Category: NCAA

UNI routs Cardinal 73-53 for 7th in Battle 4 Atlantis

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Stanford Cardinal James Keefe (right) blocks the shot of the Northern Iowa Panthers Cole Henry (left) at the Battle 4 Atlantis Men’s Tournament at Paradise Island, The Bahamas (Tim Aylen Bahamas Visual Services via AP)

By Daniel Dullum

Friday, November 24, 2023

Stanford fell short in its attempt to salvage its third game of the Battle 4 Atlantis men’s basketball tournament, as Northern Iowa handily defeated the Cardinal 73-53 in the seventh-place game at Paradise Island, The Bahamas.

With the victory, Panthers coach Ben Jacobson picked up his 337th career win, tying him with former Creighton and Saint Louis coach Eddie Hickey for second on the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) all-time wins list.

Northern Iowa’s offense tied season-highs in both field goal attempts and made shots as it dominated Stanford off the glass, holding the Cardinal under 40 percent shooting to snap a three-game skid.

Northern Iowa (2-4) jumped out to an early lead despite Stanford’s first eight points coming from Maxime Raynaud. The Panthers used a 19-4 run to take control of the game, leading at the break 49-27.

The Panthers maintained a healthy double-digit lead the remainder of the night, never letting the Cardinal pull within less than 19 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Stanford (3-4) held the Panthers to just 24 points in the second half on 32.1 percent shooting and 14.3 percent from beyond the arc, but the Carinal deficit was too large to overcome.

UNI’s defense continued to apply pressure on Stanford, which shot 32.1 percent in the second half and finished with a 36.5 shooting percentage on the night. The Panthers outrebounded the Cardinal 41-33, 9-4 in offensive rebounds, finishing the night with a bang to secure the 22-point victory.

Raynaud led the Cardinal with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Michael Jones scored nine points; Brandon Angel and James Keefe had eight apiece.

Nate Heise finished the night with a game-high 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting, while Jacob Hutson tallied a 12-point, four-rebound performance. Bowen Born recorded 11 points with a pair of assists, Tyton Anderson scoring ten points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds, and both Trey Campbell and Kyle Pock finishing with six points each.

The Stanford offense came into the game averaging nearly 84 points per game, but struggled from the field in shooting 36.5 percent from the floor and 19.2 percent from 3-point range.

The Cardinal return home to Maples Pavilion to face San Diego on Sunday, Dec. 3. Tipoff is 4 p.m.

Michigan holds off Cardinal 83-78 at Battle 4 Atlantis

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Michigan Wolverines Dug McDaniel (0) goes to the basket against the Stanford Cardinal at the Battle4 Atlantis at Paradise Islands, Bahamas on Thu Nov 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023

Stanford dropped its second straight game in the Battle 4 Atlantis men’s basketball tournament, as Michigan held off the Cardinal 83-78 on Thanksgiving Day at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, The Bahamas.

The Cardinal concludes its tournament play on Friday against Northern Iowa. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. Pacific.

Stanford (3-3) opened the game with a 23-9 lead in the first 7:29 of the first half. Trailing by one point at halftime, Stanford used an eight-point run, completed with a layup by Michael Jones, to take a 52-45 lead at 18:37 of the second half.

Nimari Burnett’s jumper tied the game for Michigan at 52-52 at 16:46, and a dunk by Tarris Reed Jr. capped the Wolverines’ 11-0 run to surge ahead 58-52.

Michigan (4-2) built a 67-54 lead at 12:24, Over the next five minutes, the Cardinal cut their deficit to three on a jumper in the paint by Maxime Raynaud, pulling Stanford to within 68-65.

Angel Brayden’s layup closed Michigan’s lead to 70-69, and a Jared Bynum 3-pointer tied the game at 72-72 with 4:43 remaining. Michigan responded with a seven-point run that was halted with Bynum hit another 3 with 25 seconds to play, cutting the Wolverines’ lead to 79-75.

Free throw shooting by Dug McDaniel and Terrance Williams II put the Wolverines back up by eight at 83-75 with 13 seconds remaining. A layup and free throw by Bynum ended the scoring.

Bynum was 8 of 17 shooting – 5 of 8 behind the arc – for a game-high 22 points to go with six assists. Jones was next with 16 points, including four treys. Reynaud had 14 points and a team-leading eight rebounds, and Angel finished with 11 points.

