Category: San Jose State Spartans

Buzzer Beater Finish As San Jose State Loses 75-73 To Wyoming

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The San Jose State Spartans tangled with the Wyoming Cowboys on Tue Jan 2, 2024 at Arena Auditorium in Laramie Wyoming (San Jose State Spartans photo)

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

By Troy Ewers

 The San José State Spartans (7-7, 0-0 Mountain West) battled the Wyoming Cowboys (8-6, 0-0 Mountain West). The Spartans have not played since Dec. 20 when they won 81-78 over Santa Clara. In the victory, the Spartans were led by MJ Amey Jr. and Alvaro Cardenas. Amey Jr. registered 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block while Cardenas produced a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists. Unlike their win against the Broncos the Spartans were defeated by the Cowboys on Tuesday night by a bucket 75-73.

Game recap: The first half for the Spartans was a high energy and high volume half that ended with them having a hefty lead 47-35. SJSU hit 51% from the field, 50% from the three point line, and 22 rebounds and despite having five turnovers, the Spartans maintained control against Wyoming the whole half.

Cardenas led San Jose State with 12 points, also leading in assists and rebounds by halftime. Wyoming’s biggest flaw was their shooting, only hitting 30% from the field, causing them to try and dig out of a 12 point hole. The Spartans are 5-3 this season when leading at halftime.

San Jose State held the lead the whole half, but the gap was closed by Wyoming as they matched the Spartans on the boards and on the scoreboard. With six minutes left Wyoming tied it up at 66 points a piece.

The remainder of the half was a back and forth where both teams traded baskets and even leads, but the final seconds wound down and Wyoming’s Akuel Kot hit a mid range buzzer beater to win the ballgame for the Cowboys 75-73. 

Now 5-4 when leading at half, but more importantly 7-7 in their overall record, the SJSU Spartans need to string together some wins if they want this season to result in a conference championship or even sniff a chance at it. Being 0-1 after this Wyoming matchup isn’t helpful, but they can bounce back against Boise State back in San Jose at 7:30pm PT on Friday, January 5th.

Buzzer Beater Finish As San Jose State Loses 75-73 To Wyoming

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Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

By Troy Ewers

 The San José State Spartans (7-7, 0-0 Mountain West) battled the Wyoming Cowboys (8-6, 0-0 Mountain West). The Spartans have not played since Dec. 20 when they won 81-78 over Santa Clara. In the victory, the Spartans were led by MJ Amey Jr. and Alvaro Cardenas. Amey Jr. registered 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block while Cardenas produced a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists. Unlike their win against the Broncos the Spartans were defeated by the Cowboys on Tuesday night by a bucket 75-73.

Game recap: The first half for the Spartans was a high energy and high volume half that ended with them having a hefty lead 47-35. SJSU hit 51% from the field, 50% from the three point line, and 22 rebounds and despite having five turnovers, the Spartans maintained control against Wyoming the whole half.

Cardenas led San Jose State with 12 points, also leading in assists and rebounds by halftime. Wyoming’s biggest flaw was their shooting, only hitting 30% from the field, causing them to try and dig out of a 12 point hole. The Spartans are 5-3 this season when leading at halftime.

San Jose State held the lead the whole half, but the gap was closed by Wyoming as they matched the Spartans on the boards and on the scoreboard. With six minutes left Wyoming tied it up at 66 points a piece.

The remainder of the half was a back and forth where both teams traded baskets and even leads, but the final seconds wound down and Wyoming’s Akuel Kot hit a mid range buzzer beater to win the ballgame for the Cowboys 75-73. 

Now 5-4 when leading at half, but more importantly 7-7 in their overall record, the SJSU Spartans need to string together some wins if they want this season to result in a conference championship or even sniff a chance at it. Being 0-1 after this Wyoming matchup isn’t helpful, but they can bounce back against Boise State back in San Jose at 7:30pm PT on Friday, January 5th.

