Author: Sports Radio Service

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Can Kings get the taste of Minnesota out and put a stop to OKC Wednesday night?

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sactownroyalty.com photo: The Sacramento Kings Skal Labissiere (7) asks “what gives” as teammate Harry Giles III (20) looks on in the Kings’ 30-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at the Target Center.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Minnesota Timberwolves had just too much fire power on Monday night for the Sacramento Kings. The Wolves’ Andrew Wiggins led all scorers with 17 and the Kings’ Bobby Hield topped scorers with 21 points.

#2 Kings head coach Dave Joerger had 13 players even players who have not played in a long while come off the bench and get minutes. Was this because the Wolves were piling on or because he thought he could right the ship with a rotating lineup?

#3 Skal Labissiere–it was his ninth time playing and he got some minutes. While Labissiere was happy to get in the game. he hasn’t seen much action at this season.

#4 The Kings were in over their heads at the Target Center against the Wolves in the 30-point loss. With Wiggins, the top scorer with 17, is it an indicator that all the players in this one were all shooting the lights out no matter who they were? Did they find a weakness in the Kings’ game plan?

#5 The Kings host the OKC Thunder on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. Will the Kings need to put their shoulder into this one much like the game in Minnesota? How does Charlie see this one?

Charlie O does the Sacramento Kings podcast each Tuesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Despite a slow start, Stanford takes care of business vs. San Jose State 78-73

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By Eric Epstein

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Coming off of Saturday’s 78-62 win over Eastern Washington University, the Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball faced off against the San Jose State Spartans in a Bay Area matchup at Maples Pavilion on Tuesday night. The Cardinal ended up besting the Spartans with a score of 78-73.

The Cardinal came out of the gates slow and the Spartans jumped out to a nine-point lead halfway through the first period. However, sophomores Daejon Davis and KZ Okpala helped the Cardinal make up the deficit by halftime. KZ Okpala’s buzzer-beating three point basket sent the Cardinal to the locker room with a one-point lead for their first lead of the game.

Although it was relatively back-and-forth for much of the start of the second half, the Cardinal eventually pulled ahead thanks to their superior three-point shooting and playmaking. Stanford finished the game with 18 team assists and went 13-34 from three, compared to the Spartans’ 10 assists and 4-13 clip from three.

Sophomore Oscar da Silva exploded to hit four straight three-pointers in the second half, adding to his two first-half treys. Although he came into the game shooting on 17% from deep on the year, he set a Stanford freshman record by shooting 55.8% on threes last year. On Tuesday night, he flashed the efficiency that made him so effective during his freshman year. Da Silva finished the night with 23 points on 8-13 shooting (6-11 on threes) as well as 10 rebounds.

KZ Okpala led both teams in scoring with 25 points on 8-15 shooting. Okpala had a lackluster game against Eastern Washington, where he scored only 7 points, but he bounced back by scoring from all over the court, including shooting 3-6 on threes.

In Daejon Davis’ first time coming off the bench in his collegiate career, he proved to be a spark plug for the Cardinal offense with 14 points and 8 assists. He also did not commit a turnover, which he has been prone to over the course of his relatively short Stanford career.

Stanford’s starting backcourt of freshman Bryce Wills and sophomore Isaac White had an extremely disappointing offensive night, as they scored a combined 1 point.

San Jose State’s five starters all scored in the double-digits, but they only got a combined three points from their bench. Spartan Coach Jean Prioleau played shooting guard Noah Baumann the entire game and only rested forward Michael Steadman and point guard Brae Ivey 1 and 4 minutes, respectively.

The Cardinal will travel across the Bay Area to take on the University of San Francisco Dons on Saturday, December 22 at 2:00 pm PST.

Effort isn’t enough as San Jose State falls to Stanford 78-73 at Maples Pavilion

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Most recently, San Jose State wrapped up its homestand on a high note with two wins in a row. Fast forward to Tuesday evening when SJSU searched for its third straight win against Stanford at Maples Pavilion.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau announced a starting lineup consisting of Brae Ivey, Noah Baumann, Craig LeCesne, Michael Steadman and Oumar Barry. SJSU won the tip and the MWC vs. Pac-12 game went underway at Maples.