McDaniel led the Wolverines with 20 points and eight assists, followed by Williams II with 17, Oliver Nkamhoua with 16, Reed with 11 and Burnett with 10.

Cal Falls Flat Unable To Close Against Tulane Losing 84-81

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Cal Bears just couldn’t get by the Tulane Green Wave at the SoCal Challenge in San Juan Capistrano CA on Wed Nov 22, 2023 (@CalMBB photo)

By Barbara Mason

Despite having a double digit lead mid-way through the second half, the California Bears (2-4) managed to let another game slip away. The Bears took on the Tulane Green Wave (4-1) in the consolation round of the SoCal challenge Wednesday night losing by the score of 84-81. This was the Bears third loss in a row losing by three points.

Wednesday night the Bears played the Tulane in the SoCal Challenge Consolation game. The Bears couldn’t rebound after a heart-breaking buzzer beater by UTEP Monday night stealing the game from California. The Green Wave suffered an equally crushing three point loss to Bradley 80-77. The Bears Jaylon Tyson is their season leader with 18.8 points per game. Kevin Cross is the season leader for Tulane with 18 points per game.

Game recap: The Bears are 2-0 against the Green Wave all-time. California has now had two losses in a row by exactly three points. They are having trouble finishing games. Tulane is favored in this game expected to win by 5.5 points.

After the first half of play the favored Green Wave trailed the Cal Bears 32-29. This will be a challenge for Cal in the second half as they attempt to retain the lead and close the game out. With so much time left in the game, California needed to keep the pressure on Tulane. The Bears had led by as much as seven points but Tulane began to push back in the final minutes of the first half.

Cal extended their lead to start the second half hitting a three and taking a 35-29 lead. As the second half wore on, the Bears began to wear the Green Wave down taking a 58-47 lead at 12:11 left in the game.

Tulane refused to back down and with 9:17 left in the game they had pulled to within four points of Cal 63-59. At 6:40, this game was tied at 67 and once again Cal was letting this game slip away, their 11 point lead evaporating.

With five minutes left in the game Tulane took a 70-69 lead. The Bears were trailing by two points with 45 seconds left on the clock and California had the chance to salvage this game. Once again, the Bears were unable to close out this game losing 84-81. This was Cal’s third three point loss

Next Saturday, Nov 25 the Bears will take on San Diego State. The Aztecs are highly favored in this game. San Diego’s season leader is Jaedon LeDee who averages 26.8 points per game and will be a huge factor in the offense. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 4:00 PM

No. 20 Razorbacks outlast Stanford 77-74 in 2 OT

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Arkansas Razorbacks Chandler Lawson and the Stanford Cardinal Maxime Raynaud compete for the rebound at the end of second half at the battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island in the Bahamas on Wed Nov 22, 2023 (photo by Tim Aylen Bahamas Visual Services via AP)

By Daniel Dullum

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023

A 3-pointer by Trevon Brazile on Arkansas’s first possession of the second overtime gave the No. 20 Razorbacks the cushion they needed to hold off Stanford 77-74 Wednesday in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis men’s basketball tournament at Imperial Arena in Paradise Island, The Bahamas.

The Cardinal led by as many as five in a defensive-minded first half, with both teams combining for just 42 points. Stanford’s biggest lead came after a run to open the second half, with Brandon Angel sinking two free throws giving Stanford a 38-29 lead with 15:25 to play.

The Razorbacks (4-1) made a series of free throws to end regulation and send the game to overtime.

The Cardinal held Arkansas without a field goal in the first overtime, but Bynum, Spencer Jones and Maxime Raynaud each scored in the second overtime for Stanford. Baskets by Traymon Mark in the last 1:03 put Arkansas up 77-74.

With four seconds to play. the ball was inbounded to Benny Gealer, who pulled up from deep 3-point range, attempting to tie the game at the buzzer and force a second overtime, but the shot missed off the back rim.

Jones scored a season-high 27 points – including five 3-pointers – to go with eight rebounds. Bynum scored 11 ptoints and had eight assists, Raynaud pulled down a team high 10 rebounds. The Cardinal held Arkansas to a season-low 30.3 percent from the field.

Mark led the Razorbacks with 25 points, followed by Brazile with 14 and Davonte Davis with 10. Brazile grabbed 17 of Arkansas’s 51 rebounds. Chandler Lawson added 13 boards.

