't think we would get a shot with the turnovers that occurred. But finally we made a basket ... and it seemed as if everyone felt a little more relaxed," saud SDSU coach Steve Fisher.

SDSU trailed 18-17 following an Adrian Fields jumper at the 7:52 mark, but Davis cleaned up a Shepard miss to put the Aztecs on top 19-18.

Shepard converted a pair of free throws over four minutes later for a 21-18 edge. Both sides went scoreless over the final 3:38 of the first half.

Game Notes

Saturday was the second meeting between the schools. San Diego State took a 91-85 win over the Cowboys on Dec. 20, 1984 ... SDSU improved to 6-5 all-time against the Southland Conference ... McNeese State shot 23.1 percent (15- for-65) from the field and went 2-for-18 from 3-point range.