Turnovers, foul shooting cost Aztecs

The formula for a successful league basketball season hasn’t changed since the Mountain West Conference was formed in 1999: Hold serve at home and try to steal a few road wins.

But the second part of the equation remains elusive for San Diego State.

The Aztecs’ second straight road loss, 76-66 to UNLV on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center, dropped them into a 1-2 hole in conference play.

San Diego State coach Steve Fisher knows why.

“You have to take care of the ball, make your free throws and hit the easy ones,” he said.

The Aztecs committed 20 turnovers, made 57 percent (16 of 28) of their free throws and missed too many easy looks when UNLV was spurting away midway through the second half.

San Diego State led 48-45 with 12:40 to play. Four minutes later, the Aztecs trailed 59-50, as they were settling for jumpers and being limited to one shot per possession. They never regained the lead.

Credit UNLV’s swarming defense with pressuring San Diego State’s D.J. Gay into five turnovers and Chase Tapley and Kelvin Davis into four apiece.

The Aztecs have been a horrendous free-throw shooting team, hovering around 60 percent, worst in the MWC. Wednesday’s 12 misses from the line were a big factor.

“We’ve got to focus,” said forward Billy White, a former Green Valley High School star who played despite a high right ankle sprain and was 3-for-6 from the line before fouling out in 16 minutes. “We can do better.”

They’ll have to if they hope to get back in the Mountain West race. San Diego State, expected to challenge for the league title, is tied for sixth with New Mexico and Wyoming. The Aztecs beat the Lobos for their conference win.