Category: San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks get first road win of season against New Jersey; SJ face Rangers at MSG Sunday

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The San Jose Sharks William Eklund (left) and the New Jersey Devils Jonas Siegenthaler (right) battle for the puck in first period action at the Prudential Center in Newark NJ on Fri Dec 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

Mary Lisa on the SJ Sharks podcast:

#1 The San Jose Sharks Jacob MacDonald and Anthony Duclair each had two goals apiece as the Sharks turned up their offense a notch against the New Jersey Devils in New Jersey on Friday night.

#2 San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 44 shots and allowed three goals in the 6-3 San Jose win.

#3 Mikael Granlund scored a goal and had two assists and William Eklund scored for San Jose to help San Jose pick up their first road win of the season now with a 1-10-0 road record.

#4 San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn said “I’m happy for our guys. It’s been a tough year, especially on the road,″ Quinn said. ”To find a way to win is a tribute to our team.”

#5 San Jose will face the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm PT. The Rangers are first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 16-4-1 record. The Rangers have won eight of their last ten games and are in Nashville tonight before returning to New York on Sunday against the Sharks.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks score three times in third period to defeat Devils 6-3; SJ earns first road victory of season

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The San Jose Sharks Mario Ferarro (left) and Jacob MacDonald (right) celebrate scoring a goal in the first period on the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark on Fri Dec 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

NEWARK, N.J. — The San Jose Sharks finally earned their first road game win this season with a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Friday night.

It was a much welcomed win as the Sharks went into the game 0-10-0 on the road, scoring just six goals in ten games. Their goals on Friday tied their entire road goal total up to that point. Sharks head coach David Quinn said the team had “some nice plays on our goals”.

“It was a hard team play and we gave up 24 shots in the third period, you don’t want, but I thought our six-on-five was really good. I thought we weathered some storms,” said Quinn. “Just happy for our guys, it’s been tough (getting goals) year especially on the road. And to find a way to win like we did is a tribute to our team.”

Jacob MacDonald hit a wrist shot 2:10 into the first period to put the Sharks up 1-0. At 13:21, Dawson Mercer hit a snap shot that tied the game at 1-1.

MacDonald was the star again in the second period, making a tip-in at 2:51 to bring the Sharks up 2-1. It also marked the first time that the Sharks scored more than one goal in a road game, and both were by McDonald. It was his first multi-goal game in his professional career.

Then Anthony Duclair made a slap shot at 9:47 to boost the Sharks to 3-1.

In the final period, Jack Hughes scored an unassisted goal at 2:56 to cut the Sharks’ lead to 3-2. But Duclair had another big moment with a wrist shot from Mikael Granlund at 5:07 to extend the Sharks’ lead to 4-2. Duclair said Granlund’s saucer pass was a top-three pass of his career.

“I just cut the puck and was ready to shoot it and I was like maybe not. Just saw him out there and I mean that was a really good shot by him,” said Granlund. “And just one of those things, that maybe my strength is to try to make good passes and that was a good shot by Anthony.”

At 12:58, Ondrej Palat hit a snap shot and the Devils trailed 4-3. But the Sharks refused to give up, and Granlund made an unassisted snap shot at 13:38 to put the Sharks up 5-3. San Jose put the final touch with 18 seconds left in the period when William Eklund hit a wrist shot from Ryan Carpenter.

MacDonald said the victory felt “really good”.

“Just helps build some confidence especially on the second half of a back-to-back, right, so our condition is in a good place and coming on back-to-back travel and six goals is a good sign for us and helps us build confidence,” he said.

The Sharks started their six-game road trip with a 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. They had won two in a row prior to that. They crushed the Devils’ hopes of gaining what would have been their season-best four-game winning streak.

San Jose (6-16-2) continues their road trip facing the New York Rangers (16-4-1) at Madison Square Garden on Sun Dec 3 afternoon. The puck drops at 3 p.m. PST.

Sharks Shut Out 3-0 by Bruins; Brief SJ two game win streak comes to an end

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The Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha gets a top shelf third period goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) and defenseman Kyle Burroughs (4) at TD Garden in Boston on Thu Nov 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-0 to the Bruins at TD Garden Thursday. Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for the shutout win. MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves in the loss. It was the fourth time the Sharks have been shutout this season, and all of those have been on the road.

