The San Jose Barracuda were frequent visitors to the sin-bin and the Bakersfield Condors took full advantage, scoring three power play goals in route to a 6-3 victory on Saturday evening at Mechanics Bank Arena.
San Jose have now lost three games in a row after back-to-back to shutouts to close out the month of October. The win snapped a five game losing streak at home for Bakersfield.
San Jose (4-5-0-1) drew first blood on the power play early in the first period. Jayden Halbgewachs tried to center a pass from behind the net that Thomas Gregoire picked up and he sent a pass over Trevor Carrick. The defenseman, playing in his 350th AHL game, fired a shot past Condors goalie Stuart Skinner for his first career goal at the 2:50 mark.
Bakersfield (6-6-1-0) scored the equalizer with a power play goal of their own. A shot from ‘Cuda killer Josh Currie was initially saved by San Jose goaltender Josef Korenar but Tyler Benson cleaned up the rebound for his third goal of the season at the 9:24 mark. Brad Malone was credited with the secondary assist.
John McCarthy received an early Christmas present from Skinner to pick up his first goal of the season. Skinner tried clearing the puck in front of a crashing McCarthy. However he turned it over right on to McCarthy’s stick, where it ricochet off the post and into the back of the net at the 14:49 mark. The unassisted goal was the 300th point of the ‘Cuda captain’s career.
Despite outshooting San Jose 9-5 in the period, Bakersfield found themselves down 2-1 at the first intermission.
The Condors evened the scored when Currie scored his sixth goal of the season at the 7:04 mark of the second period. On the play ‘Cuda defenseman Nick DeSimone was injured when he fell awkwardly into the boards in a battle with Malone. DeSimone was able to stay in the game. Benson received the primary assist on the goal.
Bakersfield gained their first lead of the game on a four-on-three power play. Tomas Jurco found Malone on a back door pass all alone and he tapped the puck into an empty net for his fourth goal of the season at the 11:40 mark. Malone ended the evening with a four-point game.
Benson scored his second of the night on another power play goal for Bakersfield. Caleb Jones sent a pass over to Benson and his shot rang off the post and into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season at the 15:06 mark.
The Condors out shot the ‘Cuda 10-7 in the middle frame as they scored three unanswered goals.
Bakersfield iced the game early in the period when a ‘Cuda turnover led to Kailer Yamamoto feeding Colby Cave, who wristed a shot past Korenar for his second goal of the season at the 3:18 mark.
Maxim Letunov stuffed home a rebound from a shot by Antti Suomela shot between the five-hole of Skinner for his team-leading fourth goal of the season at the 9:37 mark.
Benson completed the hat trick with an empty net goal with 37 seconds left in the game.
Skinner finished the game with 18 saves on 21 shots to earn his fifth victory of the season. Korenar made 20 saves on 26 shots in the losing effort.
GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/6 on the power play. Bakersfield was 3/7. It was the second straight game San Jose has given up three power play goals.
Artem Ivanyuzhenkov made his debut for San Jose.
Johnny Brodzinki suffered an upper body injury early mid-way through the second period and did not return to the game.
Fisticuffs! Keaton Middleton and Anthony Peluso had a extended spirited fight late in the first period. DeSimone and Miles Koules also dropped the gloves in the third period.
The San Jose Sharks reassigned forward Lean Bergmann back to the Barracuda. He is expected to play tomorrow against San Diego.
UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the San Diego Gulls on Sunday, November 10 at 5:00 pm in SAP Center.
By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Stanford’s slim chances of playing in a bowl game decreased Saturday, when Colorado kicker Even Price make a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter, giving the Buffaloes a 16-13 victory in Boulder.
Colorado need to win its final two games to become bowl eligible. The Cardinal (4-5 overall, 3-4 Pac-12) must win two of its final three games to extend its consecutive bowl streak to 11 seasons.
Both teams are already eliminated from Pac-12 championship possibilities.
