The Kings come up just short, losing to the Warriors 125-123 on Thursday night

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GSW 2-21 5

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings began their final stretch of 25 regular season games on Thursday night in Oakland versus the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. The Kings entered the game in ninth place in the Western Conference with a record of 30-27. They trailed the LA Clippers by one game for the eighth and final playoff berth in the conference.

This game also represented the first time the Kings would have the opportunity to face DeMarcus Cousins in a Warriors uniform. Word leaked out early that Cousins was going to play without any minute restrictions in this contest. In other words, “Boogie” was going to have plenty of time to make his former team pay for trading him away.

First Quarter

Cousins did indeed get the start at center for the Warriors in the contest to the surprise of no one. The Kings did make a change to their starting five. Bogdan Bogdanovic made the start at small forward in place of Nemanja Bjelica. The decision appeared to be based on trying to set up the best matchups to start the game.

The Kings came out and were ready to push the pace against the World Champions. They served notice that they were ready to go toe-to-toe with the Warriors and that is exactly what they did the quarter.

Sacramento won the war in the paint 18-16. Golden State scored all of the 2nd Chance Points (4). The Warriors outscored the Kings on the fast break 12-8.

The Kings shot 54.5-percent (12/22) in the quarter but went just 1-for-7 (14.3%) from downtown. They had nine rebounds, four steals and committed five turnovers (4 GSW points).

Golden State shot 48.3-percent (14/29) in the opening period. The difference was they hit 3-of-12 from 3-point land (33.3%). The Dubs had 13 rebounds, five steals, and two blocked shots.

Buddy Hield led the Kings scoring with eight points hitting 4-of-5 shots from the field. Kevin Durant was the Warriors leading scorer with 13 points.

After 12-minutes, Golden State held a 35-30 over Sacramento.

Second Quarter

Two major things happened in the second period. Marvin Bagley III came alive for the Kings and Kevin Durant went the bench for an extended rest for the Warriors. Both events had a profound effect on the contest.

“Marvelous” Marvin Bagley played eight and one-half minutes for Sacramento and was a “monster of the midway”. The rookie scored 13 points going 5-for-10 from the floor and hitting 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He also grabbed four rebounds – three off the offensive glass.

Sacramento took the lead with just over nine minutes to go in the half and built that lead to as many as 11 points. That situation began to change very quickly when “KD” returned to the floor. Golden State went on a run which you expect them to do and the game tightened up quickly.

The Kings did not panic but continued to play their game. When the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the first half, Sacramento held a 62-60 lead over Golden State.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the Warriors leading scorers with six points each.

The Kings won the battle in the paint 14-8. Sacramento outscored the Golden State 3-0 on 2nd Chance Points. The Kings scored 11 Fast Break Points to the Warriors 3 in the period.

Third Quarter

As the third period began, the Kings tried to take advantage of Boogie Cousins being on the floor. Cousins who is still trying to get into shape after having been out due to the Achilles tear is unable to run at high speed. The Kings decided to make him run and he could not do that.

The Kings were able to take advantage of Cousins and opened up a nine-point lead. Sacramento was trying to put a separation between themselves and the Warriors as they could before Golden State went on one of their patented runs.

Marvin Bagley III did not let up in the quarter as he added five points converting 3-of-4 opportunities from the free throw line plus hitting a field goal. Bagley also grabbed five rebounds.

Durant played the entire period for Golden State and scored nine points. He shot just 3-for-9 from the field.

Steph Curry put eight points in the book going 2-for-4 from behind the 3-point arc.

At the end of the 12-minutes, both teams had scored 29 points. The Kings held a 91-89 lead over the Warriors.

Fourth Quarter

The Warriors turned it on in the final period becoming who everyone knew they would become in the game. Golden State started sinking 3-pointers and going to the free throw line which usually means defeat for their opponents but it did not eliminate the Kings who refused to go away.

Sacramento who had been terrible from 3-point land in the game found their shots in the final 12-minutes. The Kings made 6-of-9 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter which kept them in the game. The problem for SAC was Golden State hit 6-of-11 from downtown which allowed them to establish a lead.

The Kings also made a fine effort from the free throw line converting 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Warriors were just a little bit better hitting 10-of-14 chances from the line.

When the period ended, Golden State had outscored Sacramento 36-32 in the period which allowed them to win the game 125-123.

GSW sweeps the series

The Kings lost all four games they played versus the Warriors by a total of 12 points.

