Aztecs Hold Off Wyoming : College basketball: Despite going more than seven minutes without a field goal, SDSU shuts down Wyoming, 68-59.

SAN DIEGO —  The San Diego State basketball team went 7:46 without making a basket in the second half Monday night at the San Diego Sports Arena and still defeated Wyoming, 68-59.

Honest.

In the see-if-you-can-top-this contest, Wyoming did. The Cowboys put together two stretches totaling 11:27, during which they failed to score.

Meanwhile, if your jaw hasn’t hit the floor yet, get this--SDSU (12-9, 4-4), last in the Western Athletic Conference in free throw percentage (66.2%), won the game at the free throw line. Wyoming (11-9, 3-5) made three more field goals than the Aztecs, but SDSU was 24 for 37 from the free throw line.

Granted, that’s just 65%, which is below the Aztecs’ season average. But in the second half, when the 3,412 in attendance were hollering at the quality of play and the coaches were hooting at the referees, SDSU made several clutch free throws. At one point in the second half, Marty Dow, Shawn Jamison and Rodney Jones combined to make eight consecutive free throws. That was during SDSU’s dry spell, a stretch during which the Aztecs made 13 consecutive free throw.

When the Aztecs started the free throw run, after Jamison’s layup with 8:40 left, they held a 49-41 lead. When Michael Best scored the Aztecs’ next field goal, a layup with 48 seconds left, SDSU led, 64-56.

Wyoming was eight of 10 from the free throw line.

But while important, that wasn’t the entire story. Entering the game, Wyoming led the WAC in rebound margin, but SDSU outrebounded the Cowboys, 42-35. And SDSU held Wyoming to 37% (24 of 64) shooting.

“Rebounding and defense allowed us to get the lead, and our free throws solidified it,” SDSU Coach Jim Brandenburg said.

Dow scored a game-high 19 points--11 in the first half--and had 10 rebounds. Jamison added 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds--nine in the second half. Michael Hudson, who made his first start of the season, had 10 points.

SDSU held Wyoming’s Reggie Slater to 10 points and six rebounds. Slater had 22 points and 18 rebounds in Wyoming’s 76-60 victory over SDSU Jan. 11.

“I’m very proud of our effort,” Brandenburg said. “It was a must-win situation for us, and the guys came through.”

The Aztecs had lost four of their past six games, and they leave tomorrow for a trip that will take them to Brigham Young, the WAC leader, and Utah, where SDSU hasn’t won since the 1981-82 season.

The game was delayed for 12 minutes with 13:01 left to play and SDSU ahead, 39-34, when several players crashed to the floor under the Wyoming basket. Jamison landed on Wyoming guard Rick Henry. Henry lay twitching on the floor for several minutes before being taken away on a stretcher to Mercy Hospital. He suffered a concussion and was remained hospitalized overnight for observation.

Wyoming didn’t score until the game was nearly four minutes old and SDSU had eight points. The Aztecs then moved out to a 20-9 lead, thanks in large part to Dow.

For the first six minutes Dow was everywhere. He had nine points and six rebounds--surpassing his season average of 5.8 rebounds per game--by the first television timeout with 14:06 left and the Aztecs ahead, 14-4.

You name the shot, chances are Dow sank it. A turnaroud jumper from five feet out. A slam dunk. A soft 10-footer. A tip-in of Hudson’s missed free throw, completing a four-point play. An inside shot and subsequent free throw to finish a three-point play.

It only lasted 10 minutes, and eventually Wyoming made a couple of runs of its own. But Dow’s 11 points and eight rebounds in the first half helped give SDSU a 33-30 halftime lead, and that was enough for the Aztecs to build on in the second half.