San Jose State’s hopes for first conference win were spoiled by New Mexico in 71-68 loss

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans were hoping to snap a 10-game losing skid against the New Mexico Lobos at the Event Center Saturday afternoon. The Spartans haven’t won a conference game so far this season as they entered the matchup with a 0-10 record in the Mountain West.

Today’s Spartans vs. Lobos game was sponsored by The Barbers Inc, a barbershop based in downtown San Jose. Their barbers gave fans free haircuts as soon as the doors opened and throughout the game.

Before the first timeout of the game, the Lobos went on a 11-2 run in a span of 3:19 to open the game with a nine-point lead over the Spartans. Keith Fisher scored the Spartans’ lone layup for two points during that stretch.

At first, the Spartans fell behind, but they got back into the game with a 9-0 run to pull within four (21-17), thanks to Jaycee Hillsman’s jumper and pair of free throws and Ryan Welage’s 3-pointer and layup.

The Spartans had their chances as the Lobos didn’t score any field goals in five-plus minutes. San Jose State’s Jaycee Hillsman stole the show with a dunk, jumper, layup and a single free throw. New Mexico’s Antino Jackson ended the Lobos’ field goal slump with a layup with 4:27 left in the first.

However, Hillsman made a layup and Welage hit a three to give the Spartans a five-point advantage for a 31-26 lead with 3:35 left in the first.

The Spartans survived a close call late in the first. Nai Carlisle made a layup and Barry followed with two layups of his own. SJSU held onto a 35-31 lead for about a minute until Makuach Maluach hit a three to pull New Mexico within one. The back and forth action continued as Barry and Vance Jackson exchanged layups.

Spartans’ Jalen James closed out the first with a pair of free throws, and SJSU carried a 39-36 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Both teams exchanged shots to start the second half. Joe Furstinger made a layup, Isaiah Nichols made a free throw, Jackson hit a three and Barry made a layup. Prior to a media timeout, the Spartans led the Lobos 41-40 at the 15:54 mark of the second.

The Lobos led the Spartans 51-44 at the 12:17 mark. However, the Welage show aired as the junior forward made a pair of free throws and a layup to pull the Spartans within three (51-48) at the 10:27 mark.

The Spartan offense applied some pressure on the Lobos as Hillsman made a layup and then hit a game-tying three to tie the game 53-53 with 8:35 left in the second. As a result, Hillsman notched a double-double with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Spartan cheer squad got the crowd pumping in the final minutes of the game by chanting “defense” chants, waving pom poms and throwing t-shirts to the loudest fans in the audience. All the positive energy appeared to help the Spartans.

After Welage knocked down a jumper to pull the Spartans within four (69-65), the home team took a timeout with 46.2 seconds left in the game. Carlisle’s layup and lone free throw pulled the Spartans within two (70-68) with 33 seconds left. Sam Logwood made the final free throw of the game with two seconds left.

The Spartans lost to the Lobos 71-68.

Notes
Spartans’ starting lineup: Keith Fisher, Noah Baumann, Jalen James, Ryan Welage and Ashtin Chastain.

Lobos’ starting lineup: Chris McNeal, Joe Furstinger, Makuach Maluach, Dane Kuiper and Anthony Mathis.

Up Next
The Spartans travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to take on the Rams on Saturday, February 10 at 1 pm PT (2 pm MT).

Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast: After beating OSU, can Cardinal get back on track again vs. Ducks tonight?

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Matt Harrington

PALO ALTO–The Stanford Cardinal (12-11) started this two-game homestand with a win past the Oregon State Beavers (11-10) 80-71. Stanford head coach Jerod Haase came into the game last Thursday with some expectations. It had been some time since the Cardinal won a ball game dropping three straight and winning five straight before the skid. The thing that Haase is trying to teach his players is that when you have a big lead hold onto it and put on the gas.

