The Associated Press

LAHAINA, Hawaii - San Diego State has never had a better game from 3-point range.

The backcourt of Brandon Heath and Wesley Stokes combined for 50 points and the Aztecs tied the school record with 13 3-pointers in an 83-61 victory over Ohio State on Monday night in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

Heath, a freshman, had 28 points and was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, while Stokes, a transfer from Missouri, had 22 points and was 4-for-6 on 3s.

''We've got good shooters,'' San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. ''If we get open looks, we'll get our share of baskets.''

The Aztecs had more than their share in a 21-1 run in the second half that broke open the game. Heath had three of San Diego State's five 3-pointers in the run.

The Aztecs (2-0) advanced to Tuesday's semifinals and will play Dayton, which beat Central Michigan 82-63.

The game was tied 32-all at halftime and the Aztecs were in it only because of their long-range shooting. They were 7-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half and 2-for-14 from inside it.

Tony Stockman and Ivan Harris each had 13 points for the Buckeyes (0-2).

''One of our major deficiencies right now is how we guard on the perimeter,'' Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. ''Their two guards got 50 points. We don't guard well on the perimeter.''

Ohio State led 37-35 two minutes into the second half when the Aztecs took over.

Heath, who had 12 points in the season-opening win over Long Beach State, started the run with a 3 with 17:43 left and it ended on two free throws by freshman Marcus Slaughter with 12:07 left that made it 56-38.

Heath had two other 3s in the run, and Stokes and Chris Walton each had one.

Ohio State missed four shots and turned the ball over five times in that span and its only point came on a free throw by Velimir Radinovic, who missed three other foul shots in the run.

''Our defense did not give up the easy baskets which was critical and we did a good job of keeping the ball out of the post,'' Fisher said. ''We shot well from the 3-point line and that, too, was critical.''

Stokes tied the school record when he hit his fourth 3 that made it 68-48 with 6:13 to play. The Aztecs had 13 3s in 25 attempts against UNLV on Jan. 24, 2001. They were 10-for-28 from 3-point range in the 74-44 win over Long Beach State last week.

Heath was 5-for-6 on 3s and Stokes was 4-for-6 as the Aztecs went 13-for-22.

''Wes got me the ball early when I was open and I got confidence,'' Heath said.

Stokes wanted to talk about the other end of the court.

''We held them to tough shots and once you get going on the defensive end it opens your offense,'' he said. ''Our offense feeds off our defense.''

O'Brien said his team was too perimeter oriented.

''We just didn't do a good enough job of getting the ball into the post,'' he said. ''Our big guys didn't get enough touches and our guards took was too many shots.

''We have way too many guys right now who don't understand what it takes to win. We are very, very immature right now in terms of understanding how to win.''