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn summarized the game as follows:

“I thought we had a good first period, played a pretty good tempo, I thought our puck play was good, you know, played smart hockey, played with the right intentions. And I thought it really got loose in the second period. I thought our turnovers really hurt us and really ignited their game. I though they brought it to another level once that period got going and we weren’t able to control it really.”

Probably the most disappointing moment in the game was when the Sharks failed to score with a two man advantage. That power play ended the second period and started the third. After the game, Tomas Hertl talked about that power play:

“We just, like, nobody wants to take the shot, everybody tried passing and we have zero shots, five entries and that’s a tough situation. We have to be quick, put something on the net you know because we have two extra guys so we should get a rebound and stuff, but we couldn’t even get a shot.”

The Sharks went into the second period in a decent position. Each team had a power play in the first, neither scored. The shots were relatively even at 10-9 Boston. The second period would not be so balanced.

Danton Heinen broke the 0-0 tie just 1:39 into the second period. Matthew Poitras took advantage of an offensive zone turnover by the Sharks, who looked tired after being trapped in their own zone for too long. Poitras found Heinen in the faceoff circle for a quick shot that sent the puck between Blackwood and the post.

Jake DeBrusk made it 2-0 at 8:10 of the period. While Pavel Zacha carried the puck over the blue line, DeBrusk entered the zone across the ice and around the Sharks defense. Zacha passed the puck to him and he was able to carry it to the net for a backhand shot. Zacha and David Pastrnak got the assists.

The Sharks finished the second period with a shot deficit of 18-6 as well as the goals surrendered. They did get a two-man advantage at the end of the period after a series of skirmishes. The power play carried over to start the third but did not change the score.

Instead, the Sharks took a penalty early in the third and gave up a power play goal from Zacha. Pastrnak carried the puck in and found Zacha skating right up the slot for a close-in shot. Assists went to Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy.

The Sharks did make a push, out-shooting Boston slightly, 11-8 in the third. But the score did not change. The final shot count was 37-26 Bruins. In the faceoff circle, the Sharks won 47.3% of the draws.

After the game, Tomas Hertl explained that his absence from the previous game was due to a kidney stone. He said that he had surgery for that last Monday.

The Sharks next play on Friday in Newark, New Jersey against the Devils at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Capitals 2-1, Bailey Assists GWG

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San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the go ahead goal in the third period against the Washington Capitals at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Nov 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 Monday at SAP Center. Fabian Zetterlund and Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves for the win. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves in the loss.

Justin Bailey was signed to a two-way contract Monday. He has been playing for the Barracuda so far this season. Monday was his first game with the Sharks and his first NHL point of the season. He made a particular impact in board battles. The 6’4” Bailey seems like exactly the type of player the Sharks could use to fill out their thinned forward ranks.

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “He’s our biggest forward and he can skate. And as you can see, he’s got a little bit of touch too. That was a great pass he made to Kunin on the winning goal. And he plays an honest game.”

Fabian Zetterlund gave the Sharks the lead midway through the first period. After taking a shot from the top of the face-off circle, he pulled up near the net and jumped on the rebound. Assists went to Nikita Okhotiuk and Mikael Granlund.

Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov tied the game late in the second period. After a long spell in the offensive zone, Kuznetsov’s shot bounced off of Blackwood and then off of Okhotiuk and into the net. Assists went to Trevor van Riemsdyk and Martin Fehervary.

Luke Kunin gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with a power play goal at 12:48 of the third period. Justin Bailey won a battle along the boards before finding Kunin with a short pass. Assists went to Bailey and Ty Emberson. Bailey was signed to a two-way contract with the Sharks Monday.

The Capitals pulled their goaltender with just over a minute left but the Sharks held on. The final shot count was 34-23 Capitals. The second period saw the largest discrepancy, with Washington out-shooting San Jose 14-6. The Sharks power play went 1/3 and their penalty kill was perfect through three penalties. The teams were even in the faceoff circle.

