Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu 

SAN JOSE, Calif. — After five straight losses, the San Jose State Spartans were hoping and praying for a win over the Indiana State Sycamores on Wednesday night inside the Event Center. 

Yes, home court advantage exists for a reason. The Spartans’ record may not reflect that, but Spartan nation was loud and proud as they sported the blue and gold. In addition, the Spartan marching band and Spartan cheer squad put on excellent shows to entertain us. 

Anyhow, ISU won the tipoff and SJSU’s home game went underway. ISU opened the scoring as Clayton Hughes hit the first 3-pointer of the first half. SJSU hastily responded as Noah Baumann hit a 3 of his own to tie the game. 

But ISU made themselves look like the tough guys. The Sycamores went on a 6-0 run before Oumar Barry made a free throw to help the Spartans pull within 5 at the 16:20 mark of the half. Michael Steadman followed up with a free throw of his own to reduce the Sycamores’ deficit to 4 just 10 seconds later. 

At the second media timeout, SJSU trailed ISU 13-8, which wasn’t too bad, but the Spartan defense could’ve done a better job at slowing down the Sycamore offense in the first 10 minutes of the half.

SJSU showed some more life in the second 10 minutes of the half. Seneca Knight made a layup and Steadman made a jumper in the paint.

However, ISU refused to back down. Allante Holston made a jumper of his own, which also happened to be in the paint. Tyreke Key then made two layups before Christian Anigwe responded with a layup in the paint to re-excite Spartan nation. 

The Spartans’ lack of scoring certainly didn’t look any better late in the half. At the final media timeout, SJSU was on a 4-plus minute scoring drought and trailed ISU 28-14 with 4:29 left in the half. 

SJSU was happy to see Barry’s layup and Brae Ivey’s jumper, but ISU continued to pour in the points from all directions on the court. Ivey made a pair of free throws, but his efforts weren’t enough to help the Spartans, who trailed the Sycamores 44-20 at halftime. Baumann led the Spartans with 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 block. Ivey had 4 points and 1 steal. Barry and Steadman scored 3 points apiece, while Anigwe and Isaiah Nichols scored 2 points apiece. These stats were far from impressive, but Baumann was a bright spot for the Spartans.

The Sycamores remained hot in the second half. Devin Thomas made a pair of free throws and Key scored on two consecutive possessions to record 16 points by the 16-minute mark of the half. After a Devin Thomas score and a foul, ISU went on a 6-0 run to make it a 56-27 game at the 15:47 mark of the half.

Ivey ended the Sycamores’ run with a 3-pointer. Ivey’s 3 also signaled the start of the reduction of the Spartans’ deficit. Then, Zach Chappell happened. Chappell made two pairs of free throws–the first on the fastbreak and the other on the regular. But it was too little, too late, as the Spartans’ deficit increased to 30 at the 10:08 mark of the half.

Anigwe’s free throw and Barry’s pair of free throws brought the Spartans within 29 with 8:46 left in the half. Yep, Barry heated up, but this was still a tall order for the Spartans to complete against a Sycamores team.

SJSU lost to ISU 86-57. Steadman led the Spartans with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. Ivey had 12 points and 1 rebound. Barry had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Knight added 7 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound and 1 block. 

Notes 
Spartans’ starting lineup: Michael Steadman, Brae Ivey, Oumar Barry, Noah Baumann and Craig LeCesne. 

Up Next 
The Spartans continue their four-game homestand with game No. 3 next Thursday, Dec. 6 versus the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at 7:00 pm PT.