At the first media timeout of the game, SJSU held a 13-12 advantage over Stanford. At the second media timeout, SJSU upped its lead to 18-12, thanks to Baumann and Steadman scoring five points apiece.

The Spartans continued to hold onto a 22-13 lead over the Cardinal with 7:42 left in the first period. SJSU shot 45 percent from the floor.

The Spartans’ lead remained in tact, but the Cardinal hit five of their last six shots to make it a one-point game 28-27 with 2:49 left in the period. SJSU held a lead for 19:58 as Stanford hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to snatch a 34-33 lead at the end of the period. Obviously, that was rough for the Spartans, but they did shoot 42.9 percent from the field for their best mark in the first half since shooting 58.3 percent against Central Michigan at the Junkanoo Jam in Bimini, Bahamas.

SJSU got off to a good, if not great, start to open up the second period. Barry drew attention to himself by blocking his third shot on the game and converted it to the other end of the court for his 10th point of the evening. The Spartans were back in front 39-37.

Barry upped his totals to 12 points and eight rebounds for his fourth consecutive game in double figures. The Spartans led 42-40 at the 15:44 mark of the period.

Though, the game reverted back to a one-point game. Stanford hit three triples over four possessions to snatch a 52-51 lead at the 10:56 mark of the period. Still, Ivey and Steadman led the Spartans with 11 points apiece.

And, once again, the game was tied at 54 apiece. Then, Oscar da Silva hit a three to lift the Cardinal up 57-54.

Things began to improve when Steadman laid one in to help the Spartans maintain a one-possession game. Yet, Stanford was up 61-58 with 7:36 left in the period at the under-eight timeout. Stanford then upper their lead to 66-58 for their largest lead of the evening. That large lead occurred as a result of the Spartans turning the ball over five times in a span of 2:43. So in order for the Spartans to get back into the game, they had to take care of the ball.

At the final media timeout of the game, Stanford led 70-61 with 3:45 left in the period. SJSU wasn’t out of it yet, but they had a lot to do to close out the game in a positive manner. SJSU trailed Stanford 72-67 in the final minute of play.

The game went down to the wire as LeCesne knocked down a jumper with 3.21 seconds left in the period. The score decreased to a three-point game with 20.6 seconds left in the period. Moreover, goaltending was the call on the Cardinal. The Spartans gave the Cardinal every bit and piece of effort, but lost 78-73. SJSU fell to 3-7 while Stanford rose to 6-4.

SJSU heads to Cal to take on the Golden Bears Friday, Dec. 21 at 7:00 pm PST on KLIV 1590 AM and the Pac-12 Network.

49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Sherman and Mullens made the difference in the 49ers victory against Seattle

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@49ers photo: San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman seen in the 49ers locker room after the 49ers three point win over Sherman’s former team the Seattle Seahawks on Sun Dec 16th at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara

On the 49ers podcast with David:

49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was thrilled to face his old teammates again the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday in a game the 49ers won by three points 26-23. The game in overtime saw the Seahawks  hit for a holding penalty and it took out the Hawks 32 yard drive and first down that ruined their comeback stopped by the Sherman and the 49ers.

49ers quarterback Nick Mullens had a busy afternoon with 20 completions in 31 attempts for 237 yards and two touchdowns in rainy weather at Levis Stadium. Kicker Robbie Gould hit a game winning field goal Mullens was not intercepted by the Seahawks defense not once.

