Tag: NCAA

Dr. Harry Edwards gets named to CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Dr. Harry Edwards, the world-renowned sports sociologist and a San Jose State college record-setting two-sport student-athlete, is one of four inductees named to the 2018 class of the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-America Hall of Fame.

“I hold the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall Of Fame Award in extraordinary esteem because it recognizes the highest ideals and aspirations of the collegiate student-athlete: excellence in academic achievement, in athletic performance, and in community service and commitment,” said Dr. Edwards, a three-season starting center and co-captain of the 1964 SJSU basketball team and a school record-setting discus thrower in track and field.

“I am truly honored to have this recognition as part of my career legacy and as a model and example for all of those young people–particularly in places such as my hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois–who are seeking paths both to personal development and to lifetime service toward the betterment of this society and this nation.”

Washington State University and Detroit Lions placekicker Jason Hanson; Florida International University baseball infielder Mike Lowell, a three-time World Series champion in a 13-season MLB career; and University of Tennessee and two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Peyton Manning are joining Dr. Edwards as this year’s Academic All-America Hall of Fame inductees.

The induction ceremony is set for Thursday, June 28, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., during the annual CoSIDA Convention.

“On behalf of San Jose State University and our entire athletics department, we congratulate Dr. Edwards on this extraordinary recognition of his life’s work and accomplishments. He was an accomplished two-sport student-athlete; however, his true accomplishments are reflected in this award,” said SJSU director of athletics Marie Tuite.

“Today, he is an engaged participant on our campus as he shares his wisdom and knowledge with our University and, in particular, with our men’s and women’s athletics teams. His powerful comments address important issues that affect the lives of our student-athletes.”

Activism through sport, race and society
The 1964 SJSU graduate has an unparalleled professional career of activism centered on sport, race and society. He’s acknowledged as the pioneering scholar in the founding of the sociology of sport as an academic discipline.

Dr. Edwards founded the Olympic Project for Human Rights in 1967. An iconic moment that remains in the forefront of many is the action on the 1968 Olympic Games victory stand by SJSU’s Tommie Smith and John Carlos following Smith’s gold medal, world record-setting 200 meter dash performance in Mexico City, Mexico.

For 30 years, Dr. Edwards taught classes in introductory sociology such as “The Family and Race Relations” and “Sociology of Sport” at the University of California, Berkeley. As a professor emeritus, his classes were among the most popular, averaging as many as 600 students.

A NFL pioneer and the institute for the study of sport, society and social change
In 1985, Dr. Edwards was named a staff consultant to the San Francisco 49ers. In conjunction with fellow SJSU graduate and Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, they formed the “Niners for Life” program, the first of its kind in the NFL. Dr. Edwards and Coach Walsh established the NFL’s first drug counseling program, first financial classes for players, first college degree completion program and the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. NFL head coaches Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals), Ron Rivera (Carolina Panthers), and Hue Jackson (Cleveland Browns) were graduates of the program.

More recently, Dr. Edwards, who earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Cornell University, was awarded an honorary doctorate by SJSU in 2016. That same year, he launched the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change at SJSU dedicated to research analysis and education focused on developments at the intersection of sport and society.

“Dr. Harry Edwards, an accomplished student-athlete at San José State, became one of the most accomplished, passionate and articulate champions for human rights and social justice in this nation. We are honored by his continued engagement with his alma mater, and thrilled that he has been recognized with this honor. It is well deserved,” said SJSU vice-president for university advancement Paul Lanning.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame
Since 1988, 150 distinguished student-athletes have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame based on graduating with at least a 3.00 grade-point average on a 4.00 scale, participation in intercollegiate athletics at a high level, and showing a proven record of career success and philanthropic service. Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley (D–NJ), former United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Congressman Tom McMillen (D– MD), Big East Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman, and legendary basketball coach John Wooden (1910-2010) are among the Hall of Fame members.

Dr. Edwards is the second SJSU graduate to be inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame. In 2017, 1980 U.S. Olympics team women’s fencer Dr. Stacey Johnson was inducted. She’s a past president of USA Fencing and is the current president of Valencia College in Orlando, Fla.

