Tag: NCAA Basketball

San Jose State closes out regular season at Fresno State Saturday

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball will play their final regular season game of 2019 on the road this Saturday. SJSU will take on Fresno State at the Save Mart Center beginning at 4:00 pm PST. Fans can stream the game online on the Mountain West Network and can listen to Justin Allegri’s radio call on the TuneIn app.

Game #30
San Jose State (4-25, 1-16) at Fresno State (21-8, 12-5)
Saturday, March 9, 4:00 pm PST
Save Mart Center (15,956)
Fresno, 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 #5 on the season, which would be the most in the last two seasons since going 14-16 in 2016-17. A win over the Bulldogs in the Save Mart Center would be SJSU’s first win in Fresno since 2009.

Recapping Game #1 vs. Fresno State
Fresno State held a slim 29-25 lead with 6:34 to play in the first half before they scored the final 18 points of the half to take control. Although, they cooled off in the second half shooting and were just 3-of-15 from the 3-point range in the half, SJSU was unable to climb back into the contest and fell 73-53

Michael Steadman led the Spartans with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Newcomers Getting Things Done
SJSU has played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 69.4% of the Spartans’ offense (1,323-1,905).

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the team’s offense with 386 points (20.2%).

Baumann Like a Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann is shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the Mountain West and ranks 10th in the NCAA in 3-point percentage at 46.0%. Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.6).

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 27.

In SJSU’s 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, vs. New Mexico, he broke the record outright with 8. He finished 8-of-12 from 3-point range to lead the Spartans to a win over New Mexico.

Not satisfied with just two, Baumann once again made seven 3s in the home finale vs. Wyoming. Six of his seven came in the first half. He finished the night with a game-high 27 points.

Baumann holds the first, second and third highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU, 27 vs. WYO and 26 vs. UNM. He is averaging 11.5 points in conference play, second-most on the team (Steadman). He is also averaging 15.0 points in the last five games.

Chappell’s Show
Freshman Zach Chappell has come on strong as of late, starting the last six games and averaging 9.0 points in the last five games. 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 vs. Colorado State.

In SJSU’s win over UNM, 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 is tied with Craig LeCesne for the most by any Spartan.

Chappell then scored 14 points at San Diego State.

Chastain Taking Over
Junior 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 12 games in his stead.

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

The win was the second all-time against the Lobos and the first-ever in SJ.

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 is 1 of multiple players to tally 6 steals, but just the first to do so since Justin Graham vs. Santa Clara (12/10/10).

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 to do so since Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman vs. Wyoming in the Mountain West Tournament last season (3/7/18).

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.

Starry Knight
Freshman Seneca Knight has upped his game recently as well. In his last five games, he is averaging 9.0 points, fourth-best on the team in that stretch. Against CSU, he led the team with a 14-point performance. He followed with 12 points at Air Force and had 12 more at SDSU.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. He is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game and ranks fifth in the MW with 8.5 rebounds per game. He has 11 double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the MW and has scored in double figures in 21-of-28 games. He also has 13 games with double-digit rebounds.

He 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.

His second such streak started with a career-best 17 rebounds to go with 21 points at AF. He followed with 21 points and pulled down 11 boards in the win over UNM.

He is averaging 14.8 points per game in the last five games and is averaging 13.2 in MW games.

He is currently riding a four-game streak with a double-double. In his last outing, he scored 12 points to go with 10 points vs. WYO. He is averaging 16.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in the streak.

Changes
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 Knight, Chappell, Trey Smith and Christian Anigwe.

Importance of Baumann and Steadman
In SJSU’s four wins this season, there have been two critical factors: Baumann and 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 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. They rank fifth in defensive boards with 26.2.

Series History: Fresno State
The longstanding rivalry between SJSU and Fresno State will see the 173rd game of the series played on Saturday. The series dates back to 12/18/16 in a 58-32 Spartan victory. In the first of two games this season, the Spartans fell to the Bulldogs 73-53 in the Event Center.