Tomas Hertl was out Monday, having suffered a mid-body injury Sunday. The Sharks again had seven defensemen in the game and 11 forwards.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Boston against the Bruins at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Canucks 4-3, Granlund Scores Highlight Goal

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San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund (64) is congratulated by defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) and left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Calen Addison (33) after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at SAP Center on Saturday. Ty Emberson, Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the win. Filip Hronek and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks and Casey DeSmith made 18 saves in the loss.

It was the Sharks’ fourth win of the season. After the game, Sharks defenseman Calen Addison said: “Obviously we played a real complete game tonight, I think we should have won last night too. So, obviously it’s huge for our group and a win is huge for confidence.”

The Sharks and their goaltender, Kaapo Kahkonen did not give up a goal at even strength Saturday. With their defense firmed up, their offense took on new life. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “We’re looking different, right? We’re looking more cohesive, we’re playing faster, moving pucks, but, spending time in the o-zone feels good.”

Early in the first, Vancouver’s Sam Lafferty put the puck in the net but the goal was called back for goaltender interference. Lafferty’s skate connected with Kahkonen’s as the goaltender rushed back into the blue paint after playing the puck behind the net. As a result, Kahkonen fell before he could get in position.

After that close call, Ty Emberson scored the first goal of the game at 9:58. His slapshot off a Hertl pass was his first in the NHL and the first goal from a Sharks defenseman this season. Assists went to Hertl and Mike Hoffman.

Filip Hronek tied the game at 15:37 with a power play goal. The Canucks’ fourth-ranked power play held the zone and the puck for the full minute that it took them to score. Hronek’s shot went under Kahkonen off a cross-ice pass. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 2-1 Sharks at 14:05 of the second period with a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Tomas Hertl found him with a quick pass from below the goal line after carrying the puck behind the net.

Brock Boeser tied it up again with a power play goal in the final seconds of the period. A rebound from Miller’s shot went right to Boeser for a shot over the goaltender. Assists went to Miller and Hronek.

The Sharks took the lead back with their first shot of the third period just 22 seconds in. The teams were skating four-on-four during a penalty carry-over from the second period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck end-to-end, right up the middle of the ice, weaving his way through the Vancouver defense. He made it to the net for a move worthy of a shoot-out. It was his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Calen Addison and Mario Ferraro.

Mike Hoffman padded the lead with a power play goal at 1:48. The teams were playing four-on-three. Granlund shot the puck to the net for a deflection. The deflection did not work but Hoffman swept it in with a second try. Assists went to Granlund and Addison.

With 3:11 left in the third, the Canucks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. Brock Boeser was able to score with a quick shot through traffic. Assists went to Miller (his third of the game) and Elias Pettersson.

In the final minutes of the game, Nico Sturm blocked a shot, had some trouble getting off the ice (though he managed a shot at the empty net on his way) and had to go to the dressing room.

The shots were close in the first period, 10-9 Sharks, but tilted to Vancouver thereafter, ending at 34-22 Canucks. The Sharks had just one power play to the Canucks’ four. Their penalty kill went 2/4 against the proficient Vancouver power play.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT at home against the visiting Washington Capitals.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks lose in shootout to Montreal 3-2; Sharks host Canucks tonight

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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau (30) defends against a shot attempt by San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 William Eklund scored a shootout goal for the San Jose Sharks (3-15-2) against the Montreal Canadiens (9-9-2) at SAP Center on Friday afternoon it wasn’t enough as the Canadiens Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylonen scored on Sharks goalie MacKenzie Blackwood for the win 3-2.

#2 The Canadiens Cole Caufield attempted to score on Blackwood in the shootout but Blackwood made a save and had 22 saves for the game.

#2 It was Caufield in the third period who tied up the game 2-2 beating Blackwood at 3:25 with a wrist shot to send the game into the shootout.

#3 The Sharks were hoping to get back in the win column after getting crushed by the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday in Seattle 7-1. The Sharks head coach David Quinn said despite the loss the veteran players led by example making it a much closer game this time around against the Habs.