Price, a freshman, was promoted this week with regular kicker James Stefanou out with an injury. His game-winner was the Buffs’ first as time expired since Sept. 29, 2007, against Oklahoma.
Colorado (4-6 overall, 2-5 conference) opened the scoring at 11:14 of the first quarter on a 13-yard touchdown run by Steven Montez. The Cardinal answered with a Ryan Sanborn 40-yard field goal at 5:58, as the Buffaloes held a 7-3 lead after one quarter.
The teams swapped field goals in the second quarter. Sanborn kicked a 36-yarder and Price hit from 34, giving the Buffs a 10-6 halftime lead.
Stanford surged ahead one minute into the second half when quarterback K.J. Costello connected with Simi Fehoko for a 79-yard scoring pass, putting the Cardinal up 13-10.
Price booted a 23-yard field goal with 7:34 remaining in the third quarter. That completed the scoring until Price’s game-winning field goal.
Costello completed 18 of 29 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown with one interception and two sacks. Cameron Scarlett led the Cardinal rushers with 63 yards on 13 carries.
Fehoko caught two passes for 95 yards, and Colby Parkinson had five receptions for 54 yards. Michael Wilson and Conor Wedington each caught three passes.
The Buffaloes leaders included Laviska Shenault Jr., who caught eight passes for 91 yards, and Alex Fontenot rushed for 95 yards on 18 attempts.
The Cardinal travel to Washington State next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Photo credit sfgate.com: A fight breaks out between the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, in San Jose, Calif.
On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:
#1 The Sharks just hung on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild to get their second straight win in a row, their first multi win this season.
#2 After two periods of play, the Sharks had a 6-2 lead, but almost let it slip away with three goals in the third period. While they won the game, did they lose focus in the third period to have the Wild cut the lead to one goal?
#3 Talk about the toe save by Sharks goalie Marty Jones on the Wild’s Zach Parise that would have put the game into overtime.
#4 Jones threw a shutout in the first two periods until that third and ended up saving 21 out 26.
#5 The Sharks host the Nashville Predators this Saturday. With the Sharks winning their last two games at home, how much of a difference has it been for San Jose since returning home from that long road trip?
illustration from nhl.com: 2020 NHL Global Series in Finland
Matt joins Sports Talk for the NHL podcasts each Saturday.
#1 The San Jose Sharks, who have many European star players, will not be part of the 2020 NHL Global Series held in Prague next season. The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning will meet in Stockholm tonight for the first of two games. In the early part of October at the start of the NHL season in 2020, it’ll be the Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators playing twice in Prague, while Colorado and Columbus face off later in the season at Hartwell Arena in Helinski.
#2 The Lighting and Sabres battled in Stockholm Friday to a Lightning 3-2 win. The Bolts’ Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy both scored. Both games in Stockholm between the two teams are sold out in Sweden as part of the NHL Global Series.
#3 The Edmonton Oilers came away with a 4-0 shutout at the Rogers Centre. The Oilers’ Mikko Koskinin stopped 26 shots in goal and Ale Chiasson scored and had an assist in a win that snapped their two-game losing streak against New Jersey on Friday night.
#4 The Detroit Red Wings, who had been struggling, shocked the Original Six Hockey World Friday night with a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins. The Wings’ Robby Fabbri scored twice in his first game with the Red Wings. it was a win that snapped the Red Wings’ four-game losing streak. Most shockingly, they beat a very tough and challenging Bruins team.
#5 The Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor found the back of the net and got an assist in the Jets win over visiting Vancouver 4-1. The Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 31 Canucks shots.
#1 What is it with the Raiders and winning their games late? Is it like some kind of torture?
#2 Head coach Jon Gruden certainly knows how to pull out all the stops, and even late in the game, he runs a play with running back Josh Jacobs carrying for 18 yards with 1:08 left in the game.
#3 Thursday Night Football Raiders looked like they really stepped up their game. This was a nail biter throughout the whole contest.
