Junior guard Joey Chammaa commands the Spartans offense against UTSA on Nov. 2. (Photo courtesy of SJSU athletics)
By Lucas Quick
SAN JOSE – A new season is underway for the San Jose State men’s basketball team, which opened with a 95-74 win over UTSA.
Late in the first half, with SJSU leading by three, they went on a 17-2 run in the final five minutes to close out the half with an 18-point advantage.
Senior guard Mekhi Mason and junior guard Joey Chammaa made an immediate impact in their debuts as Spartans. Chammaa led SJSU in scoring with 27 points on 6-of-9 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free-throw line, with Mason right behind him at 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
Four guys with at least 5 rebounds, as SJSU dominated the glass, holding a 43-22 advantage. The Spartans struggled to grab rebounds last season, ranking second-to-last in the conference, so having that significant of an advantage is a positive outlook moving forward.
“Rebounding really is a telltale time of defense and if your defense is pretty good, I would expect your rebounding to be pretty good,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said. “And today, I thought our defense was pretty good.”
After a slow start to the second half, allowing an 11-3 run by the Roadrunners, the Spartans found their rhythm again. With the help of returning senior center Robert Vaihola, who had a pair of rebounds and second-chance points, and a steal and fast-break dunk by junior guard Mookie Cook, the Spartans grew their lead to 20.
Vaihola’s return to SJSU featured a strong defensive showing and a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds on 6-for-6 shooting.
The red-hot run continued, with a pair of 3-pointers by freshman guard Oliver Kullamäe and Chammaa giving the Spartans their biggest lead of 27 points.
Following the run, SJSU got sloppy with the ball, and its lead slipped to 14. The 18 Spartan turnovers were the biggest eyesore of the game, helping the Roadrunners stay in the game longer than they liked.
It was back and forth for the rest of the game, but 3-pointers by Mason and senior guard JaVaughn Hannah sealed the first win of the season for SJSU.
The backcourt duo of Mason and Chammaa were the biggest standouts of the day. They had 53 of the Spartans’ 95 points. Struggling to find a second scorer for most of last season, the Spartans have two elite scorers for the 2026-27 season.
“I just got downhill more, but the more we got into the game, I started attacking them,” Mason said. “We started playing off each other and then overall as a team, we sped off each other and kept scoring.”
A new chapter opens on a high note following the historic $4 million donation to the program this offseason, with expectations and excitement surrounding the team higher than ever.
“This is a team worth making the time to watch,” Miles said. “And the way they share it and the way they want to play, I think it will be a lot of fun.”
They now head down south to face UC Irvine at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif.
