Sharks Hold On To Win 4-3 Over Avs

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose took an early lead and then fended off the resurgent Colorado Avalanche for a 4-3 win at home Friday. Sharks goals came from Marcus Sorensen (2), Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier. Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win, while Semyon Varlamov made an impressive 36 saves for the losing team. The Avalanche got goals from Samuel Girard, Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

We got a lot of pucks back and I think we were fairly hungry. We played a much harder game, much more complete game and, you know, we were rewarded for it. We got to play in the o-zone a little bit tonight.

The Sharks scored in the first five minutes of the first two periods. The first came from Marcus Sorensen, who received a well-timed pass from Brent Burns. Burns took a few seconds deciding where to send that pass as he held the puck along the boards. The opening was small, but Sorensen was there to shoot through traffic and into the net. Assists went to Burns and Joe Thornton.

The second came from Timo Meier at 2:35 of the second. Joe Pavelski got to the puck off a defensive zone faceoff and was just able to tip it over to Meier as Meier left the zone. Meier carried it through the neutral zone and then took a shot above the faceoff circle, using a Colorado defender as a screen. Pavelski got the assist.

The Avalanche got one back from the stick of Nikita Zadorov at 4:55 of the second. After winning control of the puck below the goal line, the Avalanche moved the puck back to the point and across, drawing defenders with it. Zadorov’s shot came from the blue line while Marc-Edouard Vlasic was trying to clear Matt Calvert out of Jones’s way. Jones didn’t see the shot coming until too late. Assists went to Gabriel Landeskog and Ian Cole.

With just 44 seconds left in the second, Sorensen scored his second of the game. The Avalanche were on their heels after a long, high-pressure shift from the Sharks’ top line of Couture, Pavelski and Meier. Not long after the line change, Kevin Labanc took a shot from almost at the blue line, but it hit a defender in front of Varlamov. Hertl was on hand to try again but his shot hit the post and the puck fell dead in the blue paint, behind the goaltender. Meier was right there for the third try and swept it over the line. Assists went to Hertl and Labanc.

The Sharks led on the shot clock in both the first (9-6) and second (18-7) periods. They also prevailed in the faceoff circle 55% of the time.

The Avalanche got a power play goal from Mikko Rantanen at 10:08 of the third. It was a strange goal that started with a shot from Alexander Kerfoot, which Vlasic got a stick on. The puck went off of Vlasic’s stick to hit Landeskog in the torso as he skated to the net. It bounced off of him and landed near Martin Jones, but Rantanen got to it before Jones could get a glove on it. Assists went to Landeskog and Kerfoot.

The Sharks took back their two-goal lead on a power play at 12:39 of the third. Kevin Labanc was above the faceoff circle, skating toward the net. He looked very much like he would shoot, but he passed at the last second, finding Pavelski across the ice with an open net. It was Pavelski’s 36th goal of the season and assists went to Labanc and Couture.

Colorado would not sit still for that and Samuel Girard got one back with a shot off the rush at 13:27. The shot went cleanly through quite a bit of traffic. Assists went to Landeskog and Nathan McKinnon.

Colorado pulled Varlamov in the final minutes, but the Sharks held them off.

The Sharks power play went 1/3, while the Avalanche power play went 1/2. Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson were both out of the lineup Friday.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose, against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Reign take down Barracuda 8-4

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by Marko Ukalovic

The Ontario Reign scored three unanswered goals twice to dominate the San Jose Barracuda 8-4 in a Pacific Division matchup on Friday evening at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

San Jose (30-15-2-4) drew first blood on the power play in the first period. TJ Hensick scored his second goal of the season at the 5:47 mark. Nick DeSimone and Jeremy Roy received assists.

Ontario (18-25-5-2) scored the equalizer over three minutes later. Matt Moulson beat Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (11-10-5) for his team-leading 23rd goal at the 8:54 mark. Mike Amadio and Austin Strand received assists.

Alex True scored the first of his two goals a little more than half way through the period at the 11:35 mark. His team-leading 19th goal of the season were assisted by Jon Martin and Jonathan Dahlen, his first point as a member of the Barracuda.