#4 Josh Jacobs is having himself a season. How much has his rushing and scoring made a difference for the Raiders in winning games?
#5 Next Sunday, the Raiders will play their third consecutive home game after winning the first two against Detroit and now Los Angeles. The Raiders hope to take out Cincinnati on Sunday. Joe sets this game up.
#1 49ers tackle Mike McGlinchey, who had arthroscopic knee surgery, should be returning soon. Talk about his return and how much he means to San Francisco.
#2 Left tackle Joe Staley (fibula) and Kyle Juszczyk (knee) have been working out and in practice on Tuesday. How close are they to returning?
#3 How much better would the 49ers be with three more offensive starters who missed 14 games?
#4 How fortunate are the 49ers, who lost two starting tackles and still are able to produce the way they have?
#5 Edge rusher Nick Bosa had one tackle and no quarterback pressures in Arizona last game, and against the Panthers, he had three sacks, one interception in a game that earned him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
OAKLAND — Unless there is a chance that the Las Vegas Stadium is not done, this will be the last Oakland Raiders game versus a team from the AFC West.
Josh Jacobs scored on an 18-yard run with 1:02 remaining in the game, helping the Raiders to a 26-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers before a Thursday Night crowd of 51,954 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
The Raiders got off to a fast start, as Eric Harris intercepted a Philip Rivers pass on the Chargers initial series of the game and Derek Carr led the Raiders down the field and Daniel Carlson got the Raiders on the board with a 40-yard field goal.
Not even two minutes after the Carlson field goal, Harris picked off a Rivers pass for the second time in as many possessions and returned this one 56 yards to the end zone to give the Raiders a quick 10-0 lead.
Rivers regrouped to take the Chargers on a 16 play 77 drive to get within three, as he found Hunter Henry for a two-yard touchdown pass. That drive took eight minutes and 14 seconds to cut the Raiders lead down to 10-7.
Melvin Gordon III gave the Chargers the lead, as scored on a three-yard run; however, the Raiders were not behind for long.
Undrafted rookie Alex Ingold scored his first NFL touchdown, a nine-yard pass from Carr to give the Raiders 17-14 lead at the half.
Carlson extended the Raiders lead up to six on their first series of the third quarter, as he kicked a 22-yard field goal.
Michael Badgley kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut the Raiders lead in half at 20-17 late in the third quarter.
Rivers put the Chargers in front with 4:02 remaining in the game, as he found Austin Ekeler for a six-yard touchdown pass. This was the second drive for the Chargers that took over eight minutes off the clock, as the Chargers traveled 12 plays in 80 yards that took a whopping eight minutes and five seconds off the clock.
Unfortunately for the Chargers, that left too much on the clock for Carr and the Raiders, who drove right down the field and ended when Jacobs scampered thru the Chargers defense to give the Raiders the eventual game-winning touchdown.
Rivers and the Chargers got the ball back with just over a minute remaining in the game, and on eight plays including a penalty on fourth down, the Chargers traveled just five yards. Rivers went 0-for-7 on that final drive that ended when Karl Joseph intercepted a Rivers pass at their own 35-yard line that clinched the game.
Carr went 21-for-31 for 218 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders, who are now 5-4 on the season and one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.
Jalen Richard and Hunter Renfrowe each caught four passes for the Raiders, and Richard led the team in receiving yards with 43.
Jacobs continues to impress everyone, as he carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards and that game-winning touchdown.
NOTES: Carlson missed a 53-yard field goal and also missed an extra point after the Jacobs touchdown.
UP NEXT: After being on the road for 49 days, the Raiders will host their third straight home game, when the Cincinnati Bengals travel to the Coliseum on November 17.
OAKLAND–A’s fans have been on this rollercoaster ride of the new ballpark for long enough that it is now almost running as long as one of Telemundo novelas. This last episode was a good one. This week, over 80 Oakland and surrounding area business leaders announced the formation of “Town Business” — an initiative by company executives in support of keeping the A’s in Oakland for the long-term. They hand-delivered copies of the letter addressed to the Mayor of Oakland, Libby Schaaf, urging the City to drop its lawsuit against Alameda County.
