The San Diego State Aztecs honored Bill Walton in the best way possible, even as they dodged a big scare.

The Aztecs beat the Colorado Buffaloes 77-66 on Saturday afternoon in the inaugural Bill Walton Classic at Pechanga Arena, where the Big Redhead once played while with the San Diego Clippers. 

The Aztecs got a scare when forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry walked off the court holding his right shoulder in apparent pain with 6:20 to go. The 6-foot-10, 270-pounder was tended to by the team’s training staff before coming back in with 4:33 left, showing no apparent sign of injury.

The Aztecs (2-0) raced to a 35-17 halftime lead before withstanding a surge in the second half by the Buffaloes (1-1), who represented SDSU’s toughest opponent until the Players’ Era Festival in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week. The Buffs outscored the Aztecs 49-42 in the second half. 

The Bill Walton Classic honored the late Hall of Famer, who grew up in suburban Helix before going on to star at UCLA and in the NBA. Several members of his family were in attendance, and there were plenty of tie–dyed shirts in the crowd of just more than 3,000. Walton’s youngest son, Chris, played for the Aztecs in the early 2000s.

Walton died of cancer at 71 on May 27, 2024.

Here are three instant takeaways from the Aztecs’ win against Colorado.

1. Chance Gladden leads San Diego State's balanced attack

Coach Brian Dutcher used the same starting five as in Tuesday night’s season-opening, 102-78 win against Fullerton State: guards Chance Gladden, Elzie Harrington and Latrell Davis, and forwards Tae Simmons and Cherry.

Gladden led the Aztecs with 20 points, followed by Davis with 18. Dutcher used nine players, eight of whom scored at least one point. 

2. Jeremiah Cherry battles foul trouble and an injury scare

Cherry picked up his second foul 10:37 into the first half and sat out the rest of the half, accounting for only one rebound. He didn’t even take a shot.

He picked up his third foul just four minutes into the second half and sat out the next five minutes. He finally scored when he made a layup with 11:30 left for a 47-35 lead. He made another layup with 9:45 left to make it 55-41.

He finished with eight points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. 

While at Sacramento State, Cherry suffered a serious leg injury in the sixth game last season, at UCLA, that cost him the rest of the season. He transferred to SDSU in the offseason. 

3. Turnovers give Colorado a chance to fight back

SDSU outrebounded the Buffs 38-27, but also committed 20 turnovers that led to 28 points for Colorado. 

The Buffs were 1 of 11 from the 3-point line at point before finishing 9 of 25. SDSU hit 8 of 15 from behind the arc. 

The Aztecs didn’t have an answer for Buffs guard Barrington Hargress, who went off for a game-high 33 points, including hitting 5 of 8 3-pointers. 

The Aztecs did hold Colorado to 36.8% shooting while 48.9%.

Up next

The Aztecs host Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday in a 2 p.m. matinee.