The Bulldogs enter the game currently third in the MW standings at 12-5 in MW play. They lead the conference in 3-point shooting at .375 and also lead in 3-point defense at .301. Braxton Huggins and Deshon Taylor both rank in the top six in scoring in the NCAA, while Nate Grimes is the third-best rebounder with a 9.4 per game average.

Baumann Chasing 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.

He is 75-163 from the 3-point range with one regular season games to go. His 75 makes are currently tied for the second-most in school history.

He hit seven 3s against WYO in his last outing, moving up from a tie for sixth on the list to a tie for second.

Cal Bears basketball Thursday recap: What a difference a day makes; Cal dominates Stanford for third straight win 64-59

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photo from calbears.com: The Cal Bears Matt Bradley (20) drives on the Stanford Cardinal (0) KZ Okpala in Thursday night’s game at Maples Pavilion

By Morris Phillips

PALO ALTO — The Cal Bears’ Connor Vanover led Cal in scoring with 24 points on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion, helping the Golden Bears to their third straight victory in one of the most exciting, shocking turnarounds for this season in the 64-59 victory. With 56.7 seconds left, Vanover hit a three-pointer after Stanford cut the lead to just four points. Vanover hit nine out of 12 shots and had five three-pointers and blocked six shots.

The Bears, who set a school record of 16 straight losses, have re-invented themselves and have won three straight against three difficult opponents: Washington, Washington State University, and Stanford. On offense, Paris Austin had 15 points and Matt Bradley had 14 points. Bradley was a scrapper all night he had seven rebounds and fouled out of the game. For the Cardinal, KZ Okpala led Stanford with 21 points and eight rebounds and Josh Sharma had 11 points and 13 rebounds. The Cardinal’s Justin Sueing had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Cardinal Cormac Ryan hit two three-pointers, which helped cut the Bears lead down to 58-55 after Vanover’s three-pointer. Sharma then scored on a dunk. Grant Antecevich and Sueing also hit free throws to add to the score.

It was 17-0 run for Cal that made the difference and showed why this team is fired up. The Bears’ offense dominated and put the Bears up from three points to the five-point victory. The Bears went from zero to hero going from 16 straight losses to three straight wins, making them the hottest team in the Pac-12.

The Bears head to the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas next week. If the Bears could win two or three in Vegas it might secure head coach Wyking Jones’ job situation, which at one time was questioned and more over vocalized by the fans at Haas Pavilion during some home games.

The Bears will head to Vegas for the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament and face the fifth seed, which is yet to be decided.

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Monday

Cal fends off Stanford 64-59 in final game of regular season

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

By: Eric Epstein

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The University of California Golden Bears bested the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavillion Thursday night with a score of 64-59, spoiling Stanford’s Senior Night and last game of the regular season. With their loss, Stanford moved to 8-10 in Pac-12 play, leaving them in 10th place in the conference. Cal improves their Pac-12 record to 3-15, however, they still sit at the bottom of the conference standings.

The Bears dominated the first half, outscoring the Cardinal 37-24. Only a couple minutes into the game, Cal rattled off a 17-0 run over five minutes, extending their lead to 19 points only 10 minutes into the game. Stanford was able to slowly narrow their deficit to 10 points before Cal freshman guard Matt Bradley banked home a long 3-point basket at the half to give the Bears a 13-point lead going into the locker room.

In the first period, Cal shot with much higher efficiency from Stanford everywhere except for the foul line. The Bears made 6 out of their 10 3-point attempts, whereas the Cardinal were not able to connect on any of their 12 tries.

7-foot-3 freshman Connor Vanover provided the Cal offense with a red-hot shooting spree, scoring his 18 first-half points on 7-8 shooting, including connecting on all 4 of his three-point attempts.

