San Diego State beats USF for Diamond Head Classic title (Dec 25, 2016)
HONOLULU (AP) Zylan Cheatham had 16 points and 11 rebounds to help San Diego State beat San Francisco 62-48 on Sunday night for the Diamond Head Classic championship.
San Diego State (8-4) hit nine 3-poiners against the Dons to set a tournament record with 29 makes over three games.
San Francisco got within two points - for the fourth time in the second half - with 11:46 remaining but the Dons couldn't get any closer the rest of the way. SDSU's Jeremy Hemsley hit a 3-pointer with 4:19 left for a 10-point lead.
Hemsley, who entered averaging 16.6 points in his sophomore season, picked up his fourth foul with 18:49 left in the second half and finished with 12 points. Malik Pope missed his second straight game for the Aztecs due to a knee injury suffered in the quarterfinals.
The Aztecs led 32-28 at halftime after shooting 50 percent. Charles Minlend kept USF close by making three 3-pointers and scoring 13 points.
Minlend finished with 18 points for San Francisco (10-3). The Dons, who entered ranked fifth nationally at 42.7 percent from 3-point range, made just 4 of 20 from distance.