Coastal Carolina Beats San Jose State 24-14 In The EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl

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The San Jose State Spartans edged the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex in Manoa, HI in the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl on Sat Dec 23, 2023 (SJSU Spartans photo)

Saturday, December 23rd, 2023

By Troy Ewer

San José State (7-5, 6-2 Mountain West) is Hawai‘i Bound in the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl and will take on Coastal Carolina (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) from the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex in Manoa, Hawai‘i as the Spartans look for their seventh straight win.

The co-regular season Mountain West Champions head to their third bowl game in four years for the first time in SJSU history and it’s the first time since 1986-87 the Spartans have been to back-to-back bowl games as they look for their seventh consecutive win for the first time since 2020.

First touchdown of the game came with three minutes left of the first quarter from a 2 yard pass from Ethan Vasko to Matt Alaimo of Coastal Carolina after a whole first quarter where no one was really moving the chains. 7-0 Coastal Carolina.

The quarter ended 7-0 Coastal Carolina with the ball and a clear advantage in the momentum. The Spartans struggled the first half trying to get in the end zone, but for a majority of the half it was a combination of factors between good defense from Coastal Carolina and SJSU not capitalizing on the fact that Coastal Carolina also wasn’t scoring that much either.

The first half ended 7-0 making it the lowest scoring half in Hawai’i Bowl history. Very quiet half with one touchdown and a bunch of punts. 

The third quarter was looking to be just as quiet as the rest of the half, but Vasko connected with Kendall Karr on a 2 yard TD pass that capped a 87 yard drive, 14-0 Coastal Carolina. The Spartans couldn’t find their way to water if they were on an island and with three minutes left in the third, they needed to find water fast, because the score may have been low, but it was a hole they needed to get out of.

On the following drive it looked like the Spartans were getting things together, but a forced fumble recovered by Coastal Carolina stopped that SJSU momentum right in their tracks. The third quarter ended 14-0 and this game felt oddly over even though there was one last quarter, but it certainly wasn’t. 

Coastal Carolina started the fourth quarter with a field goal, which made it a 17-0 score and a deeper hole for the Spartans. San Jose State finally got on the board with a Chevan Cordeiro 35 yard touchdown pass to Sam Olson. 17-7 and it was a sign that there was still life in the Spartans.

A bad pass forced Coastal Carolina to punt and SJSU now had a chance to capitalize and close the gap. Quali Conley got the second touchdown for SJSU with a 12 yard rushing TD and Coastal Carolina fans were deflated in the stands in Hawai’i. 17-14 with 8:30 left in the game.

Coastal Carolina ran the ball down the field and the minutes off the clock, but in the red zone Vasko threw an 8 yard TD pass to Sam Pinckney and that left the Spartans 2:43 to try to comeback and get a big bowl victory.

The Spartans missed a field goal and Coastal Carolina took a knee to run the clock down. Coastal Carolina wins 24-14!!! A hard fought season for San Jose State and that roster and they have high hopes for next season, but for now the Spartans will enjoy their holiday break in Hawai’i as well as their offseason. Happy Holidays everyone.

San Jose State Ends 2023 With A 81-78 Victory Against Santa Clara; Face Wyoming Jan 2nd

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Alvaro Cardenas (13) San Jose Spartans guard finished second in scoring with 14 against the Wyoming Cowboys at Provident Credit Union Event Arena in San Jose Wed Dec 20, 2023 (San Jose Spartans photo)

Wednesday, December 20th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose State Spartans host the Santa Clara Broncos in a matchup between Silicon Valley schools. The Spartans are coming off their first home loss of the season, an 86-75 defeat to Montana Sunday afternoon. 

The first half for San Jose State was them clicking on all cylinders, 55% from the field. Tibet Gorener and Latrell Davis led the Sparatans with 10 points each with MJ Amey Jr. with nine. Meanwhile Santa Clara was led by Carlos Marshall Jr. who had 23 points, but that wasn’t enough to put them up at the half as the Brocos were trailing by three as the half ended with 42-39 SJSU. 