There should be no doubt that the Schaaf should be happy with this support. Schaaf’s legacy could the first mayor of a big city in the country to lose three professional sports franchises. The NBA’s Warriors are already gone and playing in San Francisco and the NFL’s Raiders have one leg already in Las Vegas and are currently playing in their last season at the Oakland Coliseum. There are millions and millions of dollars behind these executives running companies here in the East Bay — large, small and new businesses. The famous author, Stephen King, known as “the master of horror stories” once said: “Money talks and bullshit walks”. By the way, King is a huge Boston Red Sox fan.
A new ballpark would usher a new era of prosperity for the franchise. Since the A’s been playing in Oakland in 1968, other major league teams have built multiple stadiums (i.e. the Texas Rangers and the Atlanta Braves) and many others who have at least one. Only a handful of teams remain that have played at the same place such as the Red Sox (Fenway Park), Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field), Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodger Stadium). For some of us who have made the Bay Area our long-term home, we witnessed what happened with the San Francisco Giants, who lost election after election in order to build a new park until they finally found private investors to build what is today Oracle Park, which debuted in 2000.
The A’s plan is to begin construction of this privately financed new facility at Howard Terminal, just north of Jack London Square by 2021 and hope for a first pitch in 2023. It would be a beautiful 35,000 seat park. It would be a fan and environmentally friendly park that addresses the rising sea level. Today, the sea levels is not a main concern. But, up north in Portland, they are talking about building a new major league park for what they hope will be their first MLB franchise…and I think Las Vegas is taking odds in all of this.
During the Stanford Cardinal bye week, Casey Toohill received a book from his girlfriend called “Trillion Dollar Coach” by Eric Schmidt. The fifth-year senior outside linebacker dug in immediately.
A New York Times and Wall Street Journal #1 bestseller, the book chronicles the life of late Bay Area businessman Bill Campbell, who played football at Columbia and came west to become VP of Marketing and board director for Apple Inc. and CEO of Claris, Intuit and GO Corporation.
A mentor to many CEO’s in Silicon Valley, Campbell also became chairman of the board at Columbia and cherished character, leadership and academics. In 1990, the NFF recognized the first William V. Campbell Trophy recipient, awarded to the top student-athlete in college football. Nominees must be seniors in their final year of eligibility and maintain at least a 3.20 GPA.
Last week, Toohill was selected one of 12 NFF National Scholar-Athlete finalists from an initial list of 185 semifinalists. The San Diego native carries a 3.71 GPA in political science and will earn his degree in December. He’s a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and was selected CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2017.
As a finalist, Toohill will earn an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and travel to New York on December 10 for the NFF Awards Dinner, when the overall winner will be announced and receive a $25,000 scholarship.
“Obviously, Mr. Campbell was a legend,” said Toohill. “Hearing people’s stories about their interaction with him and what he meant to them makes me honored to even be considered for the award. He made such an impact on so many lives, and it’s something I strive to do.”
In August, the annual Campbell Summit was held at Stanford, bringing together finalists from previous years for lectures, group discussions and visits to Bay Area companies. Toohill attended several functions after practice.
“The number of thoughtful and successful individuals there really stood out to me,” Toohill said. “I sat in on a few of the lectures and it was all these impressive people from the business world. I was just blown away.”
Toohill quickly realized the significance of the award.
“The amount of respect and admiration people had for Mr. Campbell struck me from the start,” he said.
Toohill leads the Cardinal in tackles (45), sacks (5.0), tackles for loss (7.5), quarterback hurries (9) and has forced one fumble. His sack total ranks third in the Pac-12 and he’s tied for fifth in tackles for loss.
Voted a team captain, Toohill hopes to play pro football and attend business school, with an eye on nonprofit work.