Sports Headlines with Tony Renteria: The late Tyler Hilinski’s brother, Ryan, to play at South Carolina; Giants come back to rattle M’s 10-1; A’s attendance can only improve in time

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On the Sports Headlines podcast with Tony:

#1 Tyler Hilinski, the late Washington State quarterback who committed suicide last season in his dorm, has a brother named Ryan, who just committed to play at South Carolina’s football program. Knowing about Tyler’s suicide, should brother Ryan be concerned about CTE issues when playing at South Carolina?

#2 The San Francisco Giants, who lost 6-4 to the Seattle Mariners on opening day on Tuesday, and who were also expected to have pitching issues, showed up the next day Wednesday and got both hitting and pitching to take the second game of the two-game series from Seattle with a 10-1 win. The Giants got quality pitching from pitcher Johnny Cueto and lots of hitting in the laugher.

#3 The Oakland A’s, who drew only 7,000 on Monday night and then on 9,000 on Tuesday, night never have seen low attendance numbers like this in years. The numbers will improve as the week goes on, but Mondays and Tuesdays at the Coliseum will be brutal for the A’s on nights that fans tend to stay away from.

#4  The Sacramento Kings season comes to an end next week. If there was one memorable moment this season, it was the two games where Kings fans couldn’t get in because of the Black Lives Matter protest. The Kings made it clear that they support the protest, but they need to conduct business and had barricades around the arena that allowed only ticketed fans into the Golden 1 Center.

#5 The Golden State Warriors are slowly coming out of their hibernation after having shelved their big four players, who are all of them except for Stephen Curry, should be ready their next game

Tony Renteria does the Sports Headlines podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose State offense shows major potential at spring football game

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By: Ana Kieu

Despite bleak skies, the San Jose State Spartans football team showed off its offensive potential with five pass plays of 30 or more yards during its 79-play Spring Football Game at CEFCU Stadium Saturday.

Junior Josh Love completed 7-of-11 passes for 148 yards. Love completed passes of 32 yards to wide receiver Tre Walker, 48 yards to tight end Josh Oliver and 56 yards to slot receiver Leki Nunn.

Redshirt freshman Terrell Carter connected on a 46-yard pass play to wide receiver Tre Hartley, but it was Montel Aaron–who started eight games last season–as the only Spartan signal caller to connect on a touchdown pass with his 75-yarder to wide receiver Bailey Gaither.

With fifth-year senior Michael Carrillo and redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson, the Spartans passed for 389 yards and did not have a pass intercepted.

Carter accounted for two of the three rushing touchdowns in the game on runs of two and four yards,

“It was exciting enough that half of the Fresno State football team came to watch. So we’re doing something right,” said San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan, who added the Spartans had trouble passing the ball deep down field last year. “It was good to see to us throw the ball down field and make some plays.”

“Right now, we’re giving them all (the quarterbacks) equal reps, seeing them all play and compete,” Brennan added.

Bryce Crawford’s 50-yard field goal accounted for the rest of the scoring in the game.

Linebacker Tysyn Parker, who started four games a year ago as a freshman, and sophomore defensive lineman Sinjun Astani each had a quarterback sack.

Scoring Summary
Terrell Carter, two-yard run (Bryce Crawford kick)
Malike Roberson, seven-yard run (Matt Mercurio kick)
Bryce Crawford, 50-yard field goal
Terrell Carter, four-yard run (Matt Mercurio kick)
Bailey Gaither, 75-yard pass from Montel Aaron (Matt Mercurio kick)

Rushing (37 attempts, 147 yards, three touchdowns)
DeJon Packer, 11-54; Malike Roberson, 7-35, 1 TD; Terrell Carter, 6-27, two touchdowns; Bailey Gaither, 1-27; Ryan Johnson, 1-8; Tyler Nevens, 3-7; Thai Cottrell, 1-7; Josh Love, 1-5; Brendan Manigo, 1-(-2); Michael Carrillo, 3-(-3); Montel Aaron, 1-(-7); Team, 1-(11).

