Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball had hoped to wrap up its Bay Area road trip with a win over Saint Mary’s at McKeon Pavilion Saturday evening. A win would mean the Spartans’ two-game losing skid would come to an end. While there was a sign of hope for the Spartans in the early minutes of the game, their wish wasn’t granted Saturday.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with this starting lineup: Brae Ivey, Noah Baumann, Craig LeCesne, Michael Steadman and Oumar Barry.

After the tip, the game went underway at McKeon Pavilion. The early score wasn’t in favor of the Spartans, but they battled back from a 9-0 deficit, thanks to Ivey’s corner trey. Then, they tied the game 14-14 at the 14:51 mark of the first period.

San Jose State, however, fell behind from there. The Spartans trailed 22-17 at the second media timeout. Baumann led the Spartans with 5 points at the time. Fast forward to the final media timeout, where the Spartans trailed 38-17 with 3:25 left on the clock. SJSU didn’t score in the last 10 minutes and 46 seconds, which was sad like the sadness LeCesne had cope with this past week. LeCesne recently lost a close friend, Emil Isovic. Isovic collapsed during a game and died at a hospital Wednesday.

SJSU had no choice but to shrug off the horrific ending as Saint Mary went on a whopping 26-0 run to end the first. The Spartans trailed the Gaels 44-14 at halftime.

Saint Mary’s continued to stay hot at home. Tanner Krebs’ shooting remained on fire as he was 5-7 in 3-point field goals with 15 points. SJSU trailed 50-23 at the 15:29 mark of the second period.

The Gaels outshot the Spartans 47 percent to 37 percent with 7:47 left in the second. Krebs’ fiery shooting remained in tact as he was well on his way to a season-high 20 points. The Gaels’ defensive effort versus the Spartans was strong to say the least.

The Spartans lost to the Gaels 75-45. SJSU fell to 3-9, while Saint Mary’s improved to 9-6.

SJSU will return to the Event Center to host rival Fresno State on Wednesday, January 2 at 7 pm PST.