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings Monday game wrap: Kings can’t get past Timberwolves in 30-point loss 132-105

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sacbee.com photo: Kings guard Buddy Hield, defended by Robert Covington (33) of the Timberwolves, scored 16 of Sacramento’s first 17 points Monday night, Dec. 17, 2018, Hield’s 25th birthday. But the Kings were routed by Minnesota 132-105

By Tony Renteria

It was just too much Minnesota Timberwolves for the Sacramento Kings as the Kings fell in their second game of this two-game road trip. This time, a135-105  loss to the Wolves at Target Center. The Kings appeared to be gaining on the Wolves in the second quarter.

Kings head coach Dave Joerger used all 13 of his players, including the bench in this battle. For a number of Kings players, it’s been a long while since they played and it showed as the Wolves ran away with a 30-point win. For Skal Labissiere, it was only the ninth time that he has seen game action.

Labissiere entered the game with less than three minutes left in the second quarter. Labissiere had not played in the last nine Kings games, but did appear for eight minutes when used. Labissiere has the lowest point totals on the team with just 5.1 points on average during his eight minutes.

What was so surprisingly was Henry Giles III averaged 9.7 minutes, on Monday had 13 points in 21 minutes. Ben McLemore, who had been used sparingly, worked 17 minutes had 7 points and the appearance marked his 11 minutes was more than his average of 11 minutes.

After halftime, the Kings came back to the floor with Yogi Ferrell, Troy Williams, Justin Jackson, Labissiere and Kosta Koufos. The Kings only used under seven minutes Willie Cauley Stein 7 minutes and 1 point, De’Aaron Fox 6 minutes and 0 points, and Nemanja Bjelica 5 minutes and 0 points.

The Kings will give it another go this time against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden 1 Center. Morris Phillips has your Kings coverage at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Tony Renteria is a Sacramento Kings writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Bryce Love era comes to an end at Stanford

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Photo credit: @NFL

By: Ana Kieu

Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love had a difficult season and it has finally come to an end. Love announced on Monday that he’ll skip the Sun Bowl to prepare for the 2019 NFL Draft.

This season, Love was one of the Cardinal’s captains, but he had to battle ankle and leg injuries. He played in 10 games, where he rushed for 739 yards and 6 touchdowns. Despite the injury bugs, he was named a Pac-12 Honorable Mention.

In 2017, Love became one of the NCAA’s breakout stars when he rushed for 2,118 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had a historic season that included 12 efforts of 100-plus yards, including a 301-yard performance against Arizona State.

Before the season, Love told Yahoo! Sports: “As a player, I felt like I could improve on a lot of different aspects of my game. Above all else, I just wanted the opportunity to compete with my teammates one last time. … I wanted to win games. I wasn’t really satisfied with how we played last year. On top of that, I get to graduate and be able to concentrate fully on football at the next level.”

Love is a human biology manager who is on track to graduate this month. He wants to attend medical school after earning his bachelor’s degree. He’s more than a talented running back, he’s also an aspiring pediatrician. He’s a man of many talents, which can come in handy in case if he has to come up with a backup plan in life.

San Jose State to take on Stanford on Tuesday night

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State will look to stay hot and keep the momentum rolling this week as they take on road games vs. Pac-12 foes Stanford and Cal. First up is the Cardinal on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 7:00 pm. Justin Allegri will have the radio call on KLIV 1590 AM, while Roxy Bernstein and Don MacLean will have the call on the Pac-12 Network.

Game #10
San José State (3-6) at Stanford (5-4)
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 7:00 pm PT
Maples Pavilion (7,233)
Stanford, Calif.

Live stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the Live Stats feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

Two in a row
With a win over Northern Arizona, SJSU is on a 2-game win streak for the first time since winning the first three games of the 2017-18 season. It is the first win streak over D1 opponents since winning four straight in MW play during the 2016-17 season.

Down, but not out
SJSU picked up win No. 3 of the year against Northern Arizona, but it didn’t come easy. SJSU had to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and took their first lead of the game with 10 minutes left. From there, SJSU held on as the teams went back and forth for the remainder of the contest. SJSU outshot NAU 40.4% to 37.9%.