The second half started and the Spartans went right on the offensive. Santa Clara was on their heels all first half, so San Jose State needed to separate themselves from this hungry Broncos team if the Spartans were gonna walk out of the event center with a W.

The whole game it felt like Santa Clara was right there with SJSU, but that’s because they were. Four different players in double digits (Amey Jr, Davis, Gorener, and Cardenas) contributed to SJSU maintaining a lead, but the Broncos were always within a fighting distance.

The last minute they were tied at 76 a piece and after a Santa Clara three. Amey Jr. hit two free throws to take the lead and after a missed three from the Broncos, the Spartans had Adrame Diongue at the free throw line, not being that great from the line, he missed one and made one, putting SJSU up three with  12 seconds left.

Adama Bal scored a layup to put the Broncos within one and had to foul the Spartans again to regain possession, this time Alvaro Cardenas who hit both free throws to make their lead a three point lead. The final chance buzzer beater three for Santa Clara hit rim, but no success and the Spartans won 81-78.

Amey Jr. with 19 points and Cardenas with a double double are just one of the many reasons the Spartans left with the win, but they won this by playing their game both halves. 

Spartans got a feel-good win before the holiday break and got a well deserved break. Their next game will be in 2024, specifically January 2nd 2024 in Wyoming against Wyoming. The San Jose State Spartans look to start their next year with more success than they did, ending 2023 7-6.

San Jose State Lose To Montana 86-75 At Home

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San Jose State Spartans guard Alvaro Cardenas (13) takes a shot against the Montana Grizzlies defense at Provident Credit Union Event Center San Jose on Sun Dec 17, 2023 (San Jose State Spartans photo)

Sunday, December 17th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San José State Spartans host Montana on Saturday afternoon inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The Spartans have had tremendous success on their home floor early in the season, playing to an undefeated record of 4-0 in San Jose with wins over UC Irvine, Bethesda, North Dakota State and New Orleans.

A first half that started off with Montana getting up early and hitting 60% from the field, led by Annen Moody with 10 points in eight minutes. The Spartans hulked up and got on a comeback hitting six of seven field goals in that comeback.

SJSU took the lead as the half winded down and held that lead all the way to the buzzer signaling halftime. San Jose State went 7-12 from 3 and 15-31 from the field as a team, but the man in the driver seat for the Spartans in the first half was Tibet Gorener, who had 13 points (5-7 FGs). The score at half was 40-37, Spartans up and in front of their home crowd kept the energy positive and high intensity. 

The second half was the story for SJSU earlier in the season, starting strong and ending low. Montana immediately tied with a three to start the half and never looked back. SJSU kept it close the whole half, even holding a lead, but Montana ended up with a 10 point lead with 2:30 left in the game.

The gap was too big to close for the Spartans as Montana won the game 86-75. Moody was the big dog for Montana scoring 21 points and even though MJ Amey Jr. scored 15 points and four assists, Montana just outplayed SJSU in the second half. 

The Spartans are 1-3 this month and have one more game left in December before they start 2024 with a bang. That last game of the month will be in San Jose against Santa Clara on Wednesday, December 20th and the Spartans are looking to get a W to close the year. 

San Jose State Undefeated At Home After 87-82 Victory Over New Orleans

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The San Jose State Spartans guard Alvaro Cardenas takes the ball up the floor as the Spartans defeated the New Orleans Privateers at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose on Sat Dec 9, 2023 (photo by San Jose State Spartans Athletic Dept)

Saturday, December 9th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose State Spartans (4-5) host the New Orleans Privateers (6-5) this Saturday afternoon in the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The Spartans have had tremendous success on their home floor early this season, playing to an undefeated record 3-0 in San Jose.

SJSU came off a difficult road trip in which they went 0-3 losses to Cal Poly, Montana, and North Dakota State. Two of the three games on that road trip went to overtime. 