There was a point in the game that it was 56-48 and it looked like Oregon State was going to be let back into that game, but Stanford battled and kept the game going wire to wire. That was a big win for them Thursday against the Beavers, they got loses in UCLA and USC in the Southland. They had to right the ship in a hurry after OSU ran off two 9-0 scores, but the Cardinal got back their lead up to 1 with three minutes left after Kezie Okpqala’s floater shot.

Matt Harrington does the Stanford Cardinal Podcasts each week and Joey Friedman has coverage of tonight’s Oregon-Stanford game at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Puerto Rico defeats Mexico 7-4 in game 2 of Caribbean Series

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Sports Radio Service is the only Bay Area outlet covering the 2018 Caribbean Series

Photo credit: @mexbaseball

Puerto Rico 7 | 15 | 0

Mexico 4 | 10 | 0

By Lewis Rubman
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
February 3, 2018

Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico–The 19th century Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodriguez de Tio is famous for her lines, “Cuba y Puerto Rico son/de un pajaro las dos alas.” Translation: “Cuba and Puerto Rico are two wings of the same bird.” If that’s true, that bird must be soaring because both country’s teams won their first game in this year’s Caribbean Series.

Following the Cubans’ 6-4 triumph over the Venezuelans, Puerto Rico’s Criollos de Caguas overcame host Mexico’s Tomateros de Culiacan by a score of 7-4 in a game featured a couple of surprises.

The first came before the game even began, when Bill Clinton came onto the field and was treated to a thunderous ovation when he was introduced as a friend of Mexico. More cheers followed when the ex-president proclaimed himself a lover of baseball.

The second surprise occurred in the top of the third inning with two outs and an 0-2 count on the Criollos’ Johnny Monell, Anthony Garcia attempted a straight steal of home. He was called out, and a long review was inconclusive, so the ruling was allowed to stand. But Garcia’s daring dash to the plate certainly was unexpected. He didn’t even get a good jump on starter Edgar Gonzalez’s pitch, and many spectators speculated that the play might have been a botched suicide squeeze attempt. In any case, Garcia definitely gave the crowd a jolt.

In spite of the failure of his act of daring do, he had a very successful night, going 3 for 5, hitting two doubles, and driving in two runs, Four other Caguas batters had multiple hit nights. Shortstop Jesmuel Valentin and thirdbasman David Vidal went 2 for 5, and first baseman Ruben Gotay and leftfielder Dayron Varona each got two hits in four at bats.

Puerto Rico opened the scoring in the top of the second with succesive singles by Vidal, Gotay, and Varona, followed by a walk to catcher Jonathan Morales off of Gonzalez.

Mexico closed the gap to one run in their half of the inning with a two out single to center by Dominican thirdbaseman Ronnier Mustellier, a walk to shortstop Issmael Salas, and a single in right by catcher Gabriel Gutierrez.

The Islanders tacked on another run in the third, only to see Mexico add another in the bottom of the frame and take the lead in the fourth when Criollos started Adalberto Flores hit Mustellier and Salas, who each moved up a base on Gutierrez’s sacrifice bunt. After Rico Noel struck out swinging, Sebastian Elizalde singled both runners home only to be caught stealing; 2-4-3-6.

After a walk to Irving Falu, who had replaced Rey Navarro at second base, followed by a wild pitch by Gonzlez that advanced him a base, and Garcia’s RBI single helped Puerto Rico retie the game at four apiece.

Thing stayed like that until the top of the eighth, when Casey Coleman, now pitching for Culiacan, gave up a double to deep left field to Garcia, who scored on Vidal’s rule book double to center. Vidal advanced one base on Gotay’s single to right.

At this point, manager Benjamin Gil replaced Coleman with Nick Struck, who proceeded to deliver a wild pitch on a 2 and 2 count to Varona, who tripled on his next offering, driving in both runners, and sealing Culiacan’s doom.

Elizalde and Gutierrez were the Mexicans’ leading hitters, with two apiece.

Lefty Luis Cruz got the win in relief. The save went to Miguel Mejia, who pitched a scoreless ninth. Coleman was charged with the loss.

