Month: March 2018

No. 11 San Jose State to face No. 6 Wyoming in opening round of Mountain West Tournament

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State men’s basketball team plays its opening round game of the Mountain West Tournament on Wednesday, March 7, at 4:00 pm PT inside the Thomas & Mack Center. The game will be broadcast live on Facebook and fans can find the streaming link below or head over to the men’s basketball schedule page for access. Fans can also tune in to Justin Allegri and Jess Knaster’s call of the game on KLIV 1590 AM.

Round 1 of the Mountain West Tournament
#11-SJSU (4-25) vs. #6-Wyoming (19-12)
Wednesday, March 7, 4:00 pm PT
Thomas & Mack Center (18,000)
Las Vegas, Nev.

TV: Facebook
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM

Spartans at the Mountain West Tournament
SJSU is working against some rough history at the Mountain West Tournament. Although it’s short history, the Spartans are 0-3 all-time in the tournament with a 25.3-point average margin of defeat. Last year, the #9-Spartans were knocked out of the tournament by #8-Utah State with a 90-64 beatdown.

History between SJSU and Wyoming
Wyoming controls the all-time series against the Spartans, 12-2. The Cowboys beat the Spartans in San Jose, 90-86, in overtime on Jan. 27 and won again on February 17 in Laramie, 89-75. SJSU’s last win over Wyoming came in 2015-16 at home by a score of 62-55. It was SJSU’s first win at home as members of the MW.

No shortage of points in first two meetings
SJSU averaged 80.5 points in two games against Wyoming this year. That’s the highest two-game average against any MW opponent this season, as was the 89.5 points per game that the Spartans gave up in the two losses to the Cowboys. SJSU’s Ryan Welage scored a new career-high 37 points to lead the Spartans while Justin James scored 30 points to lead Wyoming to a 90-86 overtime win in the first meeting. It was Keith Fisher III’s turn for a career-high 26 points for SJSU in the second meeting. But Wyoming had six players finish in double-figure scoring that day, led by Hayden Dalton with 22 points. The Cowboys hit 16-of-42 three-point field goal attempts in the 89-75 win over the Spartans in the second meeting.

Explosion of threes
In an attempt to guard against easy points around the basket, SJSU has been allowing its opponents to shoot 3-pointers at record volumes. Over the last five games, SJSU opponents are averaging 39 three-point field goal attempts and combined to shoot 35.5 percent (70-197). Wyoming set the MW record with 42 attempts in the February 17 meeting with the Spartans, but that record only stood for 11 days until USU put up 43 3-pointers against the Spartans. The strategy worked against the Aggies, who made only 12 of their 34 attempts, and SJSU capitalized for a 64-62 win. The other results, while the percentages weren’t high, the sheer volume of three-point baskets has been too much for SJSU to keep pace with.

Ryan Welage earns All-Mountain West honorable mention
The MW head coaches tabbed Spartans forward Ryan Welage All-Mountain West honorable mention. Welage receives the honor after leading SJSU in scoring 18 times during the regular season. He had 13 games of 20 or more points and two 30-point games, including his career-high 37 points against Wyoming on January 27. The Greensburg, Ind, native is the league’s most accurate free throw shooter at 87.5 percent (98-112), while making 45.7 percent of his shots from the field. It is the first all-conference honor of any kind for Welage.

Keith Fisher III provides second spark for SJSU
Redshirt freshman Keith Fisher III has developed into a top scorer and rebounder for the Spartans over the course of his first season. His per game averages for the conference season are 11.6 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent from the field. In the last five games those numbers jump up to 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds. The Los Angeles native has led SJSU in scoring in five of the last seven games, including a career-high 26-point effort at Wyoming on February 17. He scored a team-high 18 points in the team’s regular season finale at Air Force.

Hillsman returns to starting lineup
Jaycee Hillsman had come off the bench in 16 consecutive games before being inserted back into the starting lineup for the February 17 game at Wyoming. He made the most of that opportunity with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and was a starter playing heavy minutes for the remainder of the regular season. Since returning to the starting five Hillsman is averaging 12.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists, all of which are above his season averages. The Champaign, Ill., native was on the floor for all 40 minutes of SJSU’s 64-62 win over USU.