A very competitive back and forth in the first half between both squads. Balanced on defense and scoring, both teams were playing like it was two heavyweight boxers. Jordan Johnson led New Orleans all the way through the half, but SJSU had a more even distribution of the ball.

New Orleans gained some distance on the scoreboard, until MJ Amey Jr. took over and closed the gap with three straight 3-pointers and ended up with 18 points in the first half. New Orleans was up four, 44-40 at halftime. Neither team had a good game from the free throw line, but from the field it was a battle. 

The second half was a way more physical half, but no lack of scoring. Johnson and Jah Short were leading New Orleans while Amey Jr. was the guy for the Spartans (29 points for the game).

DJ Seixas was the difference maker for the Spartans leading the team to gain their first lead since early in the first half. Alvaro Cardenas had a double double that took the Spartans to a late game lead and at the end Spartans won 87-82. 

Next game for the Spartans will be back at home against Montana, December 17th. Spartans continue their undefeated home record, 4-0.

San Jose State Lose Three Straight After 83-78 OT Loss At North Dakota State

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San Jose State Spartans took a tough loss against the North Dakota State Bison in Fargo North Dakota on Mon Dec 4, 2023 (San Jose State University photo)

Monday, December 4th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

The San José State Spartans (5-5) are looking to end a two-game skid as they take on the North Dakota State Bison (5-4). The Spartans are coming off losses to Cal Poly and Montana. For the Spartans’ head coach Tim Miles, Monday’s game will be a return to Fargo where he served as the Bison head coach for six seasons, from 2001-2002 until 2006-2007.  It wasn’t quite the visit that coach Miles was expected as the Spartans dropped their third straight game 83-78.

In the first half it looked like San Jose State couldn’t hit a stride all half, Spartans starting the half shooting 29% from the field, but ended up hitting 41% by the end of the half. North Dakota State hit 57% from the three point line and that’s what kept them ahead.

NDSU’s Jacari White led the Bison with eight points at half and SJSU’s Rickey Mitchell Jr. also led his team with eight points. When the buzzer hit for halftime North Dakota State was up 36-28 and thanks to a 7-0 run in the last minute of the half is what closed the gap to within eight points. 

The second half was a back and forth between both squads and it was also the first time the Spartans held a lead. The back and forth climaxed with the Bison having a two point lead with ten seconds left and the Spartans tying it up at 72 and we went to overtime. 

Overtime started out with a back and forth ball game, but North Dakota ultimately took over at the wheel and separated themselves in the last minute win 83-78. The Spartans have now lost three straight games and head back to San Jose in a slump.

San Jose State’s next game is December 9th against New Orleans and it’s back in the Provident Credit Union Event Center where the Spartans look to shake off this losing streak and get back into their winning ways before the new year. 

San Jose State Spartans Lose To Montana Grizzlies 75-58

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San Jose State Spartans guard Alvaro Cardenas (13) drives on the Montana Grizzlies forward (21) Laolu Oke at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula Montana on Sat Dec 2023 (SJSU Spartans photo)

Saturday, December 2nd, 2023

By Troy Ewers

The San José State Spartans are looking for their fourth win in five games when they take on Montana on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans were on a three-game winning streak prior to losing to Cal Poly in overtime on Wednesday night. Following the game, the Spartans will head to North Dakota State for the final contest of a three-game road trip. 

The first half for the Spartans was a rare form for them this season where they were playing from behind. Going 9-25 from the field, it looked like nothing went right offensively for the Spartans and Montana took full advantage. Montana hauled 22 rebounds and went 48% from the field with Money Williams scoring 16 points in the first half for Montana. The half ended 36-24 Montana with the lead. 

