San Diego State cruises into Shootout final

The question: Name a player who has won more than one Shootout title.

Amoroso, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, scored 13 points on nearly perfect shooting Friday night to help San Diego State romp past Seattle University 75-56 in the late semifinal game at Sullivan Arena.

The victory puts the Aztecs into the 8 p.m. title game against Hampton University. A win there would put Amoroso in an exclusive club as the only player in 31 years to win two Shootout championships.

Amoroso had a hand in Marquette's 2005 championship before transferring to San Diego State, where he won Mountain West all-conference honors last season, his first with the Aztecs.

Amoroso was nearly invisible in San Diego State's one-point win over Western Carolina on Thursday -- six points, three rebounds, two turnovers and an 0-for-3 showing at the foul line.

He was so unhappy with his performance, coach Steve Fisher said, he wanted to stick around Sullivan Arena and shoot foul shots late into the night and walk back to the team's downtown hotel.

"But it was a little too cold out," Amoroso said, "and I didn't bring my snowshoes."

The next day, he brought his shooting touch. He hit 4 of 5 from the field, including his only 3-pointer, and all four of his free throws to go along with three steals and five rebounds.

It was a much more satisfying night all around for the Aztecs, who dominated on defense to win with ease. They pressed much of the game and their man defense kept Seattle from getting many good looks. The Redhawks hit 25 percent of their shots in the first half as San Diego State raced to a 36-21 lead.

Though the game was uptempo, scoring was hard to come by, especially early. The game was scoreless for the first four minutes, and after nine minutes, San Diego State owned an 8-7 lead.

"That was a great nine-inning baseball game we had going there," Seattle coach Joe Callero said. "But to our kids' credit, that's what we wanted."

Callero said the Aztecs were too skilled and too physical to engage in a high-scoring affair, so the idea all along was to keep the score low.

But once San Diego State finally got something going offensively, Seattle couldn't answer. The Aztecs pulled ahead steadily in the first half, then didn't let Seattle score a field goal until the second half was more than five minutes old.

"Their physicality and aggressiveness on the ball really took us out of the flow," Callero said.

Seattle trailed by as much as 24 in the second half but rallied to cut the lead to 13. It was 64-51 with more than five minutes left -- plenty of time to make a run -- but back-to-back offensive fouls cost Seattle the ball and the Aztecs converted both turnovers into baskets, making it a 17-point game with less than four minutes left.

Kyle Spain's 15 points led San Diego State (4-1). For Seattle (4-2), Michael Wright led the scoring with 12 points and Austen Powers led the rebounding with 10 boards.

Find Daily News sports reporter Beth Bragg at adn.com/sports/bbragg or 257-4335.

Seattle21 35 -- 56

San Diego State36 39 -- 75

SEATTLE -- Wright 5-12 0-1 12; Broussard 4-5 1-2 9; Swanson 4-6 0-0 9; Powers 2-12 2-2 8; Gweth 1-6 3-6 5; Harris 2-7 0-1 5; Boxley 1-4 2-3 4; Burl 0-0 4-4 4; Olson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 12-19 56.

SAN DIEGO STATE -- Spain 6-9 0-0 15; Amoroso 4-5 4-4 13; Cheriet 4-6 1-3 11; Gay 4-7 0-0 9; Shelton 2-6 3-4 7; White 2-5 3-4 7; Thomas 2-2 2-2 6; Williams 2-7 0-0 4; Davis 1-6 0-0 3; Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Horton 0-0 0-0 0; Island 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 13-17 75.

3-point goals -- Seattle 6-17 (Powers 2-5; Wright 2-4; Harris 1-2; Swanson 1-2; Olson 0-1; Gweth 0-3), San Diego State 8-14 (Spain 3-3; Cheriet 2-2; Davis 1-4; Amoroso 1-1; Gay 1-2; Williams 0-2). Fouled out -- Seattle-None, San Diego State-None. Rebounds -- Seattle 33 (Powers 10), San Diego State 34 (Shelton 6). Assists -- Seattle 9 (Harris 3), San Diego State 17 (Williams 8). Total fouls -- Seattle 13, San Diego State 18. Technical fouls -- Seattle-None, San Diego State-None. A -- 5719.