“From the moment he got here, he’s been a high-effort, try-to-do-everything-right, pour-himself-into-everything-he-does guy,” said David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. “That’s how he was raised and who he is. So, it’s not a surprise he’s on that list.”
Shaw believes strongly that every student-athlete in the country should strive for excellence in sports and academics. Toohill has done that and developed into a respected team leader.
“This recognition is very significant and very well deserved,” Shaw said. “Casey is energetic, positive and focused. Nothing would make us happier than for him to win that award.”
INJURY UPDATE
Senior quarterback K.J. Costello has looked good in practice this week and will start for the second consecutive game on Saturday, when Stanford (4-4, 3-3 Pac-12) travels to Colorado (3-6, 1-5 Pac-12) for a 12 pm PT kickoff. Junior backup Davis Mills practiced Tuesday and Wednesday and will make the trip, but his availability has yet to be determined. Senior inside linebacker Curtis Robinson is doubtful, but could return next week against Washington State.
WELCOME WEEK
Stanford coaches and players said the bye week came at a good time.
“It was more a shutoff and recovery time,” said senior defensive tackle Michael Williams. “At the end of the week, we started watching Colorado film and a little bit of us. It was more relax, recover and get ready for this last four-game stretch.”
The coaching staff also got a break, but most, including Shaw, hit the recruiting trail.
RESILIENCE
Shaw’s biggest takeaways on the season so far are the number of injuries his team has sustained, but also the justification of the program’s recruiting.
“I say that because a lot of teams would not be able to handle what we’ve had to handle this year,” Shaw said. “Whether it’s a depth standpoint and to be able to put three freshmen on the offensive line and start a freshman at nickel and corner and be able to perform. To be able to have 105 players pulling in the same direction when you lose three games in a row and still come together.”
Shaw praised his players for hanging tough through tough times.
“There’s going to be times when things are difficult,” Shaw said. “I can’t say enough about the people we have in our locker room that are fiery, energetic, passionate and want to go out and play together and win. They have each other’s backs.”
SCOUTING COLORADO
Colorado enters with a five-game losing streak but is talented on both sides of the ball and tough at home.
Offensively, the Buffaloes mix pass and run and have a heady and mobile quarterback in senior Steven Montez.
“He doesn’t panic,” said Shaw.
Montez has explosive wide receivers in junior Laviska Shenault and senior Tony Brown, who have combined for 85 catches for 1,154 yards and eight touchdowns.
Shaw called Shenault one of the top receivers in the country.
“Everybody in the secondary has to know where that guy is on every play,” said Shaw. “He’s one of the best in America at what he does. We have to recognize that and make sure we keep him in front of us and bring as many guys to the party as possible and try to get him on the ground.”
IMPROVEMENT
Williams credits more depth up front for the line’s continued improvement.
“The past couple years, we only had three or four guys to put on the field,” he said. “This year, we throw everybody out there. It’s more being able to throw waves at people and we have more interchangeable parts.”
Williams said a player to watch is senior defensive end Thomas Schaffer, who was born in Vienna, Austria. He is one of six Stanford players who stands 6-foot-7.
“Thomas has gotten very big and very fast,” said Williams. “That’s a grown man out there. His strength and his length … Nobody can deal with that. When he puts his mind to it, he can do anything he wants.”
ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
Boulder is 5,328 feet above sea level and the higher elevation is an adjustment for most visiting teams.
“There’s really not much you can do,” said Shaw. “Usually, it takes about a quarter-and-a-half.”
Shaw said the most important factor is being mentally prepared. He will substitute as needed to keep players fresh.
“I played at Utah two years ago,” said Williams said. “You get used to it. It’s just football at the end of the day.”
Saturday’s forecast called for sunny skies with a high of 67 degrees and zero chance of rain.