Stars of the Game

Kings

  • Marvin Bagley III was the Kings leading scorer with 28 and then made it a double-double by grabbing 14 rebounds
  • Buddy Hield put up 19 points
  • De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points and had eight assists
  • Corey Brewer played his first game for the Kings and scored 11 points

Warriors

  • Steph Curry was the Warriors leading scorer with 36 points
  • Kevin Durant added 28 points (why would he want to go to the Knicks?)
  • Klay Thompson recorded 18 points

Playoff chase

The Kings are now 1.5-games behind the Clippers for the final playoff spot. The Lakers beat the Rockets and trail the Kings by just one game in the standings.

Up next

The Kings will be back in action on Saturday in Oklahoma City when they will take on the Thunder.

Warriors outlast Kings to win another thriller 125-123

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, playing the first game in a week due to the All-Star break, had their hands full as they were able to stop the Kings on the last play of the game to win. The Kings, coached by Dave Joerger, are not the Kings of old. They are a good young team of gifted athletes that are on the rise. They have drafted players that are speedy, have size, and can score. They are good inside and have players that can make three-point shots. They took the 6-foot-11 forward Marvin Bagley III in the first round of the draft. Bagley was one and done at Duke, and the 19-year-old rookie is making his presence felt. Buddy Hield, De’Aaron Fox are young and improving. The Kings traded for the veteran forward Harrison Barnes. They acquired Harry Giles, who is 6-foot-10, and Alec Burks. They signed Corey Brewer to a 10-day contract. These players are making the Kings so much better. However, they were playing the defending the NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. Thursday night’s game was the fourth and final game between the two teams during the regular season, and it was not easy for the Warriors, but they were able to hold off the Kings to sweep the season series. The Warriors won the game 125-123.

The Warriors won the first quarter 35-30. It was a fast-paced first quarter. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant led the team to the early first quarter advantage. The Kings turned the tables in the second quarter as they outscored the Warriors 32-25 to finish the first half leading 62-60. The Kings led 54-43 until the Warriors went on a 10-0 run. Steph made two three-pointers in the run to get the Warriors closer to the lead. The Kings increased the lead to six, but Durant and Klay Thompson made key buckets to get the Warriors closer.

Each team tallied 29 points in the third quarter and the score at the end of the quarter was 91-89 in favor of Sacramento. The Kings led for the entire quarter. They led by seven 91-84, but Durant scored the last five points of the period. He made a bucket to make it 91-86 and then hit a three as the buzzer sounded to close the quarter trailing 91-89.

DeMarcus Cousins scored four points to start the fourth quarter and put Golden State ahead 93-91. Cousins made two free throws and a bucket.  The Kings came back to tie the score at 96. Draymond Green made a three, but the Kings countered with a three of their own to tie at 99. The lead changed hands a couple of time and tied at 104. Curry made a three and Thompson followed with a two-point bucket to give the Warriors a 109-104 advantage. They went up by six when Curry hit another three to lead 117-111. The Kings’ Buddy Hield knocked down a three. Thompson responded with a three of his own, and the Warriors led 120-114 with 1:11 left to play. On the next play, it appeared that Green stripped Bagley driving to the basket. The referee tagged Green with a foul. Green couldn’t believe the call and he sprinted to the other end of the court to avoid being charged with a technical foul. His histrionics didn’t help him as he was charged with a technical. Bagley made all three free throws, and the Kings were still alive. Thompson made a mid-range jumper to increase the lead to five. Buddy Hield knocked down another three to make it 123-120. Hield then fouled Curry in the backcourt. Curry made both free throws. The Kings came back with another three to rail by two with 7.4 seconds left. The Warriors almost turned the ball over as Curry had trouble handling the ball on the inbound pass. Somehow, he was able to get the ball to Andre Iguodala. Iguodala was fouled attempting a reverse layup and was awarded two free throws. If Iguodala made both free throws, the game would have been over. He missed both and Sacramento took time out with 6.5 seconds to play. Their strategy was to inbound the ball to Buddy Hield and have him take a three-point shot for the win. The Kings got the ball to Hield, who was open. He did not take the shot, but opted to drive to the basket and make a mid-range jumper to tie the score and send the game to overtime. The Warriors defense rose to the challenge and the best Hield could do was shoot an airball that landed in Kevin Durant’s hands. The Warriors escaped with a thrilling 125-123 win over the Kings.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improve to 42-16. The Kings drop to 30-28. The Kings are in a race with the LA Clippers and LA Lakers for the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoffs. If the Kings finish eighth and the Warriors first, the two teams will meet in the opening round of the playoffs. The Warriors outscored the Kings by just 12 points to win all four games. The Warriors would have their hands full if that were to occur.