Passing (20-35-0-389 yards, one touchdown) 
Josh Love, 7-11-0-148 yds.; Montel Aaron, 3-6-0-106 yds., one touchdown; Terrell Carter, 4-5-0-77 yards., zero touchdowns; Michael Carrillo, 6-11-0-58 yards., zero touchdowns; Ryan Johnson, 0-2-0-0 yards.

Receiving 
Leki Nunn, 4-76; Bailey Gaither, 3-105, 1 TD; Justin Holmes, 3-27; Josh Oliver, 2-50; Tre Walker, 2-45; Thai Cottrell, 2-17; Brendan Manigo, 2-7; Tre Hartley, 1-46; Billy Humphreys, 1-12.

Punting 
Bryce Crawford, 2-35.0 average; Brian Papazian, 2-38.0 average.

Field goals 
Bryce Crawford, 39–no good; 36–no good; 50–good.

Quarterback sacks 
Tysyn Parker and Sinjun Astani, one each.

Up Next
The Spartans will be back on the practice field on Tuesday, April 3, after a much-needed week off for SJSU’s spring break.

NCAA March Madness Podcast with Michelle Richardson: Ingram’s 3-point buzzer beater keeps Cinderella Loyola Chicago alive; Michigan’s Poole hits a 3-point buzzer-beater for 64-63 win; Coach K passes Summitt for all-time wins

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On the NCAA March Madness Podcast with Michelle:

#1 It’s getting exciting about this time of the season as March Madness as Loyola Chicago’s Donte Ingram shot a three-point buzzer beater that got the win past Tennessee 63-62 as the Cinderella story continues.

# 2   Another buzzer beater a three-pointer from Michigan’s Jordan Poole to defeat Houston 64-63.

#3 Duke head coach Mike Kryzewski picked up his milestone 1,099th win, passing Pat Summitt for the wins in Division One history.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Join Michelle Richardson for the NCAA March Madness Podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAA March Madness/Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: After narrowly getting by BYU, Cardinal have work cut out for them at Oklahoma State

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On the NCAA March Madness/Stanford Cardinal podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 Stanford (19-15) got by the BYU Cougars 86-83 in close fashion last Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion to take the first step towards the Big Dance.

#2 Reid Travis led Stanford with 25 and 14 rebounds. Travis has been solid all season.

#3 The Cougars had defeated St Mary’s before losing to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament, but it shows beating St. Mary’s, how potent BYU was and Stanford battled to edge them out.

#4 The Cougars got within two points with nine seconds left in the contest as the Cardinal were leading 85-83 towards the end. BYU made two last shots from the field, but could tie the ball game.

#5 It’s off to Oklahoma State (20-14) Monday night as the Cardinal try to advance it’s a 4:00 pm PDT start

Matt Harrington does podcast commentary on Stanford basketball during March Madness at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Opinion: San Jose State Is Taking a Turn for the Worse

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans’ football and men’s basketball teams have something in common: They both represent San Jose State in NCAA Division I in FBS college football and college basketball, respectively, as a member of the Mountain West Conference. They’re also far from winners. Well, at least not recently.

I’m well aware that 132 Spartan football players have marched on to play in the NFL, but I haven’t seen the Spartans compete in a bowl game since my senior year at SJSU in 2015 when they faced–and defeated–Georgia State by a score of 27-16 under head coach Ron Caragher. Before that, Kent Baer served as an interim head coach in 2012, Mike McIntyre served as a head coach from 2010 to 2012, and let’s not forget the legendary Dick Tomey, who served as a head coach from 2005 to 2009.

In 2017, the Spartans hired Brent Brennan as the new head coach for the team. Brennan previously worked at SJSU as an assistant coach alongside Tomey from 2005 to 2010. Brennan originally lettered in college football at UCLA as a wide receiver from 1993 to 1994 and also graduated from the university in 1996.