Photo credit: gostanford.com
FAMILIAR FACE
Blake Stenstrom, a redshirt freshman and the backup quarterback for the Buffaloes, has close ties to Stanford. His father, Steve, was a standout quarterback for the Cardinal (1991-94) and still holds many records, including career passing yards (10,911), passing attempts (1,380) and completions (866). He also maintains single-season standards for pass attempts (455) and passing yards (3,627). Stenstrom was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
Stenstrom’s wife, Lori, was an accomplished swimmer at Stanford. She was a multiple NCAA champion, an American record holder and swam for the U.S. National Team. Their daughter Brooke is currently a senior at Stanford and competes for the women’s swim team. A four-time team captain in high school and at Stanford, she was a member of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 NCAA title squads.
“Steve and I were here at the same time and became really good friends,” said Shaw, who played wide receiver for the Cardinal. “Actually, we met at Stanford Football Camp and came in as freshmen together and became friends. We lived together in suites on the back side of campus our sophomore year and we just had our 25th reunion.
“I remember the pictures when Blake was born. It’s still so weird. We’re at that age where we do doubletakes. When I printed out pictures of guys on the other team (Colorado), I thought, oh my gosh, I still can’t believe he’s in college.”
“Blake is an outstanding human being. He’s very, very smart, and a good football player. I look forward to giving him a hug before and after the game.”
NOTES
Stanford needs two wins to make it to the postseason. “I’m not even thinking about bowl games,” said Shaw. “Our charge is to play our best football.” … Through eight games, 35 Stanford players have started at least one contest … 15 true freshmen have played and seven have started. The latter is the second-most nationally behind Alabama (9) … The Cardinal has utilized five different starting offensive line combinations. Only twice — Oregon State and Washington — has Stanford used the same starting five in consecutive games … Junior cornerback Paulson Adebo is tied for fifth in the FBS with 14 total passes defended. In three October games, he intercepted three passes, had five pass breakups and collected nine tackles … Costello now has 5,906 career passing yards, the ninth-most in school history, and 5,997 yards of total offense, the ninth-most in Stanford history. His 48 career touchdown passes are tied for sixth, and his 477 career completions and 762 attempts are tied for 10th.
QUOTE
“Be calm in the midst of chaos.” — K.J. Costello on playing quarterback.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State men’s basketball team stunned Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y. That, my friends, was an astonishing win to say the least. The Spartans beat a Pride team that finished 93rd in KenPom and won 27 games last season.
Now, SJSU looks to make it two in a row as they head home to the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Sunday afternoon. Here are the facts that you should know before the Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.
BROADCASTS
TV: None
Stream: Stream all non-televised SJSU home games via the Mountain West Digital Network at sjsuspartans.com/watch.
Radio: Justin Allegri on the call through TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app. Search for “San Jose St. Basketball”.
PORTLAND SERIES HISTORY
All-time series is tied, 11-11 … The Spartans hold a 6-4 edge at home … The last meeting was a 64-55 loss at the Chiles Center on Dec. 9, 2017. Ryan Welage had a team-high 21 points in the loss. Isaiah Nichols started in that game, scoring nine points and grabbing six boards in 32 minutes. Caleb Simmons also started against the Pilots. He played just 10 minutes … In a Spartan loss to the Pilots in 2016 in the Event Center, Brandon Clarke had 28 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks … SJSU won the first six meetings in the series … Portland has won the last four meetings … The teams have gone to overtime five times, including a triple-overtime thriller in 1984. SJSU lost, 82-81.
HOME OPENER HISTORY
The Spartans have won three straight home openers … SJSU averaged 98.3 points per game in those wins.
SPARTANS STUN HOFSTRA IN SEASON OPENER
SJSU opened the 2019-20 season with a bang, defeating Hofstra on the road, 79-71 … Hofstra won 27 games last year, while SJSU lost 27 games … In his Spartan debut, JC transfer and former Wake Forest guard, Richard Washington, posted a team-high 23 points off the bench on 8-of-13 shooting. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the final four minutes, including a stretch of three straight three-pointers to put the game away … Senior forward Craig LeCesne had his first career double-double with a career-high 19 points plus 11 rebounds … It was SJSU’s first win in a road opener since 2010-11 when the Spartans topped Eastern Washington, 67-60 … The Spartans snapped a 21-game road losing streak dating back to the 2017-18 campaign … SJSU won on the East Coast for the first time since 2001-02, when the Spartans defeated Fairleigh Dickinson at the BCA Tournament hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
POSSIBLE THROWBACK
The Spartans are hoping to duplicate the success of the 1995-96 squad. SJSU won the Big West Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year after going 4-23 during the 1994-95 season … The Spartans went 4-27 last season.