All five Warrior starters were in double figures. Curry led the team with 36 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Curry made 10 three-point shots. It was the 14th time in his career that he made 10 or more three-point shots in a game and the fifth time this season. Durant had 28 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, and a tied a career-high with seven blocked shots. Cousins had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Thompson had a tough night as he was 4 for 12 until late in the game. He finished with 18 and made two clutch threes down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Green had 12 points, 6 boards, 8 assists, and knocked down three threes in five tries.

The Kings had seven players in double figure. Marvin Bagley, coming off the bench, led Sacramento with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Buddy Hield had 19, Harrison Barnes 13, De’Aaron Fox 18, Willie Cauley-Stein 10, Bogdan Bogdanovic 14. Veteran forward Corey Brewer had 11, and he made three threes to keep Sacramento in the game.

The Warriors defense held the Kings to 43.4% from the floor. The Warriors had 6 steals and blocked 12 shots. The Warriors committed 11 turnovers in the first half and that cost them 14 points. They focused on protecting the ball in the second half and were able to limit the turnovers to four.

Up Next: The Warriors face the Houston Rockets Saturday night at Oracle Arena. The Rockets lost to the Lakers Thursday night. Game time will be at 5:30 pm.

Wild edge out Barracuda 4-3

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The Iowa Wild scored a power play goal late in the third period and were able to hold on at the end to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 4-3 on Thursday evening at Wells Fargo Arena.

Matt Read received a pass from Dmitry Sokolov and fired a shot pass Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (11-8-5) for his 14th goal of the season with 4:53 left in the game. Michael Kapa received the secondary assist on the power play goal.

Iowa (28-16-6-4) drew first blood halfway through the first period. Mitch McClain took a pass from Kyle Rau and skated in all alone up the center of the ice and beat Bibeau with a wrist shot for his seventh goal of the season at the 11:12 mark. It was McClain’s first goal in his last 20 games. Sokolov received the secondary assist.

San Jose (28-13-2-4) then scored the equalizer just 16 seconds later. TJ Hensick scored his first goal as a member of the Barracuda in his third game, bouncing the puck past Wild goalie Kaapo Khakonen (16-9-6) at the 11:28 mark.

Evan Weinger had a short-handed opportunity early on in the second period when he skated in alone on a breakaway. His shot was stoned by Khakonen.

The Wild regained the lead at the half way mark of the contest in what was a wild second period. Jared Mayhew sent a pass over to Michael Kapla and he fired one in from the left point past Bibeau for his second goal of the season at the 9:42 mark. It was his first goal as a member of the Wild since being acquired in a trade from New Jersey for Ryan Murphy on January 30th.

Once again, it would take less than a minute for the Cuda to tie it back up. Hensick back-handed a shot on net saved by Khakonen but Dylan Gambrell was able to get a hold of the rebound and buried it into the back of the net for his 12th goal of the season at the 10:30 mark.

Iowa went up 3-2 on with a short-handed tally, while San Jose was on the power play. Rau led a two-on-one odd man rush and threaded a pass over to Cal O’Reilly, who beat Bibeau inside the left post for his ninth goal of the season at the 11:33 mark.

San Jose atoned for their mishap with a power play goal 61 seconds later. Nick DeSimone wired a shot from the point and Cuda captain John McCarthy redirected the puck with his stick to beat Khakonen for his eighth goal of the season at the 12:34 mark. It was the first goal for McCarthy since Decemeber 30th, a period that lasted 18 games.

The Cuda outshot the Wild 12-7 in the second period as both teams entered the second intermission deadlocked at 3-3.

Khakonen made 31 shots on 34 saves to earn his 16th win of the season. Bibeau made 27 saves, including three short-handed, odd man rushes in the first period, on 31 shots in suffering the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: Both teams went 1/3 on the power play.

Colby McAuley was back in the lineup for San Jose after missing the last game as a healthy scratch. It was only his second game of the season since being called back up from the Orlando of the ECHL.

The announced attendance was 3,906.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Wild on Friday 2/22 to conclude their two game series with Iowa at 5:00 pm at Wells Fargo Arena.