This afternoon’s game will pit the Dominican Republics Aguilas Cibaenas against the Anzoategui Criollos of Venezuela. Game time is 2:00 pm (noon PT).

The 8:00 pm (6:00 pm PT) match up will see Mexico face Cuba.

Cuba edges Venezuela 6-4 in game 1 of Caribbean Series

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Sports Radio Service is the only Bay Area outlet covering the 2018 Caribbean Series

Photo credit: @Territorioscore

CUBA 6
VENEZUELA 4

By Lewis Rubman

Zapopán, Jalisco, Mexico

February 2, 2018

Zapopán, Jalisco, Mexico–Cuba’s Alazanes de Granma won the opening game of the sixtieth Caribbean Series by defeating Venezuela´s Caribes de Anozátegui this afternoon by a score of 6-4 in a contest that wasn’t decided until a badly shaken Raidel Martínez got Venezuela’s designated hitter Luis Jiménez to swing and miss on a 1-2 count with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Granma jumped out to an early lead when Yordan Manduley singled Roel Santos in from second and was in turn driven in by

Yurisbel Gracial’s double off Anzoáregui’s starter, righty Daryl Thompson, in the bottom of the first inning.

Venezuela chipped away at Cuba´s lead in the top of the third, when Luis Sardiñas crossed the plate while Nieuman Romero grounded into a double play, short unassisted to first çagainst the Alazanes’ starting pitcher, right hander Lázaro Blanco. They evened the sccore on Luis Jiménez’s blast into the right field seats in the following frame.

Carlos Navas relieved Thompson with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the fifth. Gracial notched his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center that broke the tie and gave the Cuban’s a 3-2 lead.

They took a commanding lead in the seventh, mounting a two run, two out rally against Felipe Paulino , with two walks, an infield single and and a pinch hit single to left by Alexander Ayala.

Venezuela came roaring back in the top of the eighth on René Reyes’s double to right, followed by a single, also to right, by Balbino Fuenmayor, both off Miguel Lahera.

With two outs in the Cuban half of the inning, a two-base throwing error by shortstop Luis Sardiñas allowed pinch runner Yulián to score, putting the Cubans ahead with a commanding 6-3 lead.

But the Venezuelans put a scare into them. Alexis Amerista led off against Lahera with a single. After Sardiñas forced Amerista at second and Ortega flied out to right, Sardiñas stole second. Romero then worked a full count and walked. Reyes singled to right to load the bases, putting the tying run on base and bringing the potential leading run to the plate in the person of Fuenmayor, the clean up hitter. Granma manager Carlos Martí brought Martínez in to relieve Lahera. Martínez promptly balked Sardiñas home with the Caribe’s fourth run and advancing Romero and Reyes. A rattled Martínez walked Fuenmayor, wherre he represented the possible tying run. That’s when Martínez notched his clutch strike out.

Blanco got the win. Thompson was charged with the loss. The save went to Martínez.

This afternoon´s game will be followed at 8:00 pm this evening. (6:00 pm Pacific) between the winners of last year’s series, the Caguas Crollos of Puerto Rico, and the champions of the Mexican Pacific League, the Tomateros of Culiacán. Taking the mound for Caguas will be right hander Adalberto Florers. Another righty, Edgar González, will pitch for the Mexican team.

Sacramento Kings Friday game wrap: Warriors come to Sacramento hand Kings a 119-104 loss

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gswsacscore

by Jordan Chapin

Sacramento – Friday night at the Golden 1 center, the Sacramento Kings returned home from their longest road trip of the year and were welcomed back by the the World Champion Golden State Warriors. Even with the return of Willie Cauley-Stein, Golden State handed the Kings their 35th loss of the year in a 119-104 Warriors victory. After winning three of their last four games, Sacramento came into the contest with a little momentum, but it was raining three balls in the Golden 1 Center, and not in favor of the Kings.

Sacramento came out of the gate hot, and started the game on a 20-7 run  led by Justin Jackson’s eight points in the first quarter. It didn’t take long for Golden State to close that gap with the help of Kevin Durant’s 17 point first half. The Warriors led 58-52 going into the locker room at halftime.

