Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball had yet to win a conference game and the fiery San Diego State Aztecs proved to be another tough opponent for the sluggish home team Saturday night at the Event Center.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup of Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Craig LeCesne, Ashtin Chastain and Michael Steadman.

SJSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as LeCesne hit a 3-pointer just 36 seconds into the first half. But SDSU took over for quite a while as four of their players (Matt Mitchell, Jalen McDaniels, Jeremy Hemsley and Devin Watson) hit back-to-back 3s in a span of two minutes and 44 seconds. The Aztecs continued pouring in the points as McDaniels knocked down two  jumpers, but the Spartans put an end to the Aztecs’ 13-0 run as Chastain made a layup at the 14:18 mark.

Not only that, SJSU inched their way back into the game. Steadman made a layup, Brae Ivey hit a 3, Knight added a layup, and then Chappell hit a 3 to make it a 1-point game with 7:38 left. The Spartans temporarily took a 17-16 lead on Chastain’s layup, but Hemsley hastily responded with a 3 for a 19-17 Aztecs lead with 5:46 left. Watson knocked down a jumper to extend the Aztecs’ lead to 21-17 with 4:58 left.

The game remained in a back-and-forth affair to close out the first. Ivey knocked down a jumper, Aguek Arop knocked down a paint jumper and Steadman made a layup. However, SJSU was unable to carry a lead to the locker room at halftime as they trailed 25-21. SDSU definitely benefited from Watson’s layup, which extended the lead to 25-21 with 1:13 left.

It was all SDSU to start the second half. McDaniels knocked down a jumper and a paint jumper in a span of 36 seconds. It was SJSU’s turn when Ivey knocked down a jumper at the 18:19 mark. The Spartans went on miniature runs that helped them inch their way back into the game in subtle ways. But the Spartans turned the ball over three times in two minutes with 7:21 left.

Fast forward to the final media timeout of the evening. SJSU trailed 57-44 with four minutes left. The Spartans were still in it, but they had their work cut out for them. The Spartans went on a 6-0 run, thanks to Knight’s 3 and LeCesne’s pair of fastbreak free throws and then a free throw.

The game didn’t really end as a back-and-forth affair. If there was a silver lining for SJSU, it’d be Baumann’s 3 with 10 seconds left. But Baumann wasn’t enough to save the day for the Spartans, who lost 67-56 and dropped to 3-18, 0-9 MW. The Aztecs rose to 13-8, 5-3 MW.

SJSU kicks off a two-game road trip next Saturday against the Boise State Broncos at 11:00 am PT.