Stanford (3-2) will meet Michigan (3-2) on Thanksgiving Day. The Wolverines lost 71-67 to Memphis. Tipoff is 4:30 p.m. Pacific.

UTEP Buzzer Beater Edges California Bears at SoCal Challenge 75-72

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Jalen Cone hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds left before Cal ultimately fell to UTEP, 75-72 photo by CK Hicks-Cal Athletics

By Barbara Mason

The California Bears (2-3) trailed at the half against the UTEP Miners (5-0) 40-35. They did win the second half 37-35 but came up just short losing 75-72. The depth on the UTEP roster made a lot of the difference in this game. Cal’s Jaylen Cone hit a three to tie up this game at 72 with 16 seconds left on the clock. UTEP’s Tae Hardy answered hitting a shot from downtown to seal the win as they go unbeaten sending them into the final of the Sand division.

In the Bears loss to Montana they did get some nice work from Jaylon Tyson who scored 27 points and eight rebounds. Fardaws Aimaq had a double-double finishing that game with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Montana offense will be a real challenge for California and the Bears will be keeping an eye on their offensive leader Tae Hardy.

In this game the number of possessions will factor in greatly. The Miners have been smashing the glass this season but Cal has also been successful in this department so that should make for some great competition.

Both of these teams have been struggling from downtown so far this season. It depends which “experts” you talk to because according to one side Cal is favored by two points and if you talk to someone else UTEP is favored by 3.5

Game recap: The Cal Bears vs UTEP contest got underway late Monday night. Cal got a slow start in the opening half. They were four minutes into the game before they hit their first basket. They did take a 19-12 lead mid-way through the half but the Miners erased the Bears lead. They took a 24-21 lead at the eight minute mark and led for the rest of the first half. After the first 20 minutes of game, the Miners held a 40-35 lead.

California hit the first six points of the second half taking the lead but the Miners rallied back. They held a 71-63 lead with 4:20 left on the clock. This game went down to the wire. Cal’s Jaylen Cone hit a three with 16 seconds left in the game to tie it all up at 72. The Bears just came up short when UTEP’s Tae Hardy sealed the win for his team with a shot from downtown; the final was 75-72.

The high for the Cal was Aimaq with 18 points in 27 minutes. Cone who put his team in a great position to take this game had 15 points. The high for UTEP was Tae Hardy with 16 points and the buzzer beater in this wild back-and-forth game with seven ties and 10 lead changes throughout.

Post game notes: Monday night the Bears took on the Miners in the SoCal Challenge at the Pavilion in San Juan Capistrano. This basketball tournament is held during the Monday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. The inaugural tournament took place back in 2021.

This was the first meeting between the Golden Bears and the Miners. UTEP started the game as a 3.5 point favorite . In their last game which they won against the Austin Peay Governors 71-63 last Friday night the miners had 20 turnovers. Cal lost a close one last Thursday against the Montana Bobcats 63-60. This game was a close matchup which UTEP won by just three points.

This win sends UTEP into the finals where they will play Bradley on Wednesday. The Cal Bears will play in the consolation round taking on Tulane on Wednesday in another nightcap with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. PST.

San Jose State Beats Hampton 71-52 In The Paradise Jam Tournament

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San Jose State Spartans guard Alvaro Cardenas (13) takes a jump shot against the Hampton University Pirates at University of Virgin Islands in St Thomas on Mon Nov 20, 2023 (San Jose State University Spartans photo)

Monday, November 20th, 2023

By Troy Ewers 

In the final game of the Paradise Jam tournament San Jose State faced off against Hampton University at the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and the Spartans won by a decisive margin. 71-52 SJSU. The reason this game was such a blowout was because the Spartans got the best from their star players. 

Tibet Gorener, Trey Anderson, Myron Amey Jr., and Alvaro Cardenas all went crazy, especially Cardenas. Cardenas was the leading scorer with 23 points and he was 50% from the field. Adrame Diongue was one point and one rebound away from a double double and even though the Spartans were out played on the boards by Hampton, a key for SJSU was points off turnovers, 22 points. 

Hampton only scored 19 points in the 2nd half which won’t ever get you a win, but when SJSU scored 42 in that same half, it’s impossible to beat that. 

The next game for the Spartans will be back in San Jose against North Dakota State on November 27th and the Spartans are ready to get back to regular season play after spending the weekend in paradise.