Noah Baumann and Oumar Barry led the charge in the comeback. Baumann finished with a career-high 23 points, including 18 in the second half, and was 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Barry recorded his first double-double as a Spartan with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10” forward is averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game and ranks fourth in the MW with 9.2 rebounds per game. He also ranks in the top 40 nationally in the rebounding department. Steadman has three double-doubles on the season, ranking fourth in the conference and has scored in double figures in 8-of-9 games, including six straight.

Staff shakeup
Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Familiar foe
Tuesday’s matchup will be 52nd installment in the Stanford-SJSU series, but the first meeting since 2006. The Cardinal leads the all-time series 38-13 and is 28-4 in games played in Stanford. The Spartans’ last win in the series came on Dec. 3, 1992 in San Jose.

The Cardinal, led by third year coach Jerod Haase, enters Tuesday’s game with a 5-4 record. Three of their four losses have come at the hands of ranked teams, including a 90-84 loss in overtime to No. 2 Kansas in Lawrence on Dec. 1. KZ Okpala leads the team at 15.9 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

Big game Baumann
Sophomore Noah Baumann is once again displaying his impressive 3-point shooting ability this season after finishing in the top-40 in the MW in 3 point percentage as a freshman. He is currently 20-for-34 from 3-point range (.588).

Baumann has come up huge for the Spartans in their last two games. In their win over Bethune-Cookman, after the team went 0-10 from 3-point range in the opening half, Baumann drained 3-of-5 attempts in the second half and finished with a then-season-high 12 points to help lead SJSU to victory.

Baumann followed up with his best performance as a Spartan in the win over NAU. He scored a career-high 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 18 in the second half to lead the Spartans to victory. He finished 5-of-6 from 3-point range and made four free throws in the final 37 seconds to close out the game.

Oumar plays his best basketball 
Senior center Oumar Barry is playing his best basketball as a Spartan as of late. Against Bethune-Cookman, he finished with a then-career-high 13 points and seven rebounds. He followed that up with his most dominating performance at SJSU as he recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds for his first-career game with double digit rebounds. Barry also blocked two shots and was 7-of-10 at the free throw line to help the Spartans to a win.

Barry entered the Bethune-Cookman game averaging just 5.7 points per game, but after averaging 15 points in the last two outings, he has increased his production to 7.8 ppg.

Bay Area road trip
The Spartans’ stop in Stanford is the first of three-straight road games against in-state foes. SJSU will make a quick turnaround to face Cal in Berkeley on Friday, Dec. 21, and will bookend their non-conference slate on Dec. 29 against Saint Mary’s in Moraga.

San Jose State Athletics on a better path

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Photo credit: @will_brocchini

By: Ana Kieu

You probably saw how awful San Jose State football and men’s basketball has looked in the past year, but it looks like both programs are on a better path.

When it comes to football, the Spartans’ football coaching staff has been fairly busy in holding meetings and trying to attract high school and college football players to commit to San Jose State. Most recently, B.J. Johnson–a Montgomery High School athlete from Santa Rosa, Calif.–committed to SJSU just two days after officially visiting the school. Moreover, Chad Earle–a East Los Angeles College cornerback from Monterey Park, Calif.–received an offer from SJSU.

When it comes to men’s basketball, the Spartans put together two wins in a row. The first win came on Dec. 6 when SJSU defeated Bethune Cookman 67-65 inside the Event Center. The second win came on Dec. 15 when SJSU ran away with a 79-74 win over Northern Arizona inside the Event Center. This was a great way for the Spartans to wrap up their four-game homestand in San Jose, Calif.

After the SJSU-NAU game, Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau said: “I don’t think they’ll be any pressure. I think our guys will be really excited. We played a lot of games so far where we have a quick turnaround. Tomorrow, we’re going to practice as well as Monday, and we’re going to play on Tuesday. Then, we play again on Friday. So I don’t think the guys are going to be too concerned about pressure at all.”

Prioleau added: “We’ve been in a lot of close games where we’ve been pressured enough. So I think our guys will be ready to play and they’ll be excited to play.”