The Spartan football team, however, didn’t fare well under first-year head coach Brennan. Sure, the majority of first-year head coaches experience struggles adjusting to a larger platform, but the Spartans mustered just a record of 2-11, 1-7 Mountain West in 2017-18.

The Spartan football team is having quite the offseason as they made plenty of additions and promotions among their roster as well as coaching staff. They also confirmed their 2018 football schedule. In addition, SJSU alumnus, business leaders and philanthropists, Larry and Deidre Solari, gave a $5 million gift to SJSU Athletics–the largest gift ever to the program–to support SJSU football personnel and facilities. That was an extremely generous gift, and I hope Brennan and his team will put the money to good use.

Let’s switch to Spartans’ men’s basketball, who are on a similar boat–minus the $5 million gift. In 2017, the Spartans hired Jean Prioleau as the new head coach for the team. Like Brennan, Prioleau entered SJSU as a first-year head coach. Prioleau previously worked as an assistant coach at the University of Colorado from 2010 to 2017. Prioleau played college basketball at Fordham University as a point guard from 1988 to 1989 and 1991 to 1992 and also graduated from the university in 1992.

The Spartans have appeared in five postseason tournaments, but have yet to win a playoff game. They’ve appeared in the NCAA Tournament three times in 1951, 1980 and 1996, the NIT one time in 1981 and the CBI one time in 2011. Of course, the only appearance I’ve watched and remembered was the CBI in 2011. I was a high school senior who was getting ready for college at–you guessed it–at SJSU.

Moreover, the Spartans had six basketball stars who went on to play in the NBA. Their names are Coby Dietrick, Darnell Hillman, Wally Rank, Chris McNealy, Ricky Berry and Tariq Abdul-Wahad.

As of right now, the Spartans had a season to forget as they went 4-26, 1-16 MW in 2017-18. Despite their best efforts in this year’s Mountain West Tournament, they were handed their third consecutive first-round exit. This time, they fell to the Wyoming Cowboys 74-61 on March 7 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman combined to score 49 of the Spartans’ 61 points in the game.

Speaking of star players, it has been reported by various sources that four Spartan starters–Welage, Hillsman, Keith Fisher III and Walter Graves III–are going to leave the program in the near future. These four aren’t just random players either. They’re some of San Jose’s finest. This isn’t the NBA where a lot of top-notch players leave their hapless teams just to win a championship or two.

As if that wasn’t enough, Noah Baumann recently posted a vague tweet about how he felt at the moment.

We don’t have a definite answer in regards to Baumann’s tweet yet, but he might’ve been hinting that he’ll also leave SJSU. We’ll see what happens. But enough damage has been done and the Spartans can’t afford to suffer anymore.

At the end of the day, the Spartan faithful deserve better.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Ryan Welage was selected to the NBAC All-District 17 Second Team on March 13.

Press release below:
Ryan Welage was fourth in the Mountain West in 2017-18 at 18.1 points per game.

March 13, 2018

NABC All-District Teams

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today the Division I All-District teams and has selected San José State’s Ryan Welage to the All-District 17 Second Team. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division I, these student-athletes represent the finest basketball players across America.

Welage was given All-Mountain West honorable mention after scoring 18.1 points per game during the regular season. He had 14 games of 20-plus points and had a pair of 30-point games. He was the league’s most accurate free throw shooter at 87.7 percent.

The Greensburg, Ind., native also achieved two major career milestones in 2017-18 including becoming the program’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers with 161 and climbing up to sixth on the all-time career scoring list with 1,258 points.

NABC DIVISION I All-District 17

First Team

Chandler Hutchison, Boise State
Caleb Martin, Nevada
Justin James, Wyoming
Deshon Taylor, Fresno State
Jordan Caroline, Nevada

Second Team

Hayden Dalton, Wyoming
Brandon McCoy, UNLV
Shakur Juiston, UNLV
Koby McEwen, Utah State
Ryan Welage, San José State

Stanford Cardinal scratch BYU Cougars 86-83 in first round of NIT

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By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO — The Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team (11-7 Pac-12, 18-15 overall) qualified for the National Invitation Tournament and kicked off Game 1 against the BYU Cougars (11-7 WCC, 24-10 overall) on Wednesday at Maples Pavilion.