The first half Stanford offense ran through sophomore forward KZ Okpala, who scored 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Stanford struggled mightily with ball security and playmaking, as they turned the ball over 8 times and only totaled 3 assists. With usual starting point guard Daejon Davis still sidelined with a foot injury, the bulk of the ballhandling was done by freshman guards Bryce Wills and Cormac Ryan.

Cal scored three straight buckets to open the second half, increasing their lead to a game-high 21 points. The two squads traded off bursts of scoring until Stanford was able to string together some quick baskets and defensive stops to decrease the lead to single digits with 4 minutes left in the game. After missing their first 21 3-point attempts, Stanford hit 3 straight 3-pointers down the stretch to work the Cal lead down to a measly 3 points. However, Vanover responded on the other end, drawing an and-one foul on a shot under the basket. After that, the Cardinal were forced to play the foul game and could not make up the 6 point deficit incurred in the final minute.

Vanover led the game in scoring with 24 points on 9-12 shooting and 5-6 from three. Bradley and junior guard Paris Austin also lit up the scoreboard with 14 and 15 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Justice Sueing also pitched in a notable effort of his own, scoring 9 points and 10 rebounds en route to a near double-double. Only 5 Cal players got on the scoreboard Thursday evening, and the Bears bench was only able to scrape 2 points together over the course of the whole game.

Okpala led the Cardinal in scoring yet again with 21 points on 9-14 shooting. Senior center Josh Sharma put on a good show for Senior Night with 11 points and 13 rebounds, however, his game was cut a couple of minutes short due to his fifth personal foul. Ryan, who missed his first 7 shots, caught on fire down the stretch for 8 points on 3 shots. He also recorded a very impressive no-look overhead pass from his back to a streaking Marcus Sheffield for a transition bucket late in the second half.

This marks the last game for the Cardinal before the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas next week. This game likely marks the last home game for graduating senior Josh Sharma as well as sophomore KZ Okpala, who is expected to enter the NBA Draft this summer.

San Jose State loses to Wyoming 81-71 in final home game of the season

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State men’s basketball wrapped up the 2019 home slate with a … Wednesday night in the Event Center.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup featuring Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Ashtin Chastain, Michael Steadman and Zach Chappell.

Prior to the tipoff, SJSU honored senior Oumar Barry. Barry signed a National Letter of Intent with the Spartans in 2017 after stops at DePaul University from 2015-16 and Iowa Junior College from 2016-17. Barry graduated from Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. Barry was also a top-10 rated high school prospect in Virginia.

The Spartans won the tip and the game went underway. Jake Hendricks got the party started by hitting a 3-pointer and giving the Cowboys a 3-0 lead at the 18:47 mark of the first half. Then, SJSU got on the board when Chastain shot a free throw to cut Wyoming’s lead to 3-1 just 30 seconds later.

But the Cowboys poured in the points for a little over four minutes until Baumann hit a 3 to end the Spartans’ scoring drought at the 12:46 mark. As a result, Baumann extended his school record to 27 consecutive games with a 3. SJSU proceeded to pick up the pace as Baumann hit a 3, LeCesne made a layup and Ivey hit a 3. LeCesne shot a pair of free throws, Christian Anigwe threw down a dunk and Baumann hit a 3 to bring the Spartans within seven, 28-21, with 8:14 left.

There was still some hope in SJSU, who was down by 10, 31-21, but Baumann came to the rescue with back to back 3s to bring the Spartans within four, 31-27, with 6:16 left. Baumann made it a one-point game with a 3 and LeCesne made a layup to help the Spartans snatch a 32-31 lead with 4:19 left.

The two-minute mark proved to be the introduction to a back and forth affair between the two teams. Justin James shot three free throws in a row to put the Cowboys back on top 36-35, but Steadman knocked down a jumper in the paint to help the Spartans regain the lead, 37-36, but Wyoming was back in the game with back to back 3s by James and A.J. Banks. SJSU trailed 42-37 at halftime.