During the third quarter, Sacramento trailed as much as 14 points, but they continued to keep their heads above water as the Splash Brothers combined for 17 points in the period. Trailing 87-79 with 9:47 left to go, Sacramento’s Buddy Hield rattled off seven straight points, including back-to-back steals and cut the lead to just one, but that’s as close as the Kings would get to retaking the lead. KD put the team on his back scoring 13 points in the last 10 minutes of play, finishing his night with 33 points while shooting 12-for-17 from the field.

Even though the Kings forced 25 turnovers, it was not enough to overcome a stellar shooting night from the Warriors. The season series is now tied at one game a piece, and the Kings will not see the Warriors again until March 16th at Oracle Arena. The Kings have an opportunity to bounce back quickly as they will face the Dallas Mavericks Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back.

Sacramento Kings

Star of the Night: Justin Jackson

Jackson finished his night shooting 7-for-13 from the field for 17 points. He totalled 33 minutes for the game, but in those minutes he looked very aggressive, knocking down a couple three balls, and hitting his floaters from inside the paint. De’Aaron Fox on what he has seen from Justin Jackson, “Lately, he’s been great, his confidence has been up, he’s playing a lot, he’s making shots, something we know he can do.” Jackson was two points away from tying his career high.

Key Stats:

  • Forced 25 turnovers(19 points)
  • Shot 44.2% from the field and 40% from 3-point range
  • Led the game by as much as 13 points, but trailed as much as 17
  • Had six players in double figures, including all five of their starters
  • Six lead changes

Golden State Warriors

gswsacdurant

Star of the Night: Kevin Durant

Durant continued his all-star campaign with 33 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. KD hit shots when they mattered, scoring 17 in the first half, and 13 in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Warriors. Durant killed the Kings from behind the arc shooting 6-for-7 from downtown and finished hitting 12-for-17 from the field overall.

Key Stats:

  • Shot 17-for-33 from 3-point land
  • Had nine turnovers in the second quarter, which is a season high in TO’s for a quarter
  • Zaza Pachulia grabbed a game high 13 rebounds
  • Splash Brothers combined for 43 points
  • Out rebounded the Kings 51-33

Golden State Warriors Friday game wrap: Warriors turn ball over 25 times, still able to beat Kings 119-104

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Photo credit: nba.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still smarting from a 30-point loss to the Utah Jazz, traveled to Sacramento to face the lowly Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. The Warriors have not lost two consecutive games in a row this season, and they were hoping the Sacramento would be their sacrificial lamb. The Kings, who beat the Warriors in Oakland the last time they met, had other thoughts. The Kings, who are in rebuild mode, gave the Warriors a fierce fight before succumbing 119-105. The 14-point lead at the end of the game was the biggest lead the Warriors had all night.

The Kings, coached by Dave Joerger, usually play a slow-tempo game. Most teams try to avoid an uptempo game with the Warriors as they know that the Warriors love to run and move the ball. The Warriors usually play great defense, and with the teams running up and down the court, the Warriors normally prevail. The Warriors did win but it wasn’t easy, and the game was much closer than the score at the end of the game. The Warriors played a very sloppy game as they were careless with their passes and careless handling the ball. The Warriors committed 25 turnovers and were still able to win. When the Warriors make more than 17 turnovers in a game, their record was 10-8 and less the 17, their record is 33-3.

The first two quarters of the game was competitive. The Warriors won both quarters by three points and led 58-52 at the half.  Kevin Durant led the club with 17, and Steph Curry added 13. The Warriors were able to take a nine-point lead after three periods 84-75, and it looked like they had taken control of the game. The Kings, to their credit, had other thoughts and made a run early in the final stanza to close the game to 89-88. The Kings’ Buddy Hield, who came to Sacramento last season in the trade the sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Crescent City, got hot and gave the Kings the spark they were looking for. The Warriors regained their composure to go on an 8-0 run to make it 97-88. That run seemed to knock the spirit out of the Kings, and the Warriors were able to put the game in the win column 119-105.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors were without four players Friday night. David West, Shaun Livingstone, Andre Iguodala, and Jordan Bell did not play. Bell is rehabbing from a sprained ankle, and Coach Steve Kerr gave the other three veterans the night off.