Following the opening tip-off, Cougars’ Jahshire Hardnett acquired the ball. The Cardinal played solid defense and managed to make their way to the other end of the court, though Dorian Pickens missed a three-pointer for the Cardinal. Cougars’ Elijah Bryant then dunked a minute into the period. Cardinal’s Reid Travis was given two free throw opportunities after Luke Worthington was fouled, both of which he missed. TJ Haws came back with a jumper for the Cougars, making the score 4-0 just over two minutes in. Haws was then fouled, allowing Pickens two free throws. He made only one. Travis then added a layup, as did Daejon Davis, and the Cardinal claimed a lead. Michael Humphrey then made a three-pointer to double the Cardinal’s lead. Dorian Pickens also got a three, sustaining the lead. A dunk from Pickens followed solid defensive plays (and a pass) by Travis and Humphrey. With a dunk. Payton Dastrup helped the Cougars catch up and the score was 13-12 with three and a half minutes remaining in the first 10. Bryant got a three for BYU, as did Travis for Stanford, keeping their lead. Bryant then got another three, giving the Cougars a two-point lead (18-16) over the Cardinal. Dastrup attempted a buzzer-beating three, but missed.

The next 10 minutes of the first half opened with a foul on Cougars’ Zac Seljaas and a layup from Dastrup. Josh Sharma attempted a three for Stanford, rebounded by Haws, then passed to Yoeli Childs, who got a layup for the Cougars to make the score 22-16, BYU. Pickens got a three for the Cardinal, then Hardnett got a layup for the Cougars to maintain their lead. Humphrey made a dunk shot, then Pickens made another three just before the shot clock timed out. The Cardinal were then down by only one point (24-23). Humphrey missed a jumper and was then fouled, giving the Cougars the ball, though they missed all attempted shots. Oscar da Silva got a layup for the Cardinal, as did Childs for the Cougars, who sustained their lead by a point with just over four minutes remaining. A dunk from Humphrey reissued the Cardinal a one-point lead, which would shuffle over the course of nearly 30 seconds. Hardnett got a layup with 3:22 left, and Travis made two free throws to give the Cardinal another one-point lead advantage, then turned over to the Cougars after a layup and free throw from Seljaas. The Cougars then had a seven-point advantage with 1:53 left after a jumper by Bryant and a three from Rylan Bergesen. The lead then went up to nine briefly after Bergesen made two free throws.

At halftime, the score was 39-35 BYU. Pickens exceeded the Cardinal with 11 points in the first half, Bryant for the Cougars with 14 points.

Humphrey and Travis opened the third quarter with a layup and a jumper, respectively, to tie the score 39-39. KZ Okpala then handed the lead to the Cardinal again with a jumper, followed by a free throw from Humphrey. Childs added a layup as did Travis, and then Hardnett. The Cougars were determined to reclaim their point lead, and the Cardinal were determined to keep theirs as the one-point lead remained active. Travis got a layup, followed by Haws, to keep the one point difference. Da Silva dunked to bring the Cardinal’s lead to three. A foul on Pickens issued Bergersen two free throw opportunities, both of which he made. Dastrup fouled Travis, who made both free throws and brought the Cardinal’s lead to three. Haws missed a critical three which would have tied the score, and then Okpala got a jumper to give the Cardinal a five-point lead, cut back to three by Bryant, then increased to five again when Travis got a jumper. The Cougars carried the ball swiftly to their side of the court, where Dastrup got a three. Davis then got a layup and the score was 56-52 BYU with 2:11 remaining in the quarter. Another layup from Travis brought the Cardinal to a six-point advantage, which they maintained as Seljaas missed a three and Worthington a layup. Oscar da Silva made a three with seven seconds left, leaving the Cardinal on the brink of a double-digit lead over the Cougars.

