Kirby Yau

Two days after Thanksgiving, the members of the San Diego State men’s basketball team were still feeling groggy from their tryptophan-laden turkey dinners.

That might be the only explanation for the team’s lackadaisical start in Saturday’s decisive victory over UCSD. Despite going into halftime ahead by only six points, SDSU pulled away in the second half to secure the 86-51 win.

Against an opponent they have traditionally dominated, the Aztecs were slow out of the gate. SDSU shot the ball well early in the game – for the first time this season – but were out rebounded by the smaller Tritons 12-9 in the first half.

The team finally got on track, though, with around 17 minutes remaining in the game. Ahead by only seven points, the Aztecs went on a 44-16 run to close the game, relying on size and strength in the post to bully UCSD.

“We shot the ball and executed better in the first half,” Tritons’ head coach Bill Carr said. “They got to us with their defensive pressure in the second half. They also did a good job of spreading the floor and taking advantage of their size. We have to get our team to play a complete game in order to win.”

Sophomore forward Marcus Slaughter and senior center Chris Manker – who have both started the season marvelously – led the second-half spurt with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

SDSU took advantage of the height differential – UCSD has only one player taller than 6-foot-7 inches – to feed Manker and Slaughter in the paint. The 7-foot center was nine-of-13 in the field and finished the game with 23 points, while the 6-foot-8 Slaughter hit on seven-of-11 shots for 20 points.

“They’re a good team,” Carr said. “They got the ball inside to Manker, Slaughter and the other big guys. We aren’t the biggest team in the country, that’s for sure, and they just wore us down.”

The fact that Manker has been so effective this season – he is averaging 16.3 points per game – has come as a surprise to many. Possibly the only person not taken aback by his play is Aztec head coach Steve Fisher.

“Chris is our most skilled, fundamental player – not just outside, but inside as well,” Fisher said. “Tonight he got some confidence and played very well. He was able to slow his play down and execute well and I’m hopeful that will continue throughout the season.”

Added Manker: “My teammates found a way to get me the ball. Hopefully we can do the same on Wednesday (against USD).”

Perhaps the most telling statistic from Saturday’s contest is found in the turnover category. SDSU struggled mightily with taking care of the ball during the first two games of the season, but did a better job against the Tritons. The Aztecs only committed nine turnovers – none from smart freshman guard Tyler Smith in 18 minutes of action – while forcing an astounding 27 turnovers from UCSD.

SDSU next faces another cross-town rival – USD – on Wednesday. The Toreros have opened the season at 2-2, but one of their losses was a tightly contested, 11-point loss to Arizona .

The Aztecs have won two-straight games against USD, but both games have been close. With then-freshman guard Brandon Heath leading with the way with 27 points, last year’s matchup went down to the wire, and SDSU escaped with a three-point win.

This year’s game won’t be a cakewalk for the Aztecs, and they realize the Toreros are looking forward to the head-to-head battle.

“We were unselfish tonight, but we have to be ready on Wednesday,” Heath said. “USD is a good squad. They played Arizona tough, so we have to come out hard against them.”