Stanford Cardinal game wrap: Cardinal Could Not Confiscate Axe from Visiting Cross-Bay Rival Bears, 27-15; Stanford Continues losing Streak

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Cal Bears offensive lineman celebrates after the win against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — A crowd of 52,971 souls observed the Stanford Cardinal (3-8, 2-7 Pac-12) unsuccessfully attempt to retrieve the Axe from the longtime Bay Area and Conference opponent, California Golden Bears (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12), 27-15.

Stanford’s defense was in effect early, as they stymied Cal’s first drive with a fourth down stop deep in their own territory. The offense was not able to capitalize on the momentous moment.

The Cardinal defense recorded an apparent gigantic play when Bears’ redshirt freshman quarterback was sacked, fumbled, and returned for a touchdown, or on the goal line. However, just as it did for the then Oakland Raiders over 20 years ago, the turnover was nullified and considered an incomplete pass. Sounds familiar, Bay Area fans? (Tom Brady & Tuck Rule)

Mendoza was not only thankful for that overturned play, but he took full advantage of the gift, With nearly five minutes left in the quarter, he tossed a 9-yard TD to redshirt sophomore slot receiver Trond Grizzel. 7-0 Bears, late in the first.

The ever reliable Stanford kicker, Joshua Karty, delivered again, as he booted a 44-yard FG with :22 remaining on the clock. The home team got the score within four, 7-3, and that was the margin when the quarter ended.

Fairly early in the second quarter, Mendoza launched a 54-yard bomb to Grizzell again, putting the Bears up 14-3. Nearly six minutes later, Mendoza completed another pass. Unfortunately it was Stanford’s senior cornerback Zahran Manley.

The Cardinal did not do much with the stolen possession at that point. However with less than a minute left in the half, Karty and his magical foot were there for his teammates. He converted a 53-yarder to bring them within an eight point deficit, 14-6. The Cardinal found themselves a touchdown and 2-point conversion from a tie with the East Bay crew at the midway juncture of the game.

Late in the third quarter the Cardinal sturdy (Tree) Defense struck again. Cal’s Mendoza was scrambling and was blasted by senior linebacker Tristan Sinclair. He forced a fumble by Mendoza, but unfortunately that tremendous hit was deemed as TARGETING, so the fumble was erased and Sinclair was ejected.

Mendoza took his second opportune scenario and drove his team down to the 1-yard line. There he handed the ball off to his thousand yard gaining sophomore running back for the touchdown. California was up 15 (21-6), less than a minute after the controversial play.

Stanford was on the attack, also in less than 60 seconds when sophomore QB Ashton Daniels unleashed a 41-yard TD pass to freshman WR Tiger Bachmeier. The failed 2-point conversion kept it a two possession game, 21-12.

For the third time and less than a minute left in each quarter, Karty kicked through the uprights from 50 yards away. After 45 minutes of game time, Cal still led 21-15.

The fourth quarter was preserving the lead for the Bears. Less than five minutes in, Mendoza lofted another TD pass. Junior WR Jeremiah Hunter was the chosen target for that scoring play. Cal took a 12-point advantage with a great deal of momentum to retain possession of the axe.

Ott had an opportunity to expand the lead to 19 or 20, but chose to take a knee before crossing the goal line. A gesture filled with sportsmanship; the Bears let the clock run out, and take the 27-15 victory and axe back to Berkeley.

Stanford will next be in action Saturday, November 25 here on the Farm, hosting the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame at 4 PM PDT. California heads south to Los Angeles to take on the UCLA Bruins, on the same date at 7:30 PM PDT on ESPN.

Note: Upon my query to HC Troy Taylor about the ending of the Pac 12, he responded with: “It’s really sad that the conference, this is the end. But really happy that Cal along with us will be in the ACC together. We’ll be able to maintain an incredible rivalry.”

I asked Joshua Karty about the NFL: “Yeah, of course. The next level is my dream. It’s my goal to make it there, whether it’s after this year or after next year. But as of right now, I’ll focus on Notre Dame for next week.” Stated Kicker Joshua Karty.

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Cal Bears game wrap: Cal Retains the Ax Beating Stanford 27-15

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Cal Bears running back Jaydn Ott tries to move around the Stanford Cardinal defensive end Brennan Jackson (80) at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The 126th Big Game went to the California Bears (4-6) winning their third Big Game in a row. Some great Bears offense and some equally good defense tilted the game in favor of Cal. The final score was 27-15. This was Cal’s third big game win in a row.

