LAHAINA, Maui — The trade winds were blowing hard across Maui, bending palm trees, whipping up whitecaps on the ocean, sandblasting tourists on the beach.
But there was no wind inside the Lahaina Civic Center, nothing to blow San Diego State’s shots off course. The No. 17 Aztecs made 60 percent of them in the second half and rarely led by fewer than double digits en route to an 88-77 win against Ohio State in the opening game of the Maui Invitational.
Next up: Tuesday night’s semifinals against either No. 14 Arizona or Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. PST on ESPN.
The team that averaged 65.4 points last season and never scored more than 80 continues to flex its newfound offensive muscle with 74, 80, 82 and now 88 through four games.
And that was after opening the game 0 of 8 and going scoreless for the first 4½ minutes.
And with leading scorers Jaedon LeDee and Darrion Trammell shooting a combined 3 of 14.
But Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said the Aztecs (4-0) might be as good as anyone they play this year (and the Buckeyes play in the Big Ten), and they looked the part, leading by 15 in the first half and 16 in the second.
Four players finished with 14 or more points: 18 from a resurgent Matt Bradley before fouling out, 15 each from Lamont Butler and Micah Parrish, and 14 from Adam Seiko. In all, the Aztecs got 41 points from their bench — 14 more than the Buckeyes.
Four minutes into the game, the Aztecs were probably wondering what else could go wrong. Two players got hurt in practice the day before at the Lahaina Civic Center (freshman Miles Byrd and walk-on Cade Alger). Now they had missed their first eight shots and were trailing 5-0.
But just as it has earlier this season, the second unit came to the rescue, outscoring the Buckeyes 8-2 and regaining the lead that, it turned out, they never relinquished.
After a combined 10 misses by both teams, Butler made the game’s first 3 midway through the first half … that banked in. The Aztecs’ next two baskets were 3s as well and they pushed the margin to nine points. With 2:25 left in the half, it was 15.
A big reason was the return of Bradley, or at least the Bradley whom SDSU fans knew last season. He had 10 points by halftime, then opened the second half with a 3. That helped compensate for the third straight half by Trammell without a basket and the third straight half without a second-chance point off offensive boards.
Another key: Only three turnovers through the opening 20 minutes.
But the game really was won eight minutes later, when the Buckeyes (3-1) briefly pulled within four points after West Virginia transfer Sean McNeil, who was held scoreless in their last game and had 19 points all season, suddenly got lava hot — erupting for 13 points in a matter of minutes and finishing with 22.
SDSU coach Brian Dutcher opted against calling timeout, trusting an offense he wouldn’t — and couldn’t — a year ago.
Fifty-one seconds later, it was 59-47.
Parrish, who ostensibly subbed in to guard McNeil, made a 3.
Butler grabbed an offensive board and fed Parrish for another 3.
Butler stole a lazy inbounds pass and fed Aguek Arop for a layup.
The Aztecs weren’t done. Less than three minutes later, it was 68-52. This time, Dutcher called a timeout — to give his players a breather from the furious pace and to send in reinforcements.
The clincher — the soul killer — came with six minutes left, and the team that had struggled on the offensive boards grabbed three in a row. Bradley got the third and lobbed to Nathan Mensah for a rim-shaking dunk.
The final margin might have been greater had it not been for a few iffy calls down the stretch — a technical called on Mensah for flopping and a flagrant foul on Bradley that gave the Buckeyes two free throws and the ball. But their defense held up, holding Ohio State to 42.4 percent overall. Finishing with just seven turnovers helped, too.
Notable
Byrd and Alger didn’t suit up after suffering lower leg injuries in practice Sunday. Neither was on crutches or in a boot.
The officiating crew had little familiarity with either team. Jeff Clark, Lee Cassell and Tommy Morrissey predominantly work the ACC and other East Coast leagues. None had SDSU last season; Cassell had Ohio State once.