LOTS OF STARTERS BACK
The Spartans return seven players who started at least one game a season ago … Guard Seneca Knight is the most experienced, as the sophomore started 17 games, including the final 12, of his rookie season … Point guard Brea Ivey was just behind Knight, as the former junior college transfer started 16 games last season … Forward Craig LeCesne and guard Zach Chappell both started 15 games last year … Forward Christian Anigwe, guard Isaiah Nichols and walk-on guard Trey Smith each started one game.
SIX NEW FACES
Spartan head coach Jean Prioleau will have the help of six newcomers on the roster in 2019-20 … The Spartans have three new junior college transfers in Richard Washington (Tallahassee CC), Eduardo Lane (Marshalltown CC) and Ralph Agee (East LA College). Washington started his collegiate career at Wake Forest, where he played eight games as a freshman before an injury caused him to miss the entire 2017-18 season … Another Wake Forest transfer will join the Spartans on the floor this season, as center Samuel Japhet-Mathias will be eligible after a redshirt season last year. The former four-star recruit appeared in 17 games off the bench at Wake Forest as a freshman in 2016-17. He posted six points and four rebounds at No. 17 Xavier … Prioleau added two freshmen this season in guard Omari Moore and walk-on center Harminder Dhaliwal.
SJSU TV SCHEDULE
The Spartans will play 10 games on TV this season, including three at home … SJSU hosts an ESPN networks game this year for the first time since 2010-11, when either ESPN2 or ESPNU will carry the SJSU tip against Utah State on Dec. 4. SJSU will also be on ESPN2 or ESPNU when visiting Utah State on Feb. 26 … SJSU will have four non-conference games on TV, all against Pac-12 competition. The Spartans will be on CBS Sports Network when hosting Stanford at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Dec. 14. SJSU will battle both UCLA and Arizona on Pac-12 Networks and meet Oregon State on FS1 for a neutral site matchup in Las Vegas … The Spartans will also have four Mountain West contests on AT&T SportsNet this season – Jan. 15 at UNLV, Jan. 21 at New Mexico, Feb. 8 at Nevada and Feb. 29 vs. UNLV.
NCAA RULES CHANGES
The most notable rule change for the 2019-20 season is the extension of the three-point line. The new distance will match the three-point line used in FIBA games. The new line is 22 feet and 1.75 inches from the center of the basket, just over 16 inches further back from the previous three-point line … The other major change is the shot clock will now reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound, rather than the full 30 … Another smaller change is head coaches will be able to call live-ball timeouts in the final two minutes of both the first and second halves, plus the final two minutes of overtime periods.
NEW NAME FOR EVENT CENTER
SJSU’s on-campus arena has a new name starting with the 2019-20 season. Provident Credit Union has signed on as the naming rights partner, making it the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The deal is for $8.1 million over 20 years, with the majority of the annual payments scheduled for maintenance and renovation of the 30-year old facility. The president and CEO of Provident Credit Union is Jim Ernest, a Spartan alum.
DIRECTIONS TO EVENT CENTER
Walt McPherson Court in the Provident Credit Union Event Center is located near the corner of Seventh and San Carlos Streets. The easiest freeway access is just a few blocks away off interstate 280. Take the Seventh Street exit and follow signs to San Joe State University. Parking is available for a fee at the South Parking Garage on San Salvador and Seventh Streets and the West Parking Garage on San Salvador and Fourth Streets.