#4 For the Sharks Mike Hoffman scored his fifth goal in five games, Eklund’s goal was a power play goal so the scoring has improved over the last two games. Hoffman’s goal came from an assist from Eklund 5:06 in the second period.

#5 The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night at 7:30pm. The Sharks lost to the Canucks 3-1 last Monday. The Canucks have lost three of their four games their last game coming against the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Wednesday.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 3-2 in SO to Canadiens; Habs Jlonen scores game winner in sixth round of shootout

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Montreal Canadiens right winger Jesse Ylonen (56) scored the game winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout against San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) at SAP Center in San Jose on Fri Nov 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 in a shoot out to the Montreal Canadiens Friday at SAP Center in San Jose. Johnathan Kovacevic and Cole Caulfield scored for Montreal. Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylönen scored in the shootout and Cayden Primeau made 31 saves for the win. Mike Hoffman and William Eklund scored for San Jose, with a shootout goal from Eklund as well. Tomas Hertl assisted on both regulation goals. Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves in the loss.

It was just two days ago that the Sharks turned in possibly their worst performance this season, in the 7-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken. After Friday’s game, Head Coach David Quinn said the Sharks “certainly looked a lot more like a hockey team tonight than we did against Seattle.”

For the first time this season, the Sharks out-shot their opponent for a final count of 33-24 Sharks. San Jose forward Tomas Hertl described Friday’s game as “A pretty good hockey game. I don’t think we gave them much but the chances we gave them they just cashed in, you know, so it’s tough because we deserved two points tonight.”

Mike Hoffman scored the first of the game at 5:06 of the second period. William Eklund held the puck behind the net after catching a pass from Tomas Hertl. Eklund found Hoffman drifting to the net for the shot.

Eklund made it 2-0 at 12:30 with a power play goal. Right off the offensive zone face-off, Calen Addison passed the puck to Eklund across the ice for a slap shot into the far side of the net. Assists went to Addison and Hertl.

Johnathan Kovacevic cut the lead to 2-1 at 18:02 of the second. His wrist shot from high in the slot went over Blackwood’s outstretched right arm and into the net. Assists went to Jayden Struble and Cole Caufield.

Caufield tied the game 3:26 into the third period. Skating into the zone two-on-one with Christian Dvorak against Nikita Okhotiuk, Caufield opted for the shot and found the top corner. Assists went to Juraj Slafkovsky and goaltender Cayden Primeau.

The Sharks had three shots to the Canadiens’ two shots in the overtime frame. In the shootout, Primeau stopped shots from Fabian Zetterlund, Mike Hoffman, Mikael Granlund. Tomas Hertl and Anthoney Duclair. Blackwood stopped shots from Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Christian Dvorak and Sean Monahan.

With forward Nico Sturm back in the lineup, the Sharks only used seven defensemen. Filip Zadina left the game at the end of the first period, leaving the team with just ten forwards. Regarding Zadina’s injury, Quinn said: “Upper body injury, so not sure where he stands right now.” The injury did not seem to be a result of a specific event in the first period. Quinn said it was “just something that’s been bothering him and it just acted up.”

The Sharks were bested again in the face-off circle, winning just 43.8% of the draws. The penalties were low in the game, with just two penalties called on each team. The Sharks scored the only power play goal.

The Sharks next play Saturday night at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Vancouver Canucks.

Kraken Sink Sharks 7-1; San Jose drops fifth out of last six games

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The Seattle Karken’s defenseman Will Borgen (3) gets in front of the San Jose Sharks (left winger) Anthony DuClair (10) in first period action at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Wed Nov 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-1 to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday. Seattle goals were scored by Brandon Tanev, Oliver Bjorstrand, Adam Larsson, Yanni Gourde, Jared and McCann, with two goals from Eeli Tolvanen. Joey Daccord made 13 saves for the win. Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks, Kaapo Kahkonen started the game and made 13 saves on 17 shots. Mackenzie Blackwood came in to finish and made 10 saves on 13 shots.

The Sharks had eight defensemen in the lineup, due to unavailable forwards. Kevin Labanc was out due to an injury sustained in Monday’s game. Nico Sturm was away for personal reasons. Still injured are Logan Couture, Oskar Lindblom and Alexander Barabanov. Although the team used eight defensemen, Marc-Edouard Vlasic was a scratch.