The Warriors shot 55% from the floor while holding Sacramento to 44.2%. The Kings, However, took 15 more shots than the Warriors. Had they been able to make some of those shots, the final score might have been different.

Durant led the Warriors with 33. Steph had 23, Klay 17, Draymond 13. Nick Young had 9, and JaVale McGee added 4. When McGee was in the game, the Warriors seemed to play with more energy.

The Kings had six players in double figures. They were running and finding the open man just as they were trying to emulate the Warriors’ style of play. Rookie De’Aaron Fox, who is on his way to stardom, tallied 14. Willie Cauley-Stein 13, the ageless Zach Randolph 18, Justin Jackson 17, Bogdan Bogdanovic 12, and Buddy Hield had 16.

The Warriors improve to 41-11 while the Kings drop to 16-35.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Denver Nuggets Saturday night in Denver.

Barracuda cool down the Heat with 3-0 shutout victory

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda (21-17-1-2) scored two goals in 25 seconds early in the second period and received superior goaltending from Antoine Bibeau to take down the Stockton Heat (20-16-2-3) 3-0 in a shutout victory on Friday evening at Stockton Arena.

The Barracuda are on a two-game winning streak. They went 4-1-1 to complete their six-game road trip.

San Jose would draw first blood with just five minutes remaining in the first period when Rudolfs Balcers scored his team-leading 11th goal on the season. He was able to clean up a rebound amid a mad scramble in front of the net after a shot from the point from defenseman Julius Bergman. The All-Star gathered the puck and put it past Stockton goalie Jon Gillies (13-12-4) inside the right post. Captain John McCarthy also assisted on the goal at the 15:03 mark of the first period. The Barracuda outshot the Heat 9-7.

The Barracuda didn’t waste any time extending their lead in the second period. Just 46 seconds in, Balcers put the Barracuda up 2-0 with his second goal of the night and 12th on the season. McCarthy was able to feed Balcers before the blue line and he raced down the left wing side and sniped a shot past Gillies inside the left post. Adam Helewka also assisted on the goal. This was Balcers’ third multi-goal game on the season.

25 seconds after that Flilip Sandberg back handed in a rebound for his seventh goal of the season to give the Barracuda a commanding 3-0 lead at the 1:11 mark. Bergman sent an innocent-looking shot toward the goal that Gillies couldn’t handle and Sandberg made Gillies pay for his mishap. Gillies was chased out of the game on three goals on just 11 shots. Tyler Parsons replaced him just over a minute into the second period.

Brandon Bollig got the best of Oleg Yevenko with a spirited fight midway through the second period. Bollig took exception to a hit by Yevenko on Barracuda forward Jon Martin. Parsons came up huge on a Brandon Mashinter breakaway chance just under three minutes left in the frame.

Stockton had two chances on the power play in the third period, but couldn’t generate any good scoring chances, thanks to the tight penalty kill of the Cuda and Bibeau. The Heat outshot San Jose 9-3 in the period.

Bibeau (14-8-1) stoppped all 30 shots he faced, including some big saves in the second period where one deflected off of his mask, to earn his third shutout victory of the season. Parsons made nine saves in relief in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: Adam Helewka returned to the lineup after missing the last game against San Antonio with an injury.

The Heat were without their leading scorer Andrew Mangiapane, who was promoted up to the Calgary Flames. Stockton has lost their past 3 homes games.

Balcers has three goals in the past two games. Balcers’ seven points (three goals, four assists) is tied for the most points (Danny O’Regan) against Stockton this season.

Gillies is now 5-6-1 all time against San Jose.

San Jose went 0/2 on the power play while Stockton was 0/4.