Welage is a Spartan great
Ryan Welage hit two major career milestones this season by reaching the 1,000-point plateau and becoming the program’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers. Welage scored his 1,000th point on January 9 at San Diego State, making him the 15th player in the 108-season history of the program. He has since risen up the ranks to seventh on the all-time scoring list with 1,233 points, and will take over sixth with just four points on Wednesday. In SJSU’s win over USU, Welage buried the 154th 3-pointer of his career making him the all-time leader at SJSU.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors come in with five-game win streak, host Brooklyn tonight

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Photo credit: @warriors

On the Warriors Podcast with David Zizmor:

In their last game, the Warriors defeated the Atlanta Hawks 114-109, but the Warriors had to work for it. Stephen Curry hurt his ankle in the second quarter, scored 15, but left in the third quarter. Curry stopped off on his way back to Oakland at Augusta at the Masters for a couple of days of golf and knowing he’s on the links and is scheduled to be in the lineup tonight against the Brooklyn Nets at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors had three days off and they might rest some of their starters against Brooklyn and it’s not only against a team like the Nets, but any other NBA team if they can rest their players, they will take advantage of it if they have a big lead in hand. The Nets are not a good team and nowhere near the challenge that the Portland Trailblazers, who the Warriors faced on Friday night.

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears Podcast with Morris Phillips: 35 minutes of fun and skill but a loss closes Cal’s regular season

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calbears.com photo: Cal Bears Juhwan Harris-Dyson (2) drives towards to the bucket against the Arizona Wildcats at McHale Center in Tucson on Saturday during the final game of the regular season

Morris Phillips on the Cal Bears basketball podcast:

1 The Cal Bears looked like the had things handled for 35 minutes at the McHale Center in Tucson on Saturday night

2 This was the Bears best half of basketball they’ve had all season. They tied up the game against one of the Pac 12’s best teams at 53-53 with 5:49 left in the game.

3 We asked Morris if there was a moment if it looked like Cal had a chance to win this game

4 Cal coach Wyking Jones said the difference was a couple of turnovers and AZ took advantage for the 66-54 win

5 The Pac 12 Tournament is on deck for Wednesday night in Las Vegas. Morris takes a look as Cal tips off with rival Stanford

Morris does the Cal Bears Podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Len Shapiro: After winning two straight and then losing to the CBJs, Sharks regroup for the Blues this Thursday

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

1 The Sharks, after dominating in their last two wins against Edmonton and Chicago last Tuesday and Thursday nights at SAP Center in San Jose, couldn’t get past the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 loss on Sunday night.

2 The Jackets started things off with goals from Artemi Pantarin, who had two goals; Nick Foligno and Sonny Milano later scored one each.

3 The Sharks got scoring help from Joonas Donskoi and Evander Kane.

4 The Sharks goalie Marty Jones saved 10-13 shots and was later relieved by Aaron Dell who came in and stopped all 14-14 shots.

5 The Sharks host the St. Louis Blues and Len will have analysis of the upcoming Thursday contest at SAP Center.

Len Shapiro does the SJ Sharks podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsadioservice.com

Skal Labissiere hits game-winner as the Sac Kings top Knicks 102-99

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

by Jordan Chapin

SACRAMENTO- The Kings won the second game of a five-game homestand on Sunday night at The Golden 1 Center with a 102-99 victory over the New York Knicks. Sacramento put on quite a show in a game that came down to the final shot. After giving up a big lead with seconds to go, Sacramento’s Skal Labissiere hit the game-winning 3-pointer to seal the game for the Kings.

The Kings were really rolling in this game early. They were led by a stellar night from Bogdan Bogdanovic who ended with 22 points and 7 assists. The Kings led by as many as 19 points in the middle of the fourth quarter. As soon as the Kings started to get comfortable, those pesky Knicks came storming back. In the final nine minutes, the Knicks had completely eliminated the Kings lead and tied the game with just over a minute remaining in the contest.