Saturday afternoon the Bears headed to Stanford Stadium “the Farm” for the 126th “Big Game” against the Cardinal. Cal is coming off a 42-39 win over Washington State in thanks to their defense coming up big returning two fumbles for touchdowns and recording six sacks.

This was without doubt was their best effort of the season. This was Cal’s second straight win as they beat Washington State in their last game on Sat Nov 11. Cal picked up their fourth win in the last six Big Games and their fourth straight Big Game win. While Stanford does have home field advantage, the Bears are favored significantly.

The Bay Area weather had little impact on the game with light rain that was predicted over the course of the game. This was the last Big Game in the Pac 12. Cal has now retained the axe for the 2023 season their third straight season.

This is the biggest game for the two teams all season regardless of what their records show. The entire Bay Area was watching history being made in this colorful tradition.

Game recap: The Bears went on offense to start the opening quarter. Driving deep into Stanford territory Cal went on a fourth and two that failed. Both teams sparred through the first ten minutes of the quarter.

At 5:03 Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza found Trond Grizzell for nine yards and the first touchdown of the game giving Cal the early 7-0 lead. With 0.22 seconds left in the first quarter Stanford kicker Joshua Karty hit a 44 yarder and after the first 15 minutes of play, the Bears had a 7-3 lead.

Early in the second quarter at 13:13 Mendoza again found Grizzell for a huge play of 54 yards and California had extended their lead to 14-3. Cal had scored twice through the air so far in the game so Stanford was having to defend not only the Cal passing game which had a great first half but also the rushing game. Stanford kicked a 53 yard Field Goal with 54 ticks left on the clock and the score at the half was 14-6 in favor of Cal.

Cal running back Jaydn Ott kicked it into high gear scoring a one yard run into the end zone at 5:45 in the third quarter giving the Bears a 21-6 lead. Ott had been relatively quiet in the first half but he came unleashed as the second half got underway.

Stanford did score twice in the third quarter but Cal retained the lead going into the final quarter. The Cardinal scored their first touchdown of the game at 4:25 going for the two point conversion which failed. They did score a field goal to end the third quarter, a 50 yard Karty kick. With one quarter left in the game California led 21-15.

The Bears would score one more time in the fourth quarter when Mendoza threw his third touchdown of the day an eight yard pass to Jeremiah Hunter to seal the win for Cal 27-15. The Bears had won their third Big Game in a row. The Ax would stay in Berkeley for another year.

Mendoza had a great day with three touchdowns throwing for 294 yards with one interception. Jaydn Ott despite a bit of a slow start in the first half finished in a flurry with 166 rushing yds.

Stanford struggled in this game with penalties and miscues and just could not handle the California defense. The long awaited game is now history and we will now look forward the 127th Big Game next year.

San Jose State Becomes Bowl Eligible After A 24-13 Victory Against San Diego State

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Off and running the San Jose State University Spartans did enough to score and stay ahead of the San Diego State Aztecs at Spartan Stadium in San Jose on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (SJSU photo)

Saturday, November 18th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – In CEFCU Stadium, the San Jose State Spartans host the San Diego State Aztecs as SJSU looks to win their fifth game in a row. The Spartans look to become bowl eligible for the third time in the last four seasons and it could be the first time the Spartans have ever gone to three bowl games in four seasons and Coach Brent Brennan would be the first head coach in SJSU history to lead the Spartans to three bowl games. 

The first quarter starts with the Spartans having the ball and nothing comes after five plays, but the game plan is visible. Spread the ball around and play a balanced game for their final home game this season. San Diego State running back Jaylon Armstead carried the majority offense for the Aztecs opening drive, even supplying a 39 yard drive, but after surviving a fourth and 3 Armstead jammed the ball in from the 1 yard line and scored the first touchdown of the game, 7-0 San Diego State.

The second drive for the Spartans goes the whole rest of the first quarter, but it doesn’t come without a sense of anxiety when there was a fumble on a handoff that was recovered by the Spartans, but the quarter ends with the Aztecs up 7-0.

San Jose State starts the second from their red zone and Chevan Cordeiro hits Dominick Mazotti for a 10 yard pass in the end zone for a touchdown and the Spartans even the score up 7-7 to start the second quarter.

Cordeiro now has 17 touchdown passes after that last one and is now two away from tying Derek Carr for fourth all time in Mountain West history. On the next drive for the Spartans, Cordeiro kept the drive alive with a little brotherly shove, but the very next play Cordeiro throws an interception to Chris Johnson who returns it for 44 yards.