The Reign evened up the score on the power play late in the opening frame. Defenseman Kale Clague scored his sixth goal of the season at the 17:33 mark. Amadio and Moulson received the assists.

Anti Soumela gave San Jose their last lead of the game on the power play early in the second period. He beat Reign goalie Cal Petersen (8-13-3) for his fourth goal of the season at the 4:30 mark.

Ontario scored three unanswered goals in a five-minute span to take control of the game. Sheldon Rempal scored his 12th goal of the season at the 6:56 mark. Then less than two minutes later Nikita Scherbak scored his fourth goal of the season at the 8:50 mark. Brett Sutter finished off the scoring for the Reign in the second period with his 13th goal of the season at the 11:49 mark.

In the third period, True brought the Cuda back to within one goal with his second goal of the night and 20th of the season at 7:06 mark. Jayden Halbgewachs and Dahlen assisted on the goal. Dahlen earned a two-point night.

Ontario put the game away scoring the final three goals of the game. Amadio scored his third goal of the season at the 12:50 mark. Rempal scored his second goal of the night and 13th of the season just 16 seconds later at the 13:06 mark. Moulson finished off the scoring with an empty-netter for his second goal and team leading 24th goal of the season at the 16:05 mark.

Petersen had an impressive busy evening making 52 saves on 56 shots to earn his eighth victory of the season. Bibeau made 37 saves on 44 shots in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/5 on the power play. Ontario was 1/3.

The announced attendance was 8,711.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday 3/2 at 7:00 pm at Rabobank Arena.

Stanford continues homestand against No. 25 Washington on Sunday afternoon

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball lit up the scoreboard, got the conference win and snapped a two-game losing skid with a 98-50 rout of the Washington State Cougars inside Maples Pavilion Thursday evening. Moreover, it’s safe to say that the Cardinal clobbered the Cougars after suffering back-to-back defeats in the Grand Canyon State at the hands of the Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats on February 20th and February 24th.

In the win over WSU, Stanford (15-13, 8-8 Pac-12) was led by KZ Okpala, who scored 22 points.

“I made the right plays tonight,” Okpala said. “We were all locked in with each other. We came out and did what we had to do.”

Cormac Ryan hit four 3-pointers as well. This led to the Cardinal earning their chance to extend their winning streak against the Cougars to six games.

“I thought our energy level was off the charts,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said. “I loved our energy defensively.”

No. 25 Washington watched their three-game winning streak come to an end Thursday night as the Cardinal’s rival, the Cal Golden Bears, edged the road team 76-73 for the upset. Not only that, Cal finally snapped their 16-game losing skid, which was a great feeling for the players and coaches to say the very least. But as you might’ve guessed, this will likely be a challenge for Stanford, who has been rather wishy-washy this season. Stanford can put on a show or simply freeze into ice on the hardwood.

The Cardinal’s second to last home game at Maples will be against No. 25 Washington Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm PST on the Pac-12 Network. Yes, Stanford has home court advantage, but there’s a reason or two on why Washington found its way back into the AP polls, so the Cardinal has to put on another spectacular performance to prove that they can, too, be a hot-shooting team.

I predict that the Cardinal will fall to No. 25 Washington 75-73. After all, No. 25 Washington likely wants to be crowned as Pac-12 Champions. All they need is one win in the Bay Area to do just that.

San Jose State looks to make it two wins in a row at San Diego State on Saturday

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By: Ana Kieu

The dog days for San Jose State men’s basketball finally came to a screeching halt Tuesday night when the home team shockingly picked up its first conference win of the season 89-82 over the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center. As expected, the crowd was loud, but it was pretty much Spartan alumni and/or season-ticket holders. Hopefully, more current SJSU students flock to these games, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at what to expect in Saturday’s road game.

At a Glance
SJSU, fresh off their first conference win of the season, will look to keep the momentum rolling as they face San Diego State Saturday inside Viejas Arena. Fans can catch the game on Fox Sports San Diego or Mountain West Network. As always, Justin Allegri will provide the Spartan radio call on the TuneIn app.