With just under 30 seconds to go in a tie ballgame, Bogdanovic showed why he’s going to be clutch for years to come. He hit a step back jumper to put the Kings on top 99-97. The Knicks were able to get to the free throw line and make both of their shots to tie the game at 99 all. With 5.3 seconds to go, the Kings in-bounded the ball to Labissiere who faked the hand-off to Bogdanovic, rose-up over Kyle O’Quinn and drained the 3-ball that sealed the game for the Kings.

As the Kings prepare for game four of the homestand, it doesn’t get any easier as they have to face the playoff bound New Orleans Pelicans led by All-Star Anthony Davis on Wednesday night.

Something that should be noted, the young players of Sacramento have shown this season that they can have ice in there veins when it comes down to the big shot. Bogdanovic, Fox, and now Labissiere have all hit game-winning shots this season.

Sacramento Kings

Player of the Game: Bogdan Bogdanovic

Although Skal hit the biggest shot of the night, they would not have been in that position without the play of Bogdanovic. Bogy shot 7-for-11 from the field and finished with 22 points and 7 assists in just 27 minutes of playing time.

Key Stats

  • Six players finished in double figure scoring, including all five starters
  • Labissiere filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists
  • The Kings shot 45% from the field and 43% from 3-point land
  • SAC shot a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line

New York Knicks

Player of the Game: Enes Kanter

Kanter played only 22 minutes, but he made the most of them. Doing work down low, Kanter finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds racking up his 31st double-double of the season. When Enes was in the game, he dominated the paint, fortunately for Kings fans, he didn’t see the floor as much as usual.

Key Stats:

  • Emmanuel Mudiay was the only starter that didn’t score, its safe to say, Kings fans are happy to have Willie Cauley-Stein instead. The Kings could have drafted Mudiay but chose to go with WCS.
  • NYK went on a 24-5 run in the final nine minutes to tie the game
  • The Kincks the game just once, 14-13
  • Tim Hardaway Jr. was the Knicks leading scorer in the game with 24 points
  • New York shot 45% from the field, but only 28% from 3-point land

Up Next

SAC

The Kings – who are 2-for-3 on this five-game homestand host the Pelicans on Wednesday night.

NYK

The Knicks stay on the West Coast and have to face the very tough Portland Trail Blazers in the Rose City on Tuesday night.

Blue Jackets move into second wild card as they snap Sharks’ winning streak with 4-2 win

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at SAP Center on Sunday night.

So far, the Blue Jackets were having a disappointing California road trip, losing in Anaheim and Los Angeles. Two of the Blue Jackets’ goals came from Artemi Panarin, with one from Nick Foligno and one from Sonny Milano. Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had an outstanding game, making 33 saves for the win. For the Sharks, Martin Jones made 10 saves on 13 shots before Aaron Dell came in and made 14 saves on 14 shots. Sharks’ goals came from Joonas Donskoi and Evander Kane.

The first period was an odd one. The Sharks had three chances on the power play, outshot the Blue Jackets for most of the period, yet gave up two goals. Both goals came right at the end of power plays.

Sharks forward Logan Couture described the trouble the Sharks had in the first period: “They broke out too easy and we didn’t. They forechecked harder than us and we were a little slow getting to pucks. Just didn’t look like our quick selves. We’ve been playing fast the last few games, we were a little slow tonight.”

Ten seconds after the first power play expired, David Savard got by Kevin Labanc, causing something of a distraction in the middle of the Sharks’ zone. As the Blue Jackets closed on the net, they seemed to outnumber the Sharks. Nick Foligno’s shot touched Jone’s sleeve on its way by. Assists went to Matt Calvert and Jack Johnson.

The Blue Jackets’ second goal came after another breakdown just under a minute after the Sharks’ third power play. Near the Sharks’ blue line, a puck came away from the boards, just out of reach of Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s stick.

Right as the puck floated free, Boone Jenner skated in and carried it over the line. Dylan DeMelo tried to come across to help Vlasic out, but Sonny Milano was coming around behind him to catch Jenner’s pass across the slot. Jones could not get across in time. Assists went to Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

The third Columbus goal came 5:32 into the second, this time nowhere near a power play. Artemi Panarin tipped an Ian Cole shot from the blue line. No one was directly screening Jones, but the change of direction tricked him. Assists went to Cole and Cam Atkinson.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer made the decision to switch goaltenders at that point and brought in Aaron Dell. The change gave the Sharks time to reset and their play improved significantly. After the game, Forward Evander Kane shared some thoughts about how the Sharks’ game improved later in the game: “We put pucks in the right place, we broke down their defense by getting pucks towards the net, and you know you saw the result. So I think if we come out and do more of that early on we’ll have more success.”