NO LOVE LOST BETWEEN THESE TWO TEAMS: Things got chippy in the first period with a pair of fights between Austin Carrol and Jacob Middleton midway through and also Tanner Glass and Emerson Clark right at the of the period.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return to SAP Center on Saturday evening as they complete the home-and-home series with the Stockton Heat. Face off is at 7 pm PT.

Sharks down Blue Jackets 3-1; end four-game losing streak

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at the Nationwide Arena Friday. It was the Sharks’ first win since Joe Thornton suffered a knee injury four games ago. The Sharks’ goals came from Logan Couture, Kevin Labanc and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 28 saves on 29 shots.

Boone Jenner scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets. Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovski made 25 saves in a losing effort.

After the game, Martin Jones said:

It was a really strong game for us. This is a pretty tough road trip for us and we weren’t happy getting one point in the first two games. Obviously we thought we could have done a little better. It was a big win for us. I thought it was a really strong road game for us. We did a lot of good little things tonight.

Kevin Labanc has moved onto the first power play unit in Joe Thornton’s absence.

“He knows what he’s doing out there,” Logan Couture said of Labanc. “He put up a lot of points in junior and I’m sure a lot of those were on the power play. So, that usually translates over to the pro league. I didn’t think it’d translate over this quickly but he’s done a great job.”

The Sharks scored the only first period goal at 5:07. The Sharks were on the power play after Matt Calvert was called for tripping Brenden Dillon. Brent Burns was parked in front of Bobrovski when Logan Couture took a shot from the point. The puck might have been deflected by a Columbus player, as there were several between Couture and the goal. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Tomas Hertl.

The Blue Jackets responded early in the second period with a goal from Boone Jenner. Jenner took a shot from some ways above the faceoff circle that beat Martin Jones on the left side. There were two Sharks defending, including Dylan DeMelo. The shot went off of Demelo’s stick and changed direction slightly on its way to the net. Assists went to Cam Atkinson and Dean Kukan.

The Sharks power play paid off again in the second period. This time with a goal from Kevin Labanc during a 13 second 5-on-3 at 10:20. After an especially contentious faceoff, Pavelski came up with the puck and sent it to Labanc who was waiting, unguarded, right in front of Bobrovsky.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic extended the lead at 6:51 of the third. Justin Braun sent the puck through the neutral zone, where Timo Meier touched it just enough for Vlasic to pick in up on his way into the offensive zone. Vlasic evaded the Columbus defense long enough to get a back hand shot off. The puck went in on the far side as Bobrovsky moved the other way to cover the shot. Assists went to Meier and Braun.

With 7:13 left in the third, Burns sent a puck around the boards and Couture caught it in the mouth and had to leave the ice. He did return to play before the end of the period.

The Blue Jackets had their only power play of the game at 14:34 of the third but failed to score.

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Sunday at 10:00 am PT in Raleigh, North Carolina, against the Hurricanes.

NHL Podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks Vlasic told to be quiet on Olympic complaints; Knights set all time franchise NHL record for wins 34; more NHL news

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Photo credit: @sportingnewsca

On the NHL Podcast with Joe:

1 The San Jose Sharks Marc Edouard Vlasic says he’s frustrated with who is not letting the players attend the games in PyeongChang at the Olympics

2 Vlasic says he and the players worked hard to get to this point in their careers and should be allowed to play in the PyeongChang Olympics

3 The Vegas Golden Knights set a NHL record Thursday when David Peron scored at 3:57 in overtime to best the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 for the Knights 34th victory the most by an NHL expansion team

4 The Dallas Stars Devin Shore got a goal and an assistant in visiting Dallas in the second period the Starts got three goals to beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1

5 The Vancouver Canucks came back late in the third period with goals by Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat for the Canucks fifth win in eight games 4-2 over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Catch the NHL Podcast with Joe each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Categories NHL

San Jose State still seeking first conference win this season; will host New Mexico Saturday afternoon

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

In case you didn’t know, Keith Fisher III has finished in double-figure scoring in five of his last six games for San Jose State.