Game No. 28
SJSU (4-23, 1-14) at SDSU (18-10, 10-5)
Saturday, March 2, 7:00 pm PST
Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, 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.

What Would a Win Mean?
The Spartans are looking for win No. 5 on the season, which would be the most in the last two season since going 14-16 in 2016-17. A win over the Aztecs would also be the second in conference play, also the most since winning seven in 2016-17.

Recapping Game One vs. SDSU
Game one of the two-game series this season against the Aztecs resulted in an 11-point loss inside the Event Center. SJSU played well enough to win, but was unable to hold off SDSU as they took advantage of three Spartan turnovers in a span of three minutes to take a 13-point lead. SJSU was unable to make up the ground and fell 67-56.

Craig LeCesne (14) and Brae Ivey (12) led the Spartans in scoring, while Michael Steadman pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds.

Reviewing the Big Win
SJSU’s 89-82 win over UNM was a historic night inside the Event Center. Not only did it break a 17-game losing streak, it also boasted a plethora of records.

» The win was the second all-time against the Lobos and the first-ever in San Jose.

» Noah Baumann broke his own school record with eight 3-pointers on 8-of-12 shooting. He finished with a team-best 26 points.

» Brae Ivey tied a school record with six steals on the evening. He was one of multiple players to tally six steals, but just the first since Justin Graham versus the Santa Clara Broncos on December 10, 2010.

» Michael Steadman had his second-straight game with 21 points as well as his second-straight double-double. He had 10 made field goals and 20 field goal attempts, both the most by a Spartan this season.

» Steadman and Baumann became the first duo to score 20 points this season and were the first since Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman versus Wyoming in the Mountain West Tournament last season (3/7/18).

Nice Newcomers
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 69.9% of the Spartans’ offense (1,243-1,778).

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the Spartans’ offense with 362 points (20.3%).

Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann has been shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the MW in 3-point percentage (46.5%). Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.5).

Baumann set a new school record of 22 consecutive games with a 3-point bucket made against UNLV on Feb. 16, breaking a tie with Robert Owens, who closed out 2009-10 on a 21-game streak, for the new record. His streak is currently at 25.

In the loss to Utah State, Baumann had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he scored a career-high 29 points and tied the then-school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.

Baumann has hit the school record in 3-point makes twice the season, the second time, however, versus New Mexico, he broke the record outright with eight. He finished 8-of-12 from the 3-point range to lead the Spartans to a win over New Mexico.

Baumann holds the first and seconnd highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 versus Utah State and 26 versus New Mexico. The sophomore is averaging 10.7 points in MW play, second-most on the team (Steadman). He’s also second to Steadman with 11.6 points in the last five games.

The Zach Chappell Show
Freshman Zach Chappell has come on strong as of late, starting the last five games and averaging 9.4 points in those starts. Against UNLV, Chappell finished with 11 points, a career-high six rebounds and nine assists — tied for the most by a Spartan this season. He had 10 points versus Colorado State.

In the win over New Mexico, Chappell finished with a career-high 17 points and dished out 9 assists. He now has two games with 9 assists on the season, which was tied with Craig LeCesne for the most by any Spartan.

Chastain in Charge
Junior center Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup with senior Oumar Barry sidelined by injury. Chastain has started the last 10 games in his stead.

Ch-Ch-Changes
Spartans head coach 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.

Hidden Gem
Despite losing 90-71 to CSU, the Spartans may have found a hidden gem in the form of junior walk-on Brian Rodriguez-Flores, who played 17 minutes and scored a season-high 13 points. He followed with a season-best 33 minutes at Air Force, where he was the first player off the bench and finished with 12 points.

Starry Knight
Freshman guard Seneca Knight has upped his game recently. In the last five games, he has been averaging 9.6 points, third-best on the team in that stretch. Against Colorado State, he led the team with a 14 point performance. He followed with 12 points at Air Force.

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 13.4 points per game and ranks sixth in the MW with 8.4 rebounds per game. He has nine double-doubles on the season, ranking fourth in the conference and has scored in double figures in 20-of-27 games. He also has 12 games with double-digit rebounds.