Now, the Spartans may face bigger challenges as their upcoming Pac-12 opponents are Stanford and Cal on Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, respectively. Both games will be featured on the Pac-12 Network. Since I asked Prioleau about pressure on Saturday, I’m well-aware that Prioleau hasn’t really expressed nervousness about the upcoming three-game road trip that ends at St. Mary’s on Dec. 29, but they’re other Bay Area teams and they’re likely not going to play nice, so the Spartans have to hold great, high-quality practices on the practice court the next two weeks.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: It’s unsettling as Cal can make you crazy in close game wins

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

On the Cal basketball podcast with Morris:

#1 Talk about that unsettled feeling after 48 hours even after getting a buzzer beater win past Cal Poly on Saturday night at Haas Pavilion 67-66.

#2 Cal head coach Wyking Jones said that the shots weren’t falling, but said that he’s happy with the team and that’s most important.

#3 Cal was able to wipe out a ten-point run against Cal Poly. The Mustangs were able to play catch up, and at one point, the game was tied 65-65.

#4 Donavon Fields had 26 points for Cal Poly and was one of the players that kept the Mustangs in the game.

#5 It’s off to Fresno for some Mountain West basketball on Wednesday night. Can the Bears win their third game in a row?

Morris Phillips is a beat writer for Cal Bears basketball at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda cruise past Reign 5-2

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

It didn’t take long for the San Jose Barracuda to get the bad taste of San Diego out of their mouth. Less than 24 hours after their shootout loss to the Gulls, San Jose scored three unanswered goals to start the game in route to a 5-2 victory over the Ontario Reign on Sunday evening at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Nick DeSimone drew first blood for San Jose (16-3-1-3) when he collected the puck at the blue line, skated in toward the net from the left-wing and snapped a wrist shot past Reign goalie Peter Budaj (3-5-2) for his fifth goal of the season at the 8:51 mark of the first period. Alex True and Jon Martin received assists.

Martin gave the Cuda a 2-0 lead at the 13:00 mark when he was able to spun a wrist shot from distance off the crossbar into the back of the net for his second goal of the season. Zach Frye and True received assists.

San Jose outshot Ontario 11-8 in the first period as Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (10-1-1) wasn’t tested much in the opening frame.

In the second period, San Jose scored its third unanswered goal on the power play. Jacob Middleton fed a pass over to True in the slot, who beat a diving Budaj, who ended up on his stomach, into the back of the net for his ninth goal of the season at the 3:25 mark. Kyle Wood picked up the secondary assist.

Ontario would make things interesting as they scored the next two goals to close the gap to a one-goal deficit. First, Kyle Clauge was able to take advantage of a failed clearing attempt by San Jose as he shoveled in a loose puck from atop the crease past Korenar for his second goal of the season at the 14:40 mark. Then Matt Moulson fired a shot past Korenar from between the faceoff circles for his eighth goal of the season with just 18 seconds left in the middle frame.

Dylan Gambrell gave the Cuda an insurance goal at the beginning of the third period. He batted an airborne puck out of mid-air past Budaj for his sixth goal of the season at the 1:02 mark. Thomas Gregoire and DeSimone received assists.

Francis Perron added to the party and closed out the scoring when True, on his way to a career-high, four-point night, found Perron open in the low slot and he buried the puck past Budaj for his 11th goal of the season at the 9:12 mark.

Korenar finished the game, making 24 saves on 26 shots for his 10th victory of the season. Budaj suffered the loss, making 33 saves on 38 shots.

GAMES NOTES: San Jose was 1/5 on the power play. Ontario was 0/2.

Jeffery Truchon-Viel and Jamie Devane exchanged fisticuffs with each other late in the third period as the Reign’s frustrations had boiled over at that point.

The announce attendance was 7,771.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda conclude their three-game road trip with a stop back down to San Diego to take on the Gulls on Wednesday at 7:00 pm at Pachanga Arena.