Stanford prepares for another duel in the desert against Arizona Sunday

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Photo credit: azcentral.com

By: Ana Kieu

Ah, the Stanford Cardinal didn’t get the final result that they likely hoped for in Wednesday evening’s conference game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. But have no fear as the Cardinal prepare for another duel in the desert against the Arizona Wildcats at the McKale Center in Tuscon, Ariz. Sunday at 5:00 pm PT on ESPN2. Be there or be square.

Sad news was that the Cardinal (14-12, 7-7 Pac-12) also came off a two-game sweep at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif. against the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins on February 13th and 16th, respectively. So it was likely difficult for them to fathom a large loss 80-62 to the Sun Devils (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12), who currently hold onto a two-game win streak. Anyways, a Cardinal win over Arizona (14-12, 5-8 Pac-12) is completely feasible as the latter is three steps below them in the conference standings as well as the fact that they’re currently on a four-game losing skid. The Wildcats’ last win came on January 31st in a rivalry (and road) game against ASU.

Sure, Stanford recently suffered a loss at the hands of ASU, but there were a couple of silver linings about that miserable game. Senior center Josh Sharma and sophomore forward Oscar da Silva combined for 32 points in a losing effort for the Cardinal. It was just that ASU looked good and Stanford was unable to go on a shooting streak. Well, at least in my humble opinion. By the way, I was covering San Jose State vs. Colorado State that night. But I did check out parts of the game on my laptop. That’s better than nothing, right?

But you have to keep in mind that the Cardinal’s still without the services of their leading scorer and sophomore forward KZ Okpala, who remains day-to-day with an injury. Moreover, the Cardinal just put on a 2-of-21 shooting performance against ASU, which was downright terrible to say the least. ASU’s win evened the season series between the two schools. Stanford defeated ASU, 85-71, in the first meeting on January 19th at Maples Pavilion.

The Cardinal men’s basketball Twitter tweeted out “Right back to work tomorrow. Another opportunity awaits on Sunday.” There’s a chance that they’ll rebound and pick up a win at Arizona, but until then, we’ll see how things go.

Prediction: Stanford picks up a 95-70 win over Arizona.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks start four-game roadie with Pittsburgh tonight

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sfchronicle.com photo: The Boston Bruins Charlie McAvoy (73) is jubilant after scoring go ahead goal against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night at SAP Center

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks Joe Thornton scored a hat trick against his old team the Boston Bruins on Monday night at SAP Center the Bruins no easy customer

#2 The Bruins despite Thornton’s hat trick got a game winning goal from extra skater Charlie McAvoy with 1:01 left for the 6-5 win

#3 The Bruins swept all three California teams on this last road trip Kings, Ducks and Sharks

#4 Joe Pavelski had three points and Logan Couture picked up two in the loss. Neither San Jose’s Martin Jones (14 saves)

#5 The Sharks have lost two out of their last three games and open a four game road trip tonight in Pittsburgh Mary talks about how she sees this game

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Will Machado signing open doors for Harper and Keuchel?; Raiders-Coliseum to get a deal done; Kings at Golden State tonight; plus more

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bleacherreport.com file photo: Bryce Harper’s negotiations with the Washington Nationals is not the same offer that the San Diego Padres Manny Machado received as Harper remains a free agent

On Headline Sports with Tony:

#1 The recent signing of Manny Machado to the a ten year $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres could that mean more big signings to come with Dallas Keuchel and Bryce Harper.

#2 The Raiders are at the bargaining table with the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority to get a deal on the table to get the Raiders back at the Coliseum for home games the Raiders might even sign a two year deal if the stadium in Vegas is not ready by the 2020 season.

#3 The Sacramento Kings are coming off a tough two point loss to the Denver Nuggets on Feb 14th they’re in Oakland tonight to face the Warriors.

#4 The Oakland A’s president David Kaval finally solved the A’s radio flagship station issues getting KTRB 860 in San Francisco and now the biggest task at hand trying to solve the toxic waste clean up at the A’s future new home at Jack London Square

#5 The Giants biggest story is the retirement announcement of manager Bruce Bochy who will finish his career this season

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Hot-shooting Sun Devils rout Cardinal 80-62

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, February 20, 2019

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State Coach Bobby Hurley was wearing his black shirt on Wednesday because, he explained, “It’s my gangster shirt.

“Our guys played like gangsters tonight, and the guys delivered. It was a great win for us.”

Stanford, playing without leading scorer KZ Okpala, tried everything defensively, but couldn’t contain the Sun Devils in an 80-62 Pac-12 men’s basketball loss at Wells Fargo Arena.