Steadman leads the Spartans with five games with at least 20 points, and has twice achieved the feat in back-to-back efforts. First was against AF and USU. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to AF. He then followed up with 20 points at USU.

Steadman has also achieved the feat in the last two games, starting with a career-best 17 rebounds and 21 points at AF. In his last outing, he finished once again with 21 points and pulled down 11 boards in the win over UNM.

Steadman is averaging 14. 8 points per game in the last five games and is averaging 13.4 in MW games.

Change It Up
Prioleau has used 10 different lineups throughout the season with no one player starting each time out. Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup the last four games. Seven newcomers have made starts, including freshmen Seneca Knight, Zach Chappell, Trey Smith and Christian Anigwe.

Baumann and Steadman Remain as Keys
In SJSU’s four wins this season, there have been two critical factors: Noah Baumann and Michael Steadman.

In those four games, the pair is averaging 15.3 points each. Steadman has pulled down 11.3 rebounds in those games while Baumann has been red-hot from the 3-point range in each game, averaging 69.6% from the 3-point range (16-23).

On the Board(s)
SJSU ranks third in the MW in offensive boards with 11.0 per game and rank sixth in defensive boards with 26.0.

Series History: SDSU
The Aztecs lead the series by a slim margin 39-35, but have claimed nine of the last 10, including the last three. The Spartans’ last win came on February 7, 2017 at home 76-71. Prior to that win, SDSU had a seven-game win streak, the second-longest streak in the series. The longest such streak belongs to the Spartans, who won nine straight from 1948-1952. SDSU won the first game against SJSU this season 67-56 in San Jose.

The Aztecs, under second-year head coach Brian Dutcher, enter Saturday’s game on a one-game losing skid after USU knocked them off of a five-game winning streak 70-54 in Logan, Utah.

SDSU excels at shooting the 3-ball. They rank second in the MW in 3-point percentage with a 36.6% clip and also rank third in 3-point defense (33.0%). The lethal scoring duo of Jalen McDaniels and Devin Watson will once again prove to be a huge test against SJSU as they each rank in the top-10 in the MW in scoring. The duo combined for 49 points the first time the teams met in February (Watson: 27, McDaniels: 22).

Baumann Chases History
Noah Baumann is having a season to remember in his second season as the Spartans’ sharpshooter. In addition to breaking two school records already (consecutive games with a 3 and single-game 3-pointers), he is quickly ascending the single-season mark for made 3-pointers.

Baumann is 67-of-144 from the 3-point range with three regular season games to go. His 67 makes currently rank as the seventh most in school history.

SJSU Single-Season 3-Point Record Leaders
1. Robert Owens (2010) … 78
2. Rashad Muhammad (2014) … 75
3. Billy Landrum (2000) … 74
4. Adrian Oliver (2011) … 70
5. Tim Pierce (2008) … 69
6. Mac Peterson (2010) … 68
7. Noah Baumann (2019) … 67

Baumann’s 46.5% 3-point percentage is also on pace to break his own school record set last season (46.0%).

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: After a complete rotation change last season, A’s try to keep pitching staff healthy

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Jerry talks about the progress of A’s pitchers Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk. After both pitchers had surgery, how ready are they to come back this season?

#2 A’s pitcher Jesus Luzardo has been impressive in spring training on Thursday. He struck out three batters and didn’t give up a hit in two innings. Do you see him winning a starting spot and what role will manager Bob Melvin use him in?

#3 A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden got rattled in facing his first three hitters and got behind 2-0, but recovered — not giving up a run for two more innings. Jerry talks about Mengden’s spring.

#4 A’s pitches Blake Treinnen and Lou Trivino both threw two perfect innings striking out two batters. With their experience and what they got in the tank, what kind of spring training have they had?

#5 With the A’s starting rotation turned over from last season, will they struggle to keep guys healthy this season? Their pitching looks very sharp this spring.

Jerry does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey Friedman: Start to finish, Cardinal don’t let up WSU in 48-point blowout

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On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey:

#1 From start to finish, the Stanford Cardinal (15-13) left little doubt about this game with the Washington State University Cougars (11-17) as the Cardinal won it by 48 points at Maples Pavilion Thursday night.