Spartans host Lobos Saturday afternoon
The Spartans return to the Event Center Saturday for a 3:00 pm tipoff against the Lobos. Tickets are available now at the Spartan Ticket Office, which can be reached at 408-924-7589. The game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet and can also be heard on KLIV 1590 AM with Justin Allegri’s play-by-play call.

Game #22
SJSU (3-18, 0-10 MW) vs. New Mexico (11-12, 6-4 MW)
Saturday, February 3, 2018, 3:00 pm PT
The Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM & KSJS 90.5 FM
Series: New Mexico leads, 12-1
Last Meeting: UNM 80 SJSU 47 – Jan. 5, 2018 – Dreamstyle Arena/The Pit

First game between Spartans and Lobos
The first meeting with the Lobos this season on Jan. 5 is one that the Spartans would like to forget. They fell behind early and could never climb back, suffering an 80-47 loss in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although that was less than a month ago, the Spartans are now a different team–and statistically better–than they were that night.

One thing remains the same though–SJSU is still searching for its first conference win.

The Lobos have gone 4-2 since their last meeting with the Spartans, but arrive in San Jose after an 89-80 loss to Utah State Wednesday night.

Spartans’ offense kicks it up a notch

SJSU’s offense has kicked it up a notch over the last three games. The Spartans are shooting 49.7% from the field and averaging 74.7 points per game during that stretch compared to overall numbers of 43.7% and 65.9 points per game.

Three players are averaging double-figure scoring: Ryan Welage (26.7 points per game), Keith Fisher III (10+ points in five of the last six games and is averaging 13.7 points over the last three contests) and Jaycee Hillsman (10.7 points over the last 3 games).

The Spartans have picked it up in 3-point shooting too, hitting 40.9% as a team in the last three contests, compared to the season percentage of 36.4.

In case you missed it

SJSU was knocked down a handful of times by large UNLV runs on Wednesday night, but got up every time until the Runnin’ Rebels pulled off a 76-67 win at the Thomas & Mack Center. SJSU surrendered a 9-0 run to UNLV and fell behind early (16-9).

However, the Spartans answered right back with an 11-0 run of their own to regain the lead. UNLV had a lead swell to as large as 12 points before SJSU reeled it back in to three points midway through the second half. But in the end, Brandon McCoy’s 22 points and 17 rebounds helped UNLV to a victory.

Four Spartans finished in double-figure scoring. Ryan Welage led all scorers for the 16th time this season with 21 points. Oumar Barry also scored a career-high 12 points.


Welage becomes second-leading 3-point shooter at SJSU
Ryan Welage knocked down a 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer at UNLV on Wednesday night, which gave him 139 career threes. He moved into second place on SJSU’s all-time made 3-point baskets list and passed former Spartan Adrian Oliver. He went on to make four threes on the night, which gave him 140 coming into Saturday’s game. Tim Pierce remains as SJSU’s all-time leader with 153 made threes in his career.

Welage rises after decrease of shooting

Over a four-game stretch, Ryan Welage hit just 33.3% of his shots. He was also just 4-of-14 from downtown during that stretch; but his 22-point performance on 9-of-17 shooting proved to be the slump-buster at Boise State on Jan. 24.

Since then, Welage has been shooting a team-high 53.8% (28-52) from the field and 53.3% (8-15) from the 3-point range. He poured in a career-high 37 points against Wyoming and had 21 points at UNLV on Wednesday night. It was his 11th game of 20+ points and the 16th time where he led the Spartans in scoring.


Fisher III shows consistency for the Spartans

According to head coach Jean Prioleau, inconsistency is something the Spartans have struggled with all year. But as we hit the midway point of Mountain West play. the Spartans know they can count on Keith Fisher III’s production. He has finished in double-figure scoring in five of the last six games. He’s also the Spartans’ leading rebounder during that stretch and overall this season.

Fisher III is averaging 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds over the last three games. He has played 34.4 minutes per contest. He’s the only Spartan to start all 21 games this year and even if his stat production plunges, his leadership and hustle never misses a beat.