Once again, Hendricks opened the scoring by shooting a free throw just nine seconds into the second half, but Baumann hit a 3 to bring the Spartans within three, 43-40, at the 19:21 mark. The score remained close until Hendricks shot a fastbreak free throw to put the Cowboys ahead 50-44 at the 16:43 mark. That was the start of the Cowboys’ 5-0 run that extended their lead by 10, 54-44, at the 14:40 mark. Isaiah Nichols ended the Cowboys’ run with a layup in the paint along with a free throw just 35 seconds later. Ivey added a fastbreak free throw to bring the Spartans within eight, 54-48, at the 13:32 mark.

Despite the fact SJSU inched their way into the game, Wyoming was a tough customer. The Spartans pulled within six, 56-50, thanks to Steadman’s jumper at the 12:55 mark. Baumann shot a pair of free throws to keep the Spartans within six, 58-52, at the 10:23 mark, but his personal efforts weren’t enough to suppress the Cowboys.

SJSU went on a 6-0 run, courtesy of Steadman’s jumper, Baumann’s pair of free throws, Ivey’s jumper and Chastain’s layup. SJSU’s run was ended by James’ dunk with 4:59 left.

Steadman shot a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game, but Hendricks hit a 3 to put the Cowboys back on top 68-64 with 4:33 left.

Fast forward to the two-minute mark when the Cowboys pretty much took over. Particularly, Hendricks, who hit two 3s, and James, who shot four free throws — two fastbreak and two regular. Banks added three throws — two regular and one fastbreak — to make it a 10-point game with 45 seconds left. Steadman knocked down a jumper in the paint to avoid a double-digit loss, but his efforts were ruined by the Cowboys, who added in a pair of fastbreak free throws to hand the Spartans a 81-71 loss.

SJSU falls to 4-25, 1-16 MW, while Wyoming improves to 7-23, 3-14 MW.

SJSU concludes the 2019 season with a road game at rival Fresno State Saturday, March 9 at 4:00 pm on the Mountain West Network.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Men’s basketball looks forward to closing out the season; Football culture is a priority; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and @SJSUSpartanFB

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. SJSU got blown out by SDSU 84-56 last Saturday.

2. SJSU will host Wyoming tonight.

3. Beyond Football has been shaping a culture at SJSU.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

Stanford closes out the season against Cal Thursday night

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball fought all the way, but came up just short in Sunday’s 62-61 loss to the Washington Huskies at Maples Pavilion. Stanford had a chance to win on the game’s final possession, but KZ Okpala’s shot at the buzzer was no good and Stanford fell to Washington.

Josh Sharma scored 16 to go along with 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, before Washington forced a pair of turnovers in the final 2:37 to gain an advantage. A Sharma basket put Stanford back on top with 1:51 to go, but Washington got consecutive baskets from Nowell to go on top for good.

Oscar da Silva added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal.

Now, Stanford (15-14, 8-9 Pac-12) has another conference foe, Cal (7-22, 2-15 Pac-12), to host at Maples Thursday night. Well, it’s not going to be friendly, as these two teams are conference foes and the same thing will be applied to their respective fanbases. Stanford has one goal in mind and that’s to beat Cal, but that’s easier said than done. Although Cal is the equivalent of San Jose State in the Pac-12, Cal might unleash their anger on Stanford. But you never know which Stanford team will show up so this may turn out to be a down-to-the-wire Pac-12 clash.

By the way, Stanford teamed up with Coaching for Literacy in Sunday’s game. Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase and company wore green ties, lapel pins and wristbands to raise awareness and support the #Fight4Literacy cause.

Oh, and before I forget, Cardinal guard Cormac Ryan ranks third among freshmen in school history with 47 three-pointers.

San Jose State hosts Wyoming in battle of bottom-feeders Wednesday night

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball has been slated to host another conference foe, the Wyoming Cowboys, in the Event Center Wednesday night. This time, the Spartans vs. Cowboys matchup will be a battle of bottom-feeders, but only one of these two teams will prevail in the end.