The second half was a bigger runaway for Montana as at one point in the half the Grizzlies were up 60-37. The Spartans tried to put their foot on the gas, but the potholes Montana set up early slowed San Jose State down. 52% from the field, but that didn’t matter as Montana forced nine turnovers and even though Montana only scored seven points off those turnovers, it was enough to halt any progress SJSU tried to create.

Even the guys that are usual scorers for the Spartans were quiet. Trey Anderson, Tibet Gorener, and MJ Amey Jr. combined for 10 points this game and even Alvaro Cardenas’s nine points was just a piece of floss in an avalanche. The final score ended up being 75-58 Montana. 

Not the way the Spartans wanted to rebound after the last loss, but the result leaves them to fall to 5-4. The next game for San Jose State will be against North Dakota State in Fargo, North Dakota, Monday, December 4th.

San Jose State Controls Whole Game Beat North Dakota State 78-65

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San Jose State Spartans had plenty to be happy about defeating the North Dakota State Bisons at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose on Mon Nov 27, 2023 (SJSU Spartans photo)

Monday, November 27th, 2023

By Troy Ewers 

San Jose, CA – The SJSU Spartans are back in San Jose after the Paradise Jam and face off against North Dakota State in non conference action. Paradise didn’t seem like a fleeting thing as the Spartans defeated the Bisons 78-65.

The first half San Jose State was in the lead the whole time, but only by a small margin. Almost the whole Spartans lineup was on the board, but it was Trey Anderson with seven points, who led the team in scoring. North Dakota State’s main problem was going 2-11 from three which left them fighting from behind even though they were out-rebounding the Spartans. By the end of the first half SJSU was up 32-27. 

The Spartans clicked on all cylinders in the second half and secured a victory the whole way through. Shooting 47.3% from the field and 45.8% from the three point line. Leading scorer Trey Anderson walked out with 21 points and MJ Amey Jr. locked in a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Scoring 78 points total the Spartans rolled North Dakota State by 13 points. 

The 5-2 San Jose State Spartans are feeling good after this game, but with only one day to rest it off, SJSU faces Cal Poly Novemer 29th in San Luis Obispo and they want to continue to close out games for W’s.

San Jose State Spartans Earn Possible Shot At Mountain West Title Game With 37-31 Victory Over UNLV Rebels

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A happy group of San Jose State Spartans leave the field after playing against the UNLV Running Rebels at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (San Jose State University image)

Saturday, November 25th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

The San Jose State Spartans won its fifth straight game and earned a shot at the Mountain West Conference title by beating the UNLV Rebels 37-31 in this final week of the season. Thanks to Chevan Cordeiro’s two touchdown passes and Kairee Robinson’s two touchdown rushes the Spartans made a big statement headed into the championship week. 

This loss for UNLV leaves a three-way tie for first place in the Mountain West between them SJSU and Boise State and computer rankings will determine which two teams will play in the conference championship game. Updates coming soon. 

SJSU took control early in this game and didn’t let up. Cordeiro’s 56 yard passing TD to Sam Olson was the fourth play from scrimmage and grabbed the lead. A UNLV fumble on the following kickoff that Jay’Vion Cole recovered at the 23 yard line set up a Spartans field goal. 10-0 SJSU.

Robinson scored a 25 yard touchdown making it 17-0 Spartans, but UNLV responded with a rushing TD of their own thanks to Jai’Den Thomas that put them within ten points at the end of the first quarter. 

Each team hit a field goal in the second quarter making it 20-10 Spartans at halftime. In the third quarter UNLV was able to cut the deficit with another Thomas rushing TD early in the third quarter, but Cordeiro came right back with a toss to Isaac Jernigin, and then another field goal by SJSU made it 30-17 by the end of the third quarter. 

The final quarter started with Robinson scoring on a 40 yard touchdown giving the Spartans a three score lead. UNLV in back to back drives was able to score and cut the lead to 37-31 with 1:27 left in the game. Spartans ran the clock down and ended the game with 37-31 and now the rankings have to decide which one the three teams in this tie will play in the conference championship game next week.