No. 17 San Diego State 70, Ball State 57: Winston Shepard had 15 points and three steals as the host Aztecs zipped past the Cardinals.

J.J. O’Brien added 13 points for San Diego State (8-3), which had 12 steals while forcing 22 Ball State turnovers. Skylar Spencer added 10 points and six rebounds for the Aztecs.

Jeremie Tyler scored 17 points and Matt Kamieniecki had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals (3-6). Franko House tallied 11 points for Ball State, which received four points – all free throws – from its bench.

The Cardinals trailed by eight points six minutes into the second half before the Aztecs began pulling away and back-to-back baskets by Shepard gave San Diego State a 59-43 lead with 8:30 remaining. Ball State moved within 11 points with 2:59 to play but didn’t score again until 51 seconds were left.

San Diego State used a 12-2 burst to take a 22-12 lead with 8:39 left in the first half and held a 36-26 lead at the break. Dakarai Allen’s basket gave the Aztecs a 13-point advantage with 15:01 to play before Ball State received a 3-pointer from Tyler and a layup by Kamieniecki to pull with 46-38.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Aztecs G/F Dwayne Polee II didn’t start and had just two points, missing all five field-goal attempts and going 2-of-6 from the free-throw line. … Ball State drops to 0-5 on the road. … San Diego State G Aqeel Quinn had nine points and three assists before taking a fall in the second half and leaving with a hip injury.