2015 NCAA tournament results: San Diego State uses three-point shot to top St. John's

The pace was a bit more than what San Diego State likes to play, but that didn't matter as the Aztecs had a great shooting night from beyond the arc by making 9 of 22 for the game en route to their 76-64 win over St. John's.

San Diego State started off extremely hot and made 7 of 16 from the three-point line in the first half. That three-point shooting would be one of the key reasons why San Diego State would be advancing.

Dwayne Polee led the way in the first half by making four of his five three-point shots. Coming into the game Polee made 15 shots from the arc and his 15 points were his second most all year.

Matt Shrigley came off the bench to score 12 points, all of which came from beyond the three-point line, and this was just his fourth double-digit scoring game of the season. Shrigly and Polee played possibly their best games all year, but it was J.J. O'Brien who led the Aztecs in scoring with 18 points.

This was a rare game for the Aztecs as they shot the ball well above their season average of 41 percent by converting 47 percent of their shots. The San Diego State defense came up big and held St. John's to just 3 of 17 from beyond the arc and the 64 points was one of their lower outputs of the season.

The Red Storm would hang around in the second half to make things interesting when they went on a 9-2 run to make it a 60-53 game, but the Aztecs went on their own 6-0 run to thwart any comeback for St. John's.

Foul trouble plagued St. John's as Rysheed Jordan picked up a pair of quick fouls in the first and did not score a single point in the first half. He ended up with 10 points and three steals while being a menace on the defensive end, but he played only 21 minutes.

San Diego State was able to wear down St. John's who did not sub at all in the second half, and the bench play was dominated by the Aztecs who outscored the Red Storm 24-0. Despite the size advantage, the Aztecs only out rebounded the Red Storm by two, but the difference came in second chance opportunities with 13 to seven in the offensive rebounding category.

For the third straight year San Diego State advances to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament and they will be tasked with facing No. 1 seed Duke.