The final quarter commenced with layups from Childs and Bryant for the Cougars and Okpala for the Cardinal. Pickens made a three just under two minutes in, and a jumper and a dunk from Travis finally brought the Cardinal’s lead to the double digits (69-58) with seven minutes remaining. This was the first point in the game where either team had exceeded the other by more than 10 points. Humphrey then added a point when he made one free throw, and Pickens added two more with two free throws. Worthington got a layup to bring the Cardinal’s lead to 10 even, and then was brought back to single digits after one layup from Haws and two from Hardnett. The Cougars then only trailed the Cardinal by four points.

Over the course of the final two and a half minutes, a free throw from Pickens, a three pointer from Davis, a layup from Dastrup, two free throws from Davis, a layup from Haws, another two free throws from Davis, a free throw from Worthington, a dunk from Okpala, a jumper from Bryant, a free throw from da Silva, a layup and a free throw from Bryant, a free throw from Pickens, a layup and a three pointer from Hardnett, and a free throw from Davis, the Cardinal took home an 86-83 win over the Cougars.

At the end of the game, Travis exceeded the Cardinal with 25 points, and Bryant led the Cougars with 28 points.

The Stanford Cardinal will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys on March 19.

San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu: SJSU caves in to yet another first round exit in MW Tournament; SDSU wins conference title; plus SJSU football updates

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On the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. San Jose State caved in to yet another first round exit, a 74-61 loss to Wyoming, in the first round of Mountain West Tournament last Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

2. Ryan Welage led all scorers with 25 points and Jaycee Hillsman came a close second with 24 points. Hillsman also got a new career-high of 22 points. What went wrong for the Spartans?

3. San Diego State beat Fresno State in the quarterfinals, upset Nevada in the semifinals and defeated New Mexico in the championship. What could the Spartans learn from the Aztecs?

4. San Diego State will take on Houston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday in the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. What’s your prediction for that game?

5. Brent Brennan and the Spartans have been putting in work lately. What’s new with the football team?

NCAA March Madness Podcast with Michelle Richardson: NC and Duke fail to win ACC Tournament; Virginia gets a sweep in the ACC; Villanova and Kansas win conference tournaments

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On the NCAA March Madness Podcast with Michelle:

1 Michelle, the choices for the NCAA committee for a top seeded school selection was easy when North Carolina or Duke didn’t win in the ACC tournament?

2 Virginia (31-2) has clinched for a No.1 overall seed. They won the ACC in a sweep of the tournament that puts them up by four games. The Cavs had a most impressive record against quadrant one opponents going 12-1.

3 Villanova (30-4) and Kansas (27-7) won their conference tournaments. Kansas who won their title are 18-3 going up against the top two quadrants and swept Xavier and got wins from Tennessee and Gonzaga no easy tasks.

4. Michelle’s final thoughts.

Michelle Richardson invites you to listen to the March Madness Podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

 

San Diego State beats New Mexico 82-75 to win Mountain West title

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By: Ana Kieu

LAS VEGAS — There won’t be any San Jose State Spartans men’s basketball games until next season, but college basketball fans rejoiced as the San Diego State Aztecs took on the New Mexico Lobos in the Mountain West championship game Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The beginning featured plenty of back-and-forth action as the Lobos opened the scoring as Vladimir Pinchuk made a layup and Troy Simons hit a 3-pointer in the first two minutes of the opening half. Then, the Aztecs’ Malik Pope sank a pair of free throws to get his team on the board.

The Lobos pushed ahead for a 10-2 lead over the Aztecs as Sam Logwood hit a three and Antino Jackson followed up with a layup. Before the first media timeout, New Mexico led San Diego State 12-4 at the 15:34 mark of the half. At that time, UNM went 5-6 (83.3%) in FG% and 2-2 (100%) in 3FG%.

The Aztecs made it a one-point game as they trailed the Lobos 14-13 at the 11:37 mark of the half. At that time, SDSU went 5-11 (45.5%) in FG% and 1-3 (33%) in 3FG%, while UNM went 6-11 (54.5%) on FG% and 2-3 (66.7%) in 3FG%.