The Blue Jackets had their first power play at 7:26 of the second. The Sharks did not allow any good shots on goal during that penalty, though one shot did hit a post.

The Sharks finally got on the board in the final two minutes of the second period. Dylan DeMelo took a shot from the blue line that looked like it would have gone well wide it Joonas Donskoi had not tipped it in. It was a tricky shot to make, evidently the sort of shot the Sharks needed to beat Bobrovsky. A second assist went to Evander Kane.

After another power play and another penalty kill, the Sharks squeezed a second goal out of the third period. 10:04 in, Joe Pavelski picked up the puck after it bounced off an official’s torso in front of the benches. He carried the puck over the blue line and found Evander Kane in the middle of the ice. It was Kane’s first goal as a Shark since being acquired on February 26.

The Sharks made a final push at the end of the third, pulling their goalie for the extra man. But the Blue Jackets–who appeared more energized throughout the game–escaped their zone and Artemi Panarin scored an empty-netter to make it 4-2 with 53 seconds left in regulation.

Sharks forward Tomas Hertl talked about how disappointed he was with his own performance. While coming back from an injury poses some challenges, he said he feels fine, but he is still trying to get his game back after missing several. Of being moved down the lineup mid-game Sunday, he said: “It’s tough because I wasn’t there for the guys today, you know I [lost] a couple easy pucks. After [the] change they looked a little bit better.” Hertl even said that he felt he deserved to be benched in the third for his poor play, before explaining that he now has three days to refresh and find his game again.

Presumably, he is not the only Sharks player thinking that.

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Thursday at 7:30 pm PT as they host the St. Louis Blues.

NCAA Podcast with Daniel Dullum: Stanford’s win helps them going into the post season; Miller stays on as coach no wiretap evidence presented yet; Stanford women has good shot

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photo from tucsonpatch.com: Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller still UA head coach no evidence presented yet from FBI wiretap on pay promise to Wildcats Deandre Ayton

NCAA Basketball Podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Stanford scores big road win at ASU to wrap Pac-12 schedule

2 Sean Miller still the coach at U of A, for now

3 Mitch Albom in Detroit Free Press: How to fix college athletics

4 Stanford women, ranked No. 2, routs No. 6 Arizona State in Pac-12 tourney

Daniel is filling in for Michelle Richardson for the NCAA Basketball podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum: Is the outdoor game getting to be too much; Sharks Kane is an immediate impact; Seattle NHL team sells out season tix in minutes

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NBC Sports Photo: NBC’s coverage of the 2017-18 season continues on Saturday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals face off in a 2018 Stadium Series game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland at 8 p.m. ET.

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Has the Outdoor Game become too much of a good thing?

2 Kane paying immediate dividends for Sharks

3 Seattle NHL fans snagging season tickets, waitlist starts

4 Momentum growing in effort to get Willie O’Ree into Hockey Hall of Fame

Daniel Dullum does the NHL Podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Categories NHL

Barracuda win second in a row in a 2-1 shootout victory over Reign

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The shootout hasn’t been too kind to the San Jose Barracuda (24-22-3-3), but they were able to change their fortunes with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Ontario Reign (27-19-4-2) on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center.

Michael Brodzinski scored the only goal in the shootout and Antone Bibeau (16-11-2) stopped all three Reign attempts to preserve the Cuda’s second win in a row on their current four-game homestand.

Ontario would draw first blood at the 12:46 mark of the first period. Oscar Frantenberg fired a shot from the point that Bibeau saved off his blocker, creating a rebound in front of the crease. After a mad scramble in front of the net, Andrew Crescenzi was able to get a hold of the puck and shoot it past Bibeau for his 11th goal of the season. The goal came seconds after the Cuda killed off a penalty by Jacob Middleton.

