WAC Western Tour No Day at the Beach : Aztecs Hope to Make Weary UTEP Second Consecutive Upset Victim

SAN DIEGO — On these trips, The Bear can’t sleep, let alone hibernate.

“I got about an hour on the plane, that’s it,” said Don Haskins, the Texas El Paso basketball coach who is known as The Bear. “I just hate this trip.”

The trip is the annual Western Athletic Conference beach-and-surf tour to Hawaii and San Diego State. For most teams, the weather and scenery are better than the results.

Since Hawaii joined the conference for the 1979-80 season, WAC teams are 8-18 against the Aztecs in San Diego after having played at Hawaii. Those same teams are 13-18 in all other conference games played in San Diego.

Haskins has fared only slightly better than the average. He has split his four games against the Aztecs on his way back from Honolulu.

Thoughts of those problems might have helped keep Haskins awake in the wee hours Friday morning as his red-eye flight headed across the Pacific on its way to San Diego for a game against SDSU (7-7, 1-2 in the WAC) tonight at 7:35 in the San Diego Sports Arena.

For a coach whose team had defeated Hawaii, 69-64, Thursday night to raise its record to 14-2 (3-0 in the WAC), Haskins was doing a lot of tossing and turning.

“Don kept me awake all night, saying how badly we played,” said Norm Ellenberger, a UTEP volunteer assistant. “I said, ‘Don, go to sleep. We won.’ ”

But Haskins, who said he doesn’t enjoy long airplane flights, just couldn’t relax. It probably didn’t help when he heard that the Aztecs had beaten No. 18 New Mexico, 64-59, earlier Thursday. It was the Aztecs’ first victory against a top 20 team since they defeated No. 17 UTEP, 67-66, on Jan. 18, 1986. And yes, the Miners were on their way back from a two-point victory at Hawaii.

“We never play quick when we’re here,” Haskins said. “We’re always a little leg-weary. . . . We’re not very good if we don’t play quick; we can’t guard you. We’ve never played well in San Diego.”

Haskins has won only four of his 10 games against the Aztecs in San Diego.

All of which suits Jim Brandenburg, the San Diego State coach, just fine. One of the keys to the Aztecs’ victory over New Mexico was their ability to slow down the running game. The game plan should be no different tonight.

“We have to control the tempo,” said Bryan Williams, a junior point guard. “That’s no secret.”

A weary UTEP team could make that task easier. After fighting the difficulties of the Hawaii-San Diego trip while coaching at Wyoming, Brandenburg can enjoy its benefits. He was 2-4 with the Cowboys in games against SDSU on his way back from Hawaii.

“It seems like it’s not as bad going from east to west, but when you come west back to east it seems like the jet leg has a little bit more effect on you,” Brandenburg said. “There is a physiological problem to a certain extent on that trip.”

Not to mention the more mundane medical hazards of playing and romping in the surf of Hawaii. A minor accident forced senior UTEP forward Wayne Campbell to play the Rainbows with a bandaged hand.

“He hurt his hand the day before on the beach,” Haskins said, before adding with a laugh: “Shark got him or something.”

Aztec Notes

Juan Espinoza, a senior reserve forward, did not practice Friday after he had a recurrence of the back spasms that have bothered him for the past 10 days. Espinoza had further tests on his back Friday, and the results will determine if he is able to play tonight against Texas El Paso, San Diego State Coach Jim Brandenburg said. . . . Senior forward Chris Sandle, who missed the first eight games for disciplinary reasons, leads the Miners in scoring (17.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.5). UTEP junior guard Tim Hardaway leads the Western Athletic Conference in steals (53) and assists (111).