Going into the game, Stanford, which defeated the Sun Devils 85-71 on Jan. 12 at Maples Pavilion, had won five of its last six games, six of its last eight.
The win keeps Arizona State (18-8, 9-5) in third place in the conference, while the Cardinal (14-12, 7-7) dropped to seventh place in the Pac-12 race.

“We’ve done a great job all season of not getting too high or getting too low,” Cardinal Coach Jerod Haase said. “It was certainly disappointing, considering how hard the guys played, and the passion they played with.

“We didn’t play well, especially shooting the basketball. We have to be more effective if we’re going to get some more wins.”

Okpala, who averages 17.4 points per game for the Cardinal, did not play due to what Haase called “an upper body injury,’ adding that there’s no timetable for Okpala’s return.

“I don’t think it affected our shooting, but I think it affected the game because he’s so talented,” Haase said. “The guys shooting the shots were the guys I wanted shooting. They’re very talented.”

Remy Martin and Rob Edwards led the Sun Devils with 16 points each. Martin added six assists and two steals; Edwards had four assists. Martin, Edwards and Luguentz Dort each grabbed five rebounds, as ASU held a 38-32 rebounding edge.

Josh Sharma was Stanford’s top scorer with 17 points — 10 of them in the first half. Oscar Da Silva was next with 15 points. Sharma and Ryan Cormac had seven and six rebounds, respectively.

Defensively, Arizona State held the Cardinal 38 percent shooting (21-of-55) — 2-of-20 from behind the 3-point arc. That lack of firepower hurt Stanford from late in the second half to throughout the second half, when the Cardinal couldn’t get any closer than seven points.

“It was a combination of everything,” Haase said. “We had some great opportunities around the rim, and some open 3’s that weren’t effective. Then, Arizona State has a very talented team that had enough makes to never let us get too close.”

After each team scored within the opening minute, both the Sun Devils and Cardinals went nearly 3 ½ minutes without scoring until Sharma hit a jumper in the paint.

Arizona State led most of the first half, but the Cardinal stayed close, pulling to within 35-32 on Marcus Sheffield’s 3-pointer at 1:43. But the Devils made a late 7-2 run, capped by Martin’s long 3-pointer, giving ASU a 42-34 halftime lead.

From there, the Sun Devils gradually extended their lead. Zylan Cheatham’s 3-pointer at 4:50 of the second half put ASU up 66-52, capping another 7-2 run. De’Quon Lake’s free throw with 40 seconds left gave Arizona State an 80-60 lead, with an announced crowd of 10,327 roaring its approval.

The Sun Devils shot 51 percent (27-of-53) from the field, including 9-of-22 3-pointers (41 percent), and handled the Cardinal’s various defensive switches from man-to-man to various zones.

“We worked on it,” Hurley said. “We knew they would play man and some 2-3 and a 1-3-1, so we were prepared for what they’ve been doing recently.”

“ASU plays hard. They do a nice job of pressuring the basketball,” Haase said. “They’re great on their ball-screen coverages and put us back on our heels a little bit.

“But in the first half, we had too many turnovers. Some of the shots could have gone in, but the reality is that (ASU) did a nice job.”

In the second half, Stanford free throw shooters were 8-of-17 against the vaunted Curtain of Distraction.

The Cardinal’s southwest road trip continues with a visit to Tucson Sunday to face Arizona. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.

TAGS: Stanford, Arizona State, Pac-12, Sports Radio Service,

San Jose State hits rock bottom with 16th straight loss; Baumann extends school record to 23 consecutive games

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A hapless San Jose State men’s basketball team searched for something, anything in Wednesday night’s matchup versus the Colorado State Rams, who were nearly as bad. SJSU lost 15 in a row, while CSU dropped three consecutive games.

Prior to the tipoff, Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau announced a starting lineup that featured Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Ashtin Chastain, Michael Steadman and Zach Chappell.

This time around, SJSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, thanks to Steadman’s jumper in the paint just 58 seconds into the first half. CSU quickly responded with Adam Thistlewood’s 3-pointer, but the Spartans bounced back on Baumann’s 3 just 21 seconds later. With the 3, Baumann continued to make history as he extended his school record to 23 consecutive games.

However, it was all Rams for five minutes as they went on a 9-0 run that was eradicated by Baumann’s fastbreak layup at the 14:34 mark. Chastain followed up with a jumper in the paint to cut the deficit 12-9.