Here’s what you need to know before Wednesday’s conference matchup:

This Week
San Jose State (4-24, 1-15 Mountain West) hosts Wyoming (6-23, 2-14 Mountain West) Wednesday at 7 pm PST before traveling to Fresno State for a rivalry game Saturday at 4 pm PST. Wednesday night’s game will also be Senior Night as Oumar Barry will be honored prior to the game.

Last Week
The Spartans picked up their first Mountain West win of the season with an 89-82 victory over New Mexico at home last Tuesday. The Spartans then suffered a loss at San Diego State 84-56 Saturday night.

Spartan Stat
Spartans junior forward Michael Steadman tallied his third-straight double-double at San Diego State Saturday in Viejas Arena. Steadman finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Steadman’s double-double was his 10th of the season, which was also the third most in the Mountain West.

Spartan Facts

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: After two straight wins, Cal prepares for Stanford Thursday

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photo from yahoosports.com: The Cal Bears defense was all over the Washington Huskies last Thursday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley the first of two wins for Cal

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 The Cal Bears are coming off two wins against the mighty Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars. Morris talks about Cal’s motivation to win their first two Pac-12 games.

#2 Getting two wins in the Pac 12 after nearly going winless has to build confidence going into the Pac-12 tournament.

#3 Now 7-22 coming off a 76-69 win, was the game against WSU a game where the Bears could see improvement in ball movement and getting their shots?

#4 Darius McNeill led Cal with 17 points for a big offensive day. Cal also distributed the ball well.

#5 It’s off to Stanford Thursday night, a 8:00 PM tip. Could the Bears come in with momentum and possibly get this game?

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Washington escapes Maples with a 62-61 win over the Cardinal

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Eric Epstein

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal fell to the Pac-12-leading Washington Huskies by 1 point on Sunday afternoon. KZ Okpala’s missed 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded would have given Stanford the win had it been good, but with its miss, Washington walked away with a narrow victory.

Coming off a 3-point loss to Cal, yet still clinching the Pac-12 regular season title on Thursday, Washington was never able to fully pull ahead from Stanford and establish itself as the dominant team. In the first half, Stanford held a single-digit lead for the first seven minutes, until Washington took over and held a lead for all but a minute and a half of the remainder of the period. In the second half, Stanford managed to grab some brief leads throughout the first 15 minutes, but the scoreboard was still mostly controlled by Washington. However, down the stretch, the teams traded off buckets and experienced 4 lead changes—no margin higher than 3 points. 2 straight jumpers by sophomore Husky guard Jaylen Nowell in the final minute and a half of play proved to be too much for Stanford to come back from as they could only scrape together one basket in the rest of regulation.

Washington outscored Stanford 29-33 in a slow-paced first half that featured 17 total turnovers and a combined 29.8% shooting percentage from the field. Sophomores KZ Okpala and Oscar da Silva, as well as senior Josh Sharma, saw limited playing time in the first period as they all picked up 2 personal fouls.

Out of the 10 players that saw first-half time for the Cardinal, only 5 recorded points, and only 4 of those connected on any of their field goal attempts.

The teams played much cleaner basketball in the second half, shooting a combined 52% from the floor, including a remarkable 56% from downtown.

The Pac-12 leader in field goal percentage in Josh Sharma led the second half in total points with 10. He also pitched in 6 rebounds to finish with game-leading 16 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman guard Cormac Ryan caught on fire during the second half, shooting 3-4 from deep, finishing with 13 points. Da Silva was the third double-digit scorer for Stanford, totaling 15 points on 5-8 shooting along with 9 rebounds and 3 assists.

Overall, Stanford shot 40% from the field and after going 0-8 on threes in the first half, they shot 6-9 from deep in the second period to bring their percentage up to 35%.