After the game, Anthony Duclair was asked if the team’s poor performance was a result of the missing regulars. He said: “Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, you gotta compete. You’re in the NHL, you gotta compete and if you don’t compete that’s what’s gonna happen in the first period. It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, everybody has to be ready to go and it cost us.”

The first period was the worst for the Sharks. They gave up four goals, and but for an off-side call, it would have been five. The Sharks managed seven shots in the period but allowed seventeen to the Kraken.

“We can’t start a game like that in the NHL, you’re going to get embarrassed. We’ve been embarrassed before this season but nothing like the first period today. That was just unacceptable,” said Duclair. Asked what went wrong for the team, he said: “We just got out-competed, that’s not the xs and os, it’s win battles and losing battles one v one all over the ice and it cost us.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn went into more detail:

“Embarrassing. We weren’t ready to play. Two break aways in the first minute and a half. I mean just absolutely freaking embarrassing. We lost every single battle, got beat off walls every time there was a 50/50 puck battle we’re fishing for pucks get on the wrong side of it. One guy would get beat one on one and the other guy would dive in.”

In light of that start, the second period might have been worse. The Kraken only had four shots, but they had a four goal lead. The Sharks, trailing as they were, still had just one shot in the period. The total shot count for the game was 30-14 Kraken. The Sharks even had an unusually bad night in the face-off circle. Though they were missing Nico Sturm, their second best in that department, the rest of the team’s top three were present. Still, the Sharks won just 48% of the draws.

Quinn was asked if Wednesday’s performance was a symptom of the team being fragile this season. Quinn seemed out of patience with that excuse:

“I don’t want to hear about freakin fragile, okay? It’s the National freakin Hockey League and you better show up ready to play every freakin night. I don’t care about fragile, sometimes you don’t have it, I get it, but you want to show up and play with the right freakin intentions and we didn’t do it.”

The Sharks will next play on Friday at 12:30 PM PT against the Montreal Canadiens in San Jose.

Canucks two goals in second period takes care of Sharks 3-1; A game almost fit for a Duke

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) anticipate on Harry The Duke of Sussex for the puck drop before Mon Nov 20, 2023 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver BC (photo from San Jose Sharks X)

By Torben Rolfsen

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -The toothless San Jose Sharks (3-14-1) started off a two-game swing through the Pacific Northwest Monday night by dropping a 3-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks (13-5-1) at Rogers Arena.

Despite slightly outhitting the Canucks, the Sharks never looked dangerous, were outshot 40-28, and soundly beaten in the faceoff circle.

J.T. Miller made it 3-1 with just under thirteen minutes left when he tapped in a quick rebound in front that Mackenzie Blackwood had no chance on.

Things got a little amped up late in the second period as the Canucks Nils Hoglander was assessed a five minute match penalty for using his right leg to flip over the Sharks Kevin Labanc with 1:29 to go.

Sam Lafferty then scored shorthanded for the Canucks with under a second left in the middle frame.

Tomas Hertl scored the lone San Jose goal as the major power play continued into the early third, with assists to Calen Addison and Mikael Granlund.

With 8:50 left in the second, William Eklund appeared to put the Sharks ahead 1-0 on a scramble in front of the Vancouver goal, but Canucks coach Rick Tocchet used a coach’s challenge to get the goal waved off for a borderline goaltender interference call after an official video review.

San Jose netminder Mackenzie Blackwood remained razor sharp through the middle of the second.

NHL scoring leader Quinn Hughes broke the 0-0 deadlock at 13:07, doing his Bobby Orr impression on a brilliant individual effort to wire one past Blackwood.

A low-event first period saw the Canucks outshoot the Sharks 12-7, but Blackwood was very steady.

Attendance was announced at 18,718 , which included the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, watching from the royal box.

The Sharks take on the Kraken Wednesday night in Seattle.

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

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Monday, November 20th, 2023

By Troy Ewers 

U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas – In the final game of the Paradise Jam tournament San Jose State faced off against Hampton University 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.