SDSU 68 - Northern Colorado 50

TUCSON, Ariz. -- After a little scare from Little Jimmer, San Diego State advanced in the NCAA tournament for the first time.

Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and 10 rebounds and second-seeded San Diego State withstood Devon Beitzel's scoring burst to beat Northern Colorado 68-50 on Thursday.

The Aztecs (33-2) had their hands full with the 15th-seeded Bears of the Big Sky early, looking like that NCAA winless streak could hit seven games. San Diego State pulled away behind its defense in the second half, holding Northern Colorado (21-11) scoreless for nearly 7 minutes to avoid the upset.

Billy White had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Aztecs, who will face Temple in the West regional Saturday.

Shutdown defense

White helped stop the Jimmer Fredette Show in the Mountain West Conference final and the Aztecs tapped Chase Tapley to chase Northern Colorado's Little Jimmer, Beitzel.

Tapley hounded Beitzel into a tough-shooting first half, but the Big Sky player of the year scored eight quick points in the second to get Northern Colorado within three. Beitzel and the rest of the Bears went cold after that, though, their hopes of leaving their first trip to the NCAA tournament with a win squashed by San Diego State's 13-0 run.

Historic season continues

The Aztecs put together their best season in 90 years as a program, setting a school record for wins and avenging their only two losses during the regular season by steamrolling BYU and Fredette in the Mountain West Conference tournament title game.

What San Diego State needed to punctuate it was an NCAA tournament victory.

The Aztecs had been to the NCAA tournament six prior times and had a first-round exit in each, including three under coach Steve Fisher. San Diego State was hoping to avoid losing some of the national luster it had built up during the regular season and strip itself of that can't-get-it-done-in-March label.

They did it behind another big game by Leonard and a hounding defense that held Northern Colorado to 33 percent shooting and one big second-half scoring drought.

Watch party at Viejas Arena

The game may have taken place in Tucson, but that did not stop Viejas Arena from opening its doors Thursday afternoon.

More than 2,100 watched the game at the on-campus venue. Fans dressed in red, black and green watched the St. Patrick’s Day second-round game on the high-definition jumbo-tron.

“It was a really great showing of Aztec pride and the community there,” said Sean Kashanchi, Associated Students executive vice president, after the event.

During halftime, Kashanchi led an AS-sponsored raffle, which featured two iPod Shuffles, two $50 Aztec Shops gift cards and a red and black beach cruiser bicycle.

SDSU plays seven-seeded Temple in the West subregional third round at 3:10 p.m. PT, Saturday, March 19.

Josh Hoffman contributed to this report.