The Spartans defense was able to recover from the interception and kept the Aztecs outside the red zone and forced them to kick a field goal which they made and now were in the lead again 10-7. Cordeiro recovered from his interception by slinging the ball down the field his very next drive, going 5-7 for 49 yards, but it wasn’t enough the San Diego State defense forced the Spartans to kick a field goal and it was good to tie the game at halftime. 

The Aztecs started the third quarter and couldn’t convert on the fourth down after a 49 yard drive, Spartans’ ball and the chance to take the lead and change the momentum of this game. Cordeiro continued his great passing display with a pass to Isaac Jernagin for 42 yards.

This was followed up with a game changing moment from Quali Conley running for a 20 yard touchdown and after the successful extra point, the Spartans were up 17-10 with 6:16 left in the third quarter and the momentum in their favor.

The momentum didn’t stop for the Spartans as they were able to spoil the next drive for the Aztecs, but Bryun Parham racked up his first interception of the season and returned for 20 yards to give SJSU great field position and a chance to wedge a gap in this game.

The Spartans drive started out terribly though when a failed reverse resulted in a loss of 17 yards, putting the Spartans farther than they wanted to the drive. This disadvantage led to a three and out and forced the Spartans to punt, killing the hype they had after that big interception. The Aztecs ended the quarter with the ball, but not the greatest field position. 

The fourth quarter was majority SDSU gaining field position, but were able to get all the way to the red zone and a chance to tie it up. The rain came out of nowhere and started pouring as the Spartans defense stopped them and forced the Aztecs to hit a field goal, preventing a tie, 17-13.

When the Spartans got the ball the game was solidified when their running backs did what they do best. Conley got a huge run that was just supposed to run the clock down, but the Spartans weren’t done and Kairee Robinson on Senior Night scored on a rushing touchdown, setting a school record with 16 rushing touchdowns this season and his ninth consecutive game with a touchdown making it 24-13 San Jose State. The Aztecs had one more chance to make things happen and they pushed the ball down the field, but a pick by Tre Jenkins put the nail in the coffin. 

The game ended 24-13 with the Spartans getting the victory and punching their ticket for bowl eligibility. The Spartans still have a chance to get second place in the Mountain West and have a possible Mountain West Championship game ahead, but for now they celebrate this win. Next week the Spartans will face the leaders of the Mountain West, UNLV in Las Vegas for the final regular game of the season.

San Jose State Beats Norfolk State 77-53 Thanks To Trey Anderson’s Double Double

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San Jose State University Spartans bench is elated with their most recent victory against Norfolk State at the University of Virgin Islands on Sat Nov 18, 2023 (photo by the San Jose State University)

Saturday, November 18th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas – Another game for the Paradise Jam tournament in University of Virgin Islands, it’s San Jose State against Norfolk State. Last game the Spartans had a great first half but abysmal second half. They hope to actually close out and finish the full game on top.

The first half started with an early 20-6 run from the Spartans and Coach Tim Miles felt even though that was a great start, his boys needed to close. “We didn’t close against Texas Tech, we didn’t close yesterday.”, Coach Miles said. The defense is stronger for SJSU than it was last game, but that couldn’t contain Norfolk State. Norfolk closes the gap with six at a point by crashing the boards, 18 rebounds, 12 of them on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Miles switched up his defense to a 1-3-1 and it changed the pace of Norfolk State’s offense and opened the gap back up for the Spartans with an 11-2 run in the last three minutes of the half. The score at the end of the half was 39-24 Spartans and the Spartans got good use of their prime time players Trey Anderson (11 points), Tibet Gorener (9 points), and Myron Amey Jr. (7 points). 

The second half was the close out that Coach Miles had been looking for for two games. The momentum continued for SJSU this half and it was brought together by great ball movement leading to scoring opportunities. It was a complete domination by the Spartans with not much to dissect. The Spartans win 77-53 with Trey Anderson messing around and getting a double double and we’re not talking In N Out Burger. Anderson’s 16 points and 10 rebounds, 4-7 from 3 point and MJ Amey Jr. with 15 points are the standouts this game and keys to this big tournament win. 

The next game for San Jose State is November 20th with the opponent unknown at the moment, but it’s the final game of the tournament for the Spartans before being back in San Jose for a game on November 27th against North Dakota State.