This is why you have ring night – or is it bling night? – against the school from Santee with no gym and a 5-foot-5 backup point guard.

Before tip-off Wednesday night against NAIA San Diego Christian, coach Steve Fisher passed out rings commemorating San Diego State’s Mountain West regular-season title last season, walking from player to player, handing them a shimmering ring, watching them slide it on their finger, watching them bask in its sparkle under the Viejas Arena lights, hearing the crowd roar.

But the problem with small, shiny objects is that they, momentarily at least, are often accompanied by big heads, which is why many coaches absolutely dread ring night.

Whether or not the Aztecs indeed fell under the spell of the jewelry, they certainly played like it. They won 71-61. It wasn’t particularly inspiring.


The Aztecs (2-1) wore special Nike N7 turquoise uniforms to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, turquoise representing harmony, friendship and fellowship in the Native American culture. And not, apparently, fluid basketball.

“Had we quit at halftime,” said Fisher, whose team was outscored 41-35 in the second half, “I would have felt like we made progress.”

Part of the problem was that senior Winston Shepard, honored before the game for reaching 1,000 career points, sat out after tweaking an ankle in the 81-76 loss at No. 16 Utah two days earlier. Then fellow starter Trey Kell was held out the second half with what was described as “right knee soreness.”

Both were considered precautionary. Translation: They were playing a team with no starter over 6-foot-7 that lost at Pepperdine on Monday by 45.


But give the Hawks and coach Edgar Mendez credit. They hung in after missing their first seven shots and 18 of their first 23, then hung around well into the second half. With 11 minutes to go, this was a 13-point game after Trevor English swished a 3.

The Aztecs promptly turned it over, and the Hawks had a 3-on-1 break to cut it to 11. English got it on the right wing, raised the ball over his head and flew in for the ultimate indignity: a one-handed dunk directly in the face of the SDSU student section.

It rattled around the rim and bounced out.

The Aztecs pushed the margin back to 17 before English (21 points) got loose for three more 3s in the space of four possessions. With four minutes to go it was a 12-point game, but the Hawks could get no closer until the final minute. An uncontested layup in the closing seconds by Francis Parker High alum Dalante Dunklin (15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists) made the final margin an even 10.


Still, a 10-point win against an NAIA team that got five points and (yes) three rebounds from 5-5 guard Mark Eden …

“It’s definitely a reminder that we have things to work on defensively,” freshman Jeremy Hemsley said. “It’s for sure not an alarm. It’s nothing we need to worry about. We all know what we’re capable of and we know the way we played tonight wasn’t acceptable, especially the second half. It’s just a reminder that we have a ways to go and it’s a process.”

It wasn’t all bad. Most notably, Malik Pope finally showed signs of a pulse after two forgettable games, making deep 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the second half and finishing with 14 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes.

“I kind of just started playing slower, just let the game come to me,” said Pope, who entered the night shooting 1 of 12 this season. “I for sure didn’t play too well the first two games. I didn’t play that well this game either, but I played better than I did in the previous two.”


Added Hemsley: “I was trying to get Malik going early. He’s been in a slump. I’ve seen things people have been saying about him … I see him every day in practice so I know what’s he’s capable of. I was talking to my high school coach the other day and told him I’ve never played with anyone as talented as Malik.”

Other positives: Zylan Cheatham stayed out of foul trouble, managing 13 points and eight rebounds (and just one foul) in 26 minutes after fouling out in a mere eight minutes against Utah. Hemsley (14 points, 5 of 7 shooting) knocked down perimeter shots when defenders went under screens. D’Erryl Williams didn’t miss a shot and had nine points. The Aztecs were 16 of 21 (76.2 percent) from the line.

But much of the game went like this: The Aztecs got 3-pointers from Hemsley and fellow freshman Ben Perez on consecutive possessions late in the first half for a 36-16 lead … followed by turnovers on their next four trips.

Or this: An Aztecs steal led to a thunderous two-hand dunk by Cheatham … followed by a technical foul for hanging on the rim.


Fisher motioned Cheatham to the sideline and had a chat with him. What words of wisdom did the 70-year-old legend impart to the 6-9 redshirt freshman in his third college game?

Fisher: “Don’t hang on the rim.”

Notes

Next up: a 1 p.m. game here Saturday against Div. I Little Rock (formerly Arkansas-Little Rock) … Dakarai Allen started in place of Shepard and looked nothing like the shooter who came off the bench in the first two games to average 15.5 points on 8 of 10 shooting. He went 1 of 10 (0 of 4 on 3s) and had four points before limping off after being kneed in the thigh, although he did have four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals … The Hawks outscored the Aztecs 19-13 on points off turnovers but had only 13 bench points to SDSU’s 34 … More from Fisher: “I wish it would have been a better second half, but it wasn’t. I’m not going to fuss and fume over that. I think this will help some of our guys. Guys who got extended long play will be better served by that.”