San Diego State Basketball: Aztecs advance to Diamond Head Classic championship

San Diego State basketball used a huge burst in the second half to pull away from Tulsa.

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The San Diego State Aztecs (7-4) advanced to the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii thanks to a late burst in the second half against Tulsa.

Sophomore Jeremy Hemsley (16.2 points) led the way for the Aztecs, scoring 20 points in the victory. Big man Zylan Cheatham added 15 on 50 percent shooting, while junior guard Trey Kell chipped in 19. The Aztecs shot 32 total 3-pointers on the night, with Hemsley hitting 13 of those attempts.

Junior Etou was the leading scorer for Tulsa, scoring 18 and grabbing seven rebounds in 36 minutes. The 6’7″ forward hit nearly half of his shots from the floor, including a couple of treys to keep the Golden Hurricane in the game throughout the first half.

Tulsa opened the game on an 8-0 run with threes from Sterling Taplin and Lawson Korita, though SDSU would tie the score at 11 apiece less than five minutes into the game. Turnovers became an issue for Tulsa; they finished the first half with nine and 23 total on the evening. Their inability to take care of the ball kept them from jumping out to a significant lead, and at halftime they trailed by four despite hitting 5-of-8 three pointers.

The score was knotted at 52 with 11 minutes left to play when the Aztecs took control of the game on a flurry of 3-pointers. Hemsley, Kell, Max Hoetzel, and Matt Shrigley would combine to hit 6-of-8 from beyond the arc before the under-8 minute media timeout to propel San Diego State to a 70-54 advantage.

The Aztecs coasted through the rest of the game, outscoring the Golden Hurricane 12-9 as Tulsa’s turnovers continued to pile up. San Diego State will face the red hot San Francisco Dons on Christmas Day.