The game turned out to be a back and forth affair between the two teams. CSU got ahead when Nico Carvacho made a layup at the 13:18 mark. Christian Anigwe responded with a jumper in the paint about a minute later. Then, Anthony Mashinton-Bonner hit a 3 to extend the Rams’ lead 17-11 at the 12:05 mark.

Fast forward to the final 10 minutes of the first. Nico Carvacho threw down a dunk and made a layup to extend the Rams’ lead 23-15 with 8:05 left. The Spartans were sort of sluggish as the only Spartan who scored in that span was Ivey, who made a layup. But that all changed at the six-minute mark as Ivey hit a 3 and Chappell made a few layups, including a fastbreak layup, in a 1:21 run.

Just seconds before the two-minute mark, Chastain made a pair of free throws look easy. Anigwe made a free throw. Then, Ivey made a pair of free throws to help the Spartans’ cause. Still, SJSU was unable to secure a lead to bring into the locker room at halftime. SJSU trailed 42-29 at halftime.

The Spartans showed glimpses of notable plays such as Knight’s jumper and Steadman’s dunk in the second half. But they were overpowered by the Rams, who went on a 8-0 run on back-to-back 3s by Kris Martin and Thistlewood to open the second. Throw Carvacho into the Rams’ mix and that only added to the Spartans’ woes, which were mostly defensive.

The home crowd erupted as soon as Brian Rodriguez-Flores made a layup at the 14:24 mark. Knight added a fastbreak layup just 29 seconds later.

Baumann hit a 3 at the 13-minute mark, but it was Rodriguez-Flores who stole the show with a fastbreak layup at the 10:56 mark. As a result, SJSU trailed 69-47 at the time.

Rodriguez-Flores continued to work wonders on the hardwood with back to back layups–the first layup in the paint and the latter being a regular. But the Rams also worked wonders that squashed the Spartans’ hopes of a comeback. Sure, SJSU pulled within 20, but 2:42 wasn’t enough time to tie the game to force overtime. SJSU lost 91-70.

SJSU dropped to 3-22, 0-13 MW. CSU, on the other hand, improved to 10-16, 4-8 MW.

SJSU heads to the Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. to face the Air Force Falcons Saturday at 1:00 pm PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda save the best for first–score early, win by four last Monday

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Photo credit: sjbarracuda.com

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 After the San Diego Gulls (27-15-3-3) had beaten the San Jose Barracuda (27-12-2-4), a turn around was fair play when the Cuda defeated the Gulls in a wide margin game 5-2.

#2 The first period wasn’t an indication of the direction of where this game was going as it was back and forth between the two clubs last Monday afternoon.

#3 Cuda head coach Roy Sommer said it was a big turn around from Friday night’s game and that the details were better and not as reckless.

#4 The Barracuda scoring came mostly in the first period with four goals, including two goals from Alex True.

#5 The Barracuda start a three-game road trip, starting on Thursday and Friday night in Iowa for two games and conclude the road trip in Stockton on Sunday night.

Marko Ukalovic is the San Jose Barracuda beat writer and does the Cuda podcasts each Wednesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Headline Sports with London Marq: Machado locked in, will Pads shop for more big signings?; Donaghy uncovered fixed NBA games; Baseball superstars still unsigned; plus more

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Photo credit: @TimFromPuyallup

On Headline Sports with London Marq:

#1 Manny Machado signed baseball’s biggest contract with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday for 10 years and $300 million. What does this do for the Padres and how does someone like Machado get away from the Dodgers?

#2 Former NBA official Tim Donaghy was accused of betting on basketball, but it was never really revealed how he fixed games until an ESPN report saying that Donaghy was paid to fix games and got paid to do it. Some of the top NBA officials came from Philadelphia and Donaghy was from those parts. The influence as to why was simple…money!

#3 Baseball superstars Dallas Keuchel, Bryce Harper and Craig Kimbrell are still free agents looking for that longterm lucrative contract and all three are not in a MLB spring training camp holding out until some big league team comes calling with boatloads of money in the neighborhood of $300 million. At this early stage of spring training, are they fooling themselves or are they onto something?

#4 One of the first African American pitchers in baseball history, Dan Newcombe passed away on Tuesday at age 92. Newcombe joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. He finished his ten-year career with the Dodgers at 149-90 and an ERA of 3.56. Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda said he was the best hitting pitcher he ever saw.

#5 Knowing that San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who has announced his retirement after this season, was it a matter of Bochy losing his magical touch in the last few seasons or he just simply doesn’t have the talent on the Giants roster to win a World Series again–much like he did previously?

London Marq does the Sports Headlines podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com