Thanks to a Kell jumper, the Aztecs took a 22-20 lead over the Lobos with 7:56 left to go in the half. At the time, SDSU went 8-17 (47.1%) in FG% and 2-5 (40.0%) in 3FG%, while UNM went 8-18 (44.4%) in FG% and 2-5 (40.0%) in 3FG%.

These two teams exchanged leads late in the half.

The Aztecs added to their lead for a little over a minute; the Lobos tied the game on Jackson and Mathis’ 3-pointers, respectively; and then the Aztecs’ Kameron Rooks sank a pair of free throws to put SDSU back on top 31-29 with 4:03 left to go in the half. At that time, SDSU went 11-25 (44.0%) in FG%, 2-6 (33.3%) in 3FG% and 7-7 (100.0%) in FT%, while UNM went 11-24 (45.8%) in FG%, 5-10 (50.0%) in 3FG% and 2-2 (100.0%) in FT%.

In a wilder string of exchanges, Simons hit a three to tie the game at 37 apiece, Aztecs’ Jalen McDaniels made a jumper and then the spotlight went back on Simons as he made a free throw with just one second left to go in the half. The Aztecs carried a 39-38 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Here are the halftime stats: SDSU went 14-30 (46.7%) in FG%, 2-8 (25.0%) in 3FG% and 9-11 (81.8%) in FT%, while UNM went 14-31 (45.2%) in FG%, 6-11 (54.5%) in 3FG% and 4-5 (80.0%) in FT%.

The Aztecs went on a brief 4-0 run on Kell and Pope’s jumpers, respectively, and then McDaniel’s dunk. SDSU led UNM 49-47 at the 15:29 mark of the second half. At that time, SDSU outscored UNM 9-2 on second chance points. SDSU went 5-6 (83.3%) in FG%, while UNM went 4-7 (57.1%) in FG% and 1-3 (33.3%) in 3FG%.

The Lobos had a one-point lead over the Aztecs at the 11:41 mark of the half. At that time, UNM went 6-11 (54.5%) in FG%, 2-6 (33.3%) in 3FG% and 0-1 (0.0%) in FT%, while SDSU went 6-11 (54.5%), 0-1 (0.0%) in 3FG% and 0-2 (0.0%) in FT%.

The Lobos continued to build up its lead to six points for a 63-57 advantage over the Aztecs with 7:35 left to go in the half. At that time, UNM went 10-20 (50.0%) in FG%, 2-8 (25.0%) in 3FG% and 3-4 (75.0%) in FT%, while SDSU went 8-15 (53.3%) in FG%, 0-2 (0.0%) in 3FG% and 2-5 (40.0%) in FT%.

However, the Lobos’ lead was short-lived, partially because they went cold for more than five minutes. The Aztecs led by six, 71-65, with 3:57 left to go in the half. At that time, SDSU went 12-22 (54.5%) in FG%, 3-6 (50.0%) in 3FG% and 5-8 (62.5%) in FT%, while UNM went 10-25 (40.0%) in FG%, 2-9 (22.2%) in 3FG% and 5-6 (83.3%) in FT%.

The seconds on the clock slowly ticked away, and the Lobos unfortunately let a substantial amount of time slip away before fouling. The Aztecs led the Lobos by six, 81-75, with 7.1 seconds left on the clock. Pope made the final free throw of the game to help the Aztecs to a 82-75 win over the Lobos for the Mountain West title.

Here are the final stats: SDSU went 28-56 (50.0%) in FG%, 5-15 (33.3%) in 3FG% and 21-29 (72.4%) in FT%, while UNM went 26-63 (41.3%) in FG%, 8-24 (33.3%) in 3FG% and 15-17 (88.2%) in FT%.

Notes
No. 5 Aztecs’ starting lineup: Devin Watson (#0; G), Trey Kell (#3, G), Jalen McDaniels (#5; F), Matt Mitchell (#11; F) and Malik Pope (#21; F).

No. 3 Lobos’ starting lineup: Chris McNeal (#1; G), Sam Logwood (#2, G/F), Antino Jackson (#3, G), Vladimir Pinchuk (#15, F/C) and Troy Simons (#31, G).