Nowell, who finished with 13 points on 6-11 shooting, was the leading scorer for Washington. Disturbed by primary ball handler and point guard David Crisp’s assist-less effort, Washington did not pass the ball well at all and finished with only 7 points at 14 turnovers.

Like Washington, the Cardinal also dealt with passing and playmaking struggles. Stanford played the whole game without their starting point guard in sophomore Daejon Davis, who is still hurt from a foot injury that he suffered in Stanford’s last game against Washington State. The Cardinal greatly missed Davis’ playmaking abilities, as they tallied a terrible assist to turnover ratio at 10:19.

To round out their regular season and make one final push for Pac-12 tournament seeding, Stanford will host Cal on Thursday evening at Maples.

San Jose State routed by San Diego State 84-56

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball faced another conference foe, the San Diego State Aztecs, in Viejas Arena Saturday night. SJSU previously held on for a 89-82 win over the New Mexico Lobos in the Event Center Tuesday night.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau announced a starting lineup featuring Zach Chappell, Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Michael Steadman and Ashtin Chastain.

As expected, Steadman was in full force, giving the Spartans a 2-0 lead just 43 seconds into the first half. The Aztecs got on the board, courtesy of Jalen McDaniels, who hit a 3-pointer to put the Aztecs up 3-2 at the 18:58 mark. SJSU responded with Knight’s 3 for a 5-3 lead at the 18:29 mark. SDSU countered with McDaniel’s jumper in the paint at the 18:08 mark, but Steadman made a layup in the paint to lift SJSU to a 7-5 lead at the 17:48 mark.

However, SJSU cooled off and SDSU heated up. The Spartans trailed 13-9 at the first media timeout. Then, the Aztecs used a 14-2 run to rise up 22-11 at the 12:19 mark.

The Spartans tightened up the score, 22-18, thanks to Knight’s 3 along with Chappell’s jumper and a pair of free throws by the time the scoreboard showed there was 9:35 left. Still, the Aztecs looked to extend their lead as Matt Mitchell made a pair of free throws for a 24-18 lead with 9:09 left. SJSU trailed 24-18 at the second media timeout.
Moreover, Baumann drew a foul and shot 2 of the timeout.

The Spartans trailed 39-26 at the final media timeout. Nathan Mensah made a layup in the paint with four seconds left. SJSU shrugged it off as they headed to their locker room, trailing 41-29 at halftime. Steadman led both categories with 10 points and 6 rebounds at halftime.

Devin Watson’s 3 extended the Aztecs’ lead 44-29 just 29 seconds into the second half. Though, back to back 3s by Chappell and Baumann at the 19:07 and 18:10 marks brought the Spartans within 9, 44-35.

The Aztecs shot 50% and hit 10 3s to keep the Spartans down by 20, 63-43, at the 11:10 mark. SJSU continued to score as Brae Ivey made a fastbreak layup in the paint and Baumann made a pair of free throws before Watson prevented the Spartans from using a run to catch up to the Aztecs.

Fast forward to the final timeout with 3:40 left. SJSU trailed 73-50, which was pretty darn bad. The Aztecs’ offense was stout, but that was sort of a given considering all the success their men’s basketball program has achieved in the past few years or so.

Michael Sohikish hit a 3 with 2:52 left, and just seconds after the 2-minute mark, Sohikish knocked down a jumper to extend the Aztecs’ lead 78-51 with 1:53 left. Ed Chang made a free throw and missed the other before he hit a fastbreak 3 to extend the Aztecs’ lead 82-51 with 1:11 left. Mensah closed out the Aztecs’ scoring with a jumper in the paint, while Chappell hit a 3 to call it a night for the Spartans.

SJSU (4-24, 1-15 MW) lost to SDSU (19-10, 11-5 MW) by a final score of 84-56 on the road.

SJSU returns home to host the Wyoming Cowboys Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00 pm PT.