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San Diego State dominates Occidental

Jan 1, 2011 - 1:39 AM San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Chase Tapley and James Rahon each scored 15 points while Malcolm Thomas supplied 14 points as seventh-ranked San Diego State demolished Division III Occidental, 93-50, at Viejas Arena.

Kawhi Leonard added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Aztecs (15-0), who are off to the best start in school history.

"It is great to finish 2010 at 15-0," San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher said. "I told our players they can be very proud of how they have gone about their work. Now, things will get a whole lot harder as we move into league play. We are going to have to continue to get better and that is what we hope to do."

The hosts shot 61 percent from the floor and outrebounded Occidental, 42-13, to defeat the visitors for a tenth straight meeting in the first contest between these two schools in 57 years.

Deshun McCoy had 18 points and Jack Hanley chipped in with 10 for the Tigers (5-4), who were coming off a win over Pacifica on Wednesday night.

A layup by McCoy had the Tigers within 20-15 before SDSU embarked on a 15-4 run, capped by a Leonard dunk and Tapley jumper, that made it 35-19 with just over six minutes to play in the first half.

The Aztecs took a 42-24 lead into the intermission and were never remotely threatened in the second half as they won their 12th straight home game.

Game Notes

Leonard had his ninth double-double of the season and 26th of his career, tying him with Joel Kramer for the third most in program history...SDSU leads the all-time series 25-8 and has won 22 of the last 23 meetings. The last time the two schools tangled before Friday was December 12, 1953...The two were members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and played every season from 1927-40 except for 1930. Occidental is still a member of that conference...The Aztecs have won 24 straight games over non-ranked foes and a school-record 22 in a row over non- ranked opponents at home...SDSU has also claimed a school-record 18 consecutive wins over non-conference foes...The Aztecs have won 10 times by 14 or more points...SDSU made 36-of-59 from the floor, including 8-of-18 from beyond the arc...Occidental shot 41.5 percent from the field and took only two shots from the foul line, making one...Kris Montoya chipped in with eight points and five assists in defeat...The last Occidental win over SDSU was January 20, 1945...The 43-point margin of victory was SDSU's largest since a 45-point (98-53) win over UC San Diego on November 27, 2001.