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Aztecs shake free of Bears

— Asked what it took to turn the tide in Saturday’s game, San Diego State’s Jamaal Franklin clenched his left fist and then thumped his chest.

“Heart. We’ve got a lot of heart. We do what it takes to win,” Franklin said Saturday after the No. 23-ranked Aztecs beat Missouri State 60-44 for a nonconference victory that Coach Steve Fisher likened to the tough-as-nails road showdowns in the Mountain West.

Franklin scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half to put San Diego State up early, and James Rahon hit a key three pointer late.

“This was the kind of game we thought we were going to have in terms of how hard we would be played. They were physical and knocked us back early on,” Fisher said.

“I thought our half-court defense kept them from getting good, clean looks and allowed us to win the game,” he added

The Aztecs appeared groggy much of the first half and then found themselves engaged in a defensive battle usually seen in the Bears’ midmajor Missouri Valley Conference.

The Aztecs led 39-30 midway through the second half before the Bears rallied. Missouri State (1-1) pulled within 41-37 on Anthony Downing’s basket with 7:13 left.

But the Aztecs pulled away thanks to three-pointers on consecutive possessions from Rahon and Chase Tapley.

Missouri State was led by Downing’s 16 points. Keith Pickens, who missed the season opener to rest injured knees, had nine points and six rebounds.

In other Top 25 games, Deshaun Thomas scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and No. 4 Ohio State beat Rhode Island 69-58 in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament in Uncasville, Conn. Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 15 points, Aaron Craft had 13 points and four assists for the Buckeyes (2-0) who struggled with the Rams (0-3) well into the second half. Xavier Munford had 16 points to lead Rhode Island, which trailed by just four at halftime. ... Jack Cooley had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 20 Notre Dame to a 78-68 victory over Brigham Young in the third-place game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York. Jerian Grant had 19 points - 17 in the second half - and Eric Atkins added 16, including the three-pointer that gave the Fighting Irish a cushion.

Sports, Pages 27 on 11/18/2012

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