#2 KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 22 points and was a key factor for the big margin win for the Cardinal.

#3 The Cardinal’s Isaac White and Cormac Ryan both finished second in scoring with 14 points they were finding their accuracy in this game.

#4 There was no mercy rule in this one Stanford head coach Jerod Haase milked it for all it’s worth getting all the offense he could out of the players.

#5 The Washington Huskies are up next Sunday at Maples and they are not a pushover, ranked 25th in the nation and first in the Pac-12. Will the Cardinal have their hands full or will they be able to hang with the Huskies?

Joey does the Cardinal podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Dog Days Are Over: Cal clips the Huskies to end 16-game losing streak

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Washington coach Mike Hopkins may have been the first to grasp what was transpiring when he called a pair of early timeouts to express his exasperation with the indifference his Huskies were displaying on defense.

Ultimately, Hopkins’ timeouts didn’t work.

The Cal Bears, off a favorable start, wavered briefly before halftime, only to recover and hand Pac-12 leading Washington a damaging 76-73 loss that will weigh heavily with the NCAA selection committee. Immediately, Cal’s win ends their 16-game losing streak that had outweighed any positives Wyking Jones’ team had gathered in a trying season.

“We knew we had it in us. We just had to find it,” said Connor Vanover. “It took awhile, but now I think moving forward we will have a clear head. If we can beat Washington, why not anyone else?”

Meanwhile, Washington found little consolation in winning the conference regular season title despite the loss when their closest pursuers, Oregon State and Arizona State, both loss on Thursday.

“We didn’t respect the game,” Crisp said. “We didn’t respect our opponent. We just expected we would come out and win the game. Obviously, you’re never going to win basketball games like that.”

The Bears bothered Washington early with a 2-3 zone that forced the Huskies into some careless turnovers, and quick, fruitless possessions. The Bears took the lead, 19-16, on Paris Austin’s 3-pointer with 11:57 remaining before halftime.

Any scenario seeing the Bears end their lengthy losing streak would have to involve an offensive explosion since the nation’s 313th-ranked defense was unlikely to make a difference at the Pac-12 level. And that formula played out as Darius McNeill,  Connor Vanover and Justice Sueing combined for 51 points, and the team shot 55 percent from the floor, and 53 percent from distance. The Bears shared the ball, solving Washington’s frequent use of a 2-3 zone.

“They kept their composure,” Jones said of his Bears’ poise down the stretch. “We turned it over a couple times, late, and they did as well, but the guys just continued to believe, more than anything. Connor continues to shine and kind of give us all a preview of how good he can be.”

And most importantly, the Huskies were limited, failing to produce a run that could create some separation on the scoreboard.

Instead, the Huskies blinked, scoring just four points in the final 5:03 of the game, allowing Cal to protect a paper-thin lead.

With Washington misfiring, the Bears got their final basket from Vanover with 3:26 remaining. Three made free throws broke the tie and gave Cal a lead they would protect.

The Huskies missed three shots in the final minute, including a good look from David Crisp at the buzzer. Crisp led all scorers with 32 points, but only 5 of those 32 came in the final 12 minutes of the game.

“We’ve done about everything wrong in the last couple games where we give up the lead within the last five minutes,” Sueing said. “Going into this game, we were used to having that close, intense matchup. We made it a thing to make sure we stayed together and fight until the end.”

“You got to play with passion and have a chip on our shoulder with every possession and we didn’t have that tonight,” Hopkins said. “We didn’t have basic principles. We were breaking down and you can’t do that with your foundation.”

Cal hosts Washington State on Saturday, their final home game before they close the regular season at Stanford on March 9.

Stanford routs WSU at Maples 98-50

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by Joey Friedman

PALO ALTO — The Stanford Cardinal (15-13, 8-8 in Pac-12) routed the Washington State Cougars (11-17, 4-11) by a final score of 98-50 on Thursday night after dropping two consecutive road games to the Arizona schools last weekend. They looked to redeem themselves against the 11th-seeded Cougars with the Pac-12 tournament just a 3-game home-stand away.