The best scoring chance in the period for San Jose came at the eight-minute mark. Filip Sandberg’s tip-in attempt was stopped by Reign goalie Cal Petersen (16-9-1) as well as Rourke Chartier’s rebound chance immediately after.

The Cuda’s top line of John McCarthy, Rudolfs Balcers and Adam Helewka created sustained pressure five minutes into the second period, but were unable to put the pack in the back of the net, despite numerous shots on goal.

Bibeau made a nice save on Matt Roy’s shot that came on a 3-on-2 odd man with three and a half minutes left in the period.

“I saw the puck really well,” said Bibeau after the game. “The boys played hard and really well. On top of that the effort was there, which is one thing that has been lacking in the last few weeks was lacking. There’s 16 games left and we’re really looking forward to it.”

The Cuda tied the score late in the second period when Radim Simek was able to intercept a clearing attempt by Ontario and snapped a shot from just atop the left circle that snuck past Petersen to lower left corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season at the 18:38 mark.

There was no scoring in the third period, however, McCarthy had two separate scoring chances on an abbreviated power play with five minutes left in the period as he whacked at the puck twice each time in front of the crease only to have Petersen send him away empty-handed. Ontario out shot the Cuda 10-8 in the period.

“It was kind of a broken play,” said McCarthy. “The puck squirted over to me and I had two pretty clear looks, tried to beat him and he saved them. As long as the chances keep coming, I think we’ll be going in the right direction.”

The overtime would also go scoreless. Bibeau made two critical saves in overtime. First on Alex Lintuniemi and then on Michael Mersch on a breakaway.

“He’s been solid for us all year,” said head coach Roy Sommer about his #1 goalie. “If he can stay to (only allowing) one goal per game we’ll get in (to the playoffs), let’s put it that way.”

Bibeau’s impressive day concluded with 38 saves on 39 shots for the victory, while Petersen suffered the defeat, making 28 saves on 29 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose’s power play–the worst in the AHL–was 0/2, while Ontario also went 0/2.

Cuda defenseman Calvan Firtzgerald suffered a lower body injury in the first period and did not return to the game. He is listed as day-to-day.

Things got chippy in the third period when there were to separate skirmishes on both sides of the net. Neither resulted in any penalties.

The announced attendance was 4,095.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their four-game homestand with a weekend series against the Cleveland Monsters beginning on Friday night on March 9 at 7 pm PT.

Pac-12 champ Arizona gets all they can handle from the Bears in the regular season finale

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UA_Harris_Dyson
Photo courtesy of Al Sermeno/KLC Fotos

By Morris Phillips

The California Golden Bears found themselves at college basketball’s epicenter for the regular season finale, and they played their role as unwanted guests to the hilt for 35 minutes.

Doubling down on arguably their best half of basketball all season, the Bears kept the pressure on Arizona in the second half in front of a sold out crowd at the McKale Center. But with the game tied 53-53 with 5:49 remaining and Cal controlling the tempo and the home crowd growing increasingly nervous, the Bears went cold.

Arizona finished the game with a 13-1 run to capture the Pac-12 regular season championship outright, winning 66-54.

So what happened to the Bears, seemingly having a positive experience in an otherwise awful season, in those final moments?

“We turned it over and it didn’t feel like we got a really good look the last couple possessions, so that was kind of the difference in the game,” coach Wyking Jones said.

In the final minutes, Don Coleman missed a trio of 3-point attempts, Marcus Lee missed two free throws, and two other starters, Juwahn Harris-Dyson and Darius McNeill also missed shots. For Cal, only a made Don Coleman with 14 seconds remaining kept them from the embarrassment of going scoreless for the remainder of the game.

What could have been an encouraging regular season ending morphed into another in a long line of scoring droughts, which have dashed the team’s hopes in several other ballgames, leaving Jones only to talk of his team’s attitude in tough circumstances.

“They followed the game plan, played with toughness and that’s all we ask of them,” Jones said.

The Bears finished the regular season 2-16 in Pac-12 play and will open the conference tournament against fifth-seeded Stanford on Wednesday at 2:30pm. The winner advances to a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday against fourth-seeded UCLA.