The San Diego State Aztecs got their first chance against a Big Ten school Monday night in the Maui Invitational opener with the Ohio State Buckeyes, a 3-0 team who received the third most votes among non-top 25 teams. The Aztecs controlled the entire game to a 88-77 final and advanced to the semifinal of the annual college basketball tournament in Hawaii.

The Aztecs missed their first eight shots on their first eight possessions and did not score in the first 4:30 of the game, forcing coach Brian Dutcher to bring in the bench without scoring the game’s first points. However, once Seiko made the first shot of the night by the Aztecs, they went on a 10-2 run to take the lead within four minutes.

They let the Buckeyes get close a couple of times after taking an 8-7 lead with 12:15 to go in the opening half. However, the Aztecs responded each time Ohio State went on a run and never gave up that lead all night.

And it was not one guy doing all the work for San Diego State, either.

Matt Bradley led the team with 18 points, Lamont Butler and Micah Parsons had 15, and Adam Seiko had 14 points off the bench.

Of the nine players who appeared in the game, eight had scored at least six points. Nathan Mensah was the only exception, but his four-block performance on defense more than made up for it.

San Diego State opened the second half with a 37-26 lead, and quickly took a game-best 14-point lead on a Bradley three-pointer.

When the Buckeyes went on a 9-2 run and brought the San Diego State lead to four points with 13 minutes to go, junior guard Micah Parrish hit back-to-back threes. An in-bound steal and Aguek Arop layup later, the Aztecs had an 8-0 run in 39 seconds and took a 12-point lead into a timeout.

San Diego State showed exactly why they were ranked no. 17 ahead of the tournament on Monday, and they will face an even bigger test Tuesday evening in Maui against no. 14 Arizona at 7:30 p.m. PST at the Lahaina Civic Center.