Stanford looked focused on both offense and defense to start the game. On the back of 6 forced turnovers, 4 steals, and 3 blocks and they stretched their lead to 24 points with the score 31-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half. In that time, Cormac Ryan made 3 of his first 4 three-pointers and KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 11 points. Okpala finished the half with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Ryan, battling two ailing ankles, played tonight game assisted by what appeared to be heavy-duty ankle braces.

Sophomore point guard Daejon Davis injured his knee midway through the first half. Although he didn’t return to the court, he did return to the bench with crutches later on. No update had been made available since.

Stanford’s lead only grew, as everything appeared to be going right for the Cardinal. They took a 52-15 lead to the locker room at the half. Stanford converted a remarkable 64% (7-12) of their three-pointers in the first half after combining for a 15% 3 pointer percentage in the two games against the Arizona schools on the road last week. They also smothered the Cougars who shot just 23% from the field in the first half and were kept scoreless from beyond the arc (0-8).

The second half was more of the same. Sophomore Isaac White hit 3 3-pointers of his own in the second half. He finished the game tied with Cormac Ryan for second on the team in points with 14.

Freshman Jaiden Delaire finished with 12 points, 8 of which came in the second half. Fellow freshman Bryce Wills also finished in double digits with 10 points to pair with 5 assists. Senior Josh Sharma had 8 points and 7 rebounds while freshman Lukas Kisunas had a career-high 7 rebounds. Two of Stanford starters, Deajon Davis and Oscar Da Silva, didn’t score.

Stanford finished the game shooting 60% from the field and 54% from 3-point range. Stanford also collected a total of 20 assists. They forced 15 WSU turnovers and collected 26 points off those turnovers as a result. Head coach Jerod Hasse praised Stanford’s energy level tonight, especially on defense.

What’s Next?
Stanford will host the 25th ranked Washington Huskies on Sunday at 1:00 PM before they host the rival Cal Bears to close out the season. Washington is the 1-seed in the Pac-12 and the only school in the conference to be ranked.

Washington State will travel across The Bay to the 12-seed California Bears on Sunday at 4:00 PM before they host the Oregon schools to close out the regular season.

San Jose State Athletics releases statement on former football head coach Dick Tomey

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By: Ana Kieu

Via tuscon.com

Remember when former San Jose State football head coach Dick Tomey led the Spartans to the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M. against–you guessed it–the New Mexico Lobos in 2006? SJSU won that game 20-12 and handed a loss to UNM. Tomey’s hard work ethic played a role in the Spartans’ win.

According to Tuscon.com, Tomey asserted: “Let’s win the game first.”

Tomey didn’t care if his players were tired or the weather was unfavorable. Tomey gave his undivided attention to college football. Tomey coached the Spartans from 2005 to 2009.

10 years later, Tomey was diagnosed with lung cancer, which was saddening to say the least. I haven’t actually interviewed Tomey, but I grew up watching Spartan football and he was one of the many coaches that I’ve seen in person. Tomey was definitely more than a coach — he was also a mentor and friend to a lot of folks.

Tomey provided the vital leadership and vision to significantly overhaul the academic deficiencies that plagued the SJSU football program at the time he became head coach. SJSU became the model institution among NCAA Division I FBS for academic reform.

In appreciation for Tomey’s continued athletics program involvement and impact, the Dick Tomey Class Act Award is presented each spring at the SAMMY Awards sponsored by SJSU’s SASS unit.

On Thursday, SJSU Athletics released a statement: “The entire San Jose State University community is saddened to learn that beloved football coach Dick Tomey is undergoing treatment for lung cancer. We hold Coach Tomey in very high regard for everything he has done for our university and, specifically, for our football program since he became a member of family in 2005. Even after he concluded being our head football coach, he continues being a viable mentor, trusted voice of reason, visionary, and loyal friend to our student-athletes, coaches, athletics staff and friends of our athletics program. Our best wishes go out to Coach Tomey, his family and all who love and adore him during this challenging time.”

