Photo credit: @SJSUMBB
By: Ana Kieu
San Jose State men’s basketball was searching for something, anything–and the Boise State Broncos were yet another tough conference opponent Saturday afternoon at the Taco Bell Arena.
The Spartans’ starting lineup featured the likes of Craig LeCesne, Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Michael Steadman, and Ashtin Chastain.
San Jose State, however, was unable to keep up with the red-hot Boise State, who shot 62.5% for the game and drained 15 three-pointers. The Spartans were held to just 37.7% from the field.
Boise State caught fire early as they drained five straight threes to open the game on a whopping 15-0 run. The three-ball played a large factor in the half as Boise State finished with eight and SJSU nailed five of their own for the most in a first half since scoring seven against Utah State on January 16. Baumann led the way with a pair of threes, extending his consecutive games streak to 20 straight, just one shy of the school record set by Robert Owens in 2009-10.
Boise State shot lights out with a 55% clip in the opening half (11-of-29) as Derick Alston (15) and Alex Hobbs (13) combined for 28 points. On the other end, SJSU was held to 38% (11-of-29), and the Broncos took a 46-28 lead into the half.
Boise State repeated their hot start in the second half as they went on a 12-0 run to take control and put the game out of reach. Boise State shot 71% for the half (22-of-31). SJSU trailed by as much as 53 with 4:50 left on the clock. Once again, turnovers proved costly as the Spartans lost the battle 16-5, which resulted in the Broncos scoring 27 points off of them. Rebounding, however, continued to be a strong point, as the Spartans finished just two behind the Broncos 33-31.
Steadman led the Spartans with 16 points while Christian Anigwe had one of his best games of the season with a game-high 12 rebounds along with 10 points for his second career double-double. Brian Rodriguez-Flores played well off the bench as he tied his season-high with seven points.
When it comes to the Broncos, Derrick Alston paved the way with 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from the three-point range. Alston accumulated the most points an opponent has scored against the Spartans this season. Alex Hobbs finished with 17 points and RJ Williams came off the bench to score 22.
With the loss, SJSU fell to 3-19 (0-10 Mountain West) and have yet to win a conference game this season. The Spartans lost their 13th in a row. On the other hand, Boise State rose to 11-13 (6-5 Mountain West). The Broncos snapped a two-game losing skid. The Broncos previously lost to UNLV 83-72 on February 6 and suffered a 93-73 blowout at No. 6 Nevada on February 2.
SJSU heads to New Mexico to take on the New Mexico Lobos on Wednesday at 6:00 pm PT.
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