Tomey’s family previously released a statement: “Coach Dick Tomey was recently diagnosed with a type of lung cancer at Tucson Medical Center and is currently undergoing further tests this week at MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

“We (Coach and his family) greatly appreciate all the people who have reached out to help in so many ways and all the expressions of love and well-wishes being sent our way from so many people. Following Coach Tomey’s example, our family is feeling very grateful and hopeful for a positive outcome.”

Warriors run out of gas in the fourth quarter, fall to the Magic 103-86 for fourth loss in last six games

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, playing their fifth game in the last eight days, and the second in the last two nights, blew an 11-point advantage to lose for the 19th time this year. The Warriors also fell out of first place in the Western Conference.

The Warriors gave Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala the night off. The Warriors were hoping to bounce back from the shocking loss to the Miami Heat Wednesday night. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr selected Alfonzo McKinnie to take Durant’s spot, and he inserted Demarcus Cousins back in the lineup at center. The Warriors wanted Cousins, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson to carry the offensive load Thursday night. The Warriors also wanted to get off to a good start in the first quarter. The Warriors played poorly against the Miami Heat Wednesday night, and they did not play well in the first quarter against the Magic on Thursday. In fact. The Warriors never had the lead at all in the first half.

The Magic, who had lost 11 straight games to the Warriors, went right after Cousins as they drove the lane and were making layups. The Warriors were attempting threes and had little success. The Warriors shot just 34% from the floor and ended the first period trailing 28-22.  The Magic increased the lead to 41-31 before Thompson, McKinnie, and Curry made shots and the Warriors cut the deficit to four 43-39. The Magic regrouped and finished the first half leading by eight 59-51. The Magic shot 51% from the floor, and the best the Warriors could do was 39%. The Warriors were 4-for-21 from three-point range. The Warrior bench contributed just two points. Curry had 19, Thompson had 15, and Cousins had 11.  The Magic’s Aaron Gordon had 10, Nikola Vucevic had 7, and D.J. Augustin had 10.

The Warriors woke up and played Warrior basketball in the third quarter. They started the quarter on a 25-7 run and won the period 30-11 to lead 81-71 after three periods of action. The 11 points scored by the Magic was the lowest point total of any opponent in any quarter this season.

The fourth quarter, however, was a reversal of fortune. With the score 85-72. The Magic went on an 8-0 run to trail by five. The Magic tied the score at 89, and it looked as if the Warriors had run out of gas. Shots were clanging off the front of the rim. The W’s continued to miss three-pointers. The Magic took the lead for good 95-94 when they hit a three. They increased the lead to five 101-96 late in the game. The Warriors did not score again. The Magic added two points and won 103-96.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors, with the loss, dropped to 43-19 and are now in second place in the Western Conference. The Magic improved to 29-34, and they are tied for the eighth seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Curry led the Warriors with 33 points. Thompson had 21, Cousins had 21 and 11 rebounds. Draymond Green had five, and McKinnie four. The Warrior bench added just 12 points. Four of the Magic starters were in double figures. Aaron Gordon led the team with 22. Jonathan Isaac and Nikola Vecevic had 12 each. Augustin finished with 14. The Magic bench put 41 points on the board.

Up Next: The Warriors travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers Saturday night at 5:30 pm. The Sixers with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, and Jimmy Butler easily handled the Warriors when they played in Oakland. Hopefully, the Warrior defense, with Cousins in the middle, will be able to stop the Sixer offense. The Warriors then return to Oracle to face the Boston Celtics on March 5th and the Denver Nuggets on March 8th.

The Warriors will have work to do if they want to repeat as NBA champions. They have to play better in the first half. They have to contain the opposing offenses and not play as if they are running uphill. They have to get better play from the bench. They do not have anyone right now that is giving them instant offense. They do not have a Goran Dragic or a Lou Williams. Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell have to be able to play defense and put some points on the board so that the Warriors can rest Cousins. Cousins has shown that he can play, but he has been beaten as teams have been scoring inside on the pick and roll. The Warriors next three opponents know they can beat the Warriors. The Warriors will need to play a better brand of basketball if they hope to make it all the way through the playoffs.