Tag: San Jose State Spartans

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

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.

San Jose State looks to make it two wins in a row at San Diego State on Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

The dog days for San Jose State men’s basketball finally came to a screeching halt Tuesday night when the home team shockingly picked up its first conference win of the season 89-82 over the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center. As expected, the crowd was loud, but it was pretty much Spartan alumni and/or season-ticket holders. Hopefully, more current SJSU students flock to these games, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at what to expect in Saturday’s road game.

At a Glance
SJSU, fresh off their first conference win of the season, will look to keep the momentum rolling as they face San Diego State Saturday inside Viejas Arena. Fans can catch the game on Fox Sports San Diego or Mountain West Network. As always, Justin Allegri will provide the Spartan radio call on the TuneIn app.

Game No. 28
SJSU (4-23, 1-14) at SDSU (18-10, 10-5)
Saturday, March 2, 7:00 pm PST
Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, 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 No. 5 on the season, which would be the most in the last two season since going 14-16 in 2016-17. A win over the Aztecs would also be the second in conference play, also the most since winning seven in 2016-17.

Recapping Game One vs. SDSU
Game one of the two-game series this season against the Aztecs resulted in an 11-point loss inside the Event Center. SJSU played well enough to win, but was unable to hold off SDSU as they took advantage of three Spartan turnovers in a span of three minutes to take a 13-point lead. SJSU was unable to make up the ground and fell 67-56.

Craig LeCesne (14) and Brae Ivey (12) led the Spartans in scoring, while Michael Steadman pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds.

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

» The win was the second all-time against the Lobos and the first-ever in San Jose.

» Noah 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 was one of multiple players to tally six steals, but just the first since Justin Graham versus the Santa Clara Broncos on December 10, 2010.

» Michael 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 since Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman versus Wyoming in the Mountain West Tournament last season (3/7/18).

Nice Newcomers
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 69.9% of the Spartans’ offense (1,243-1,778).

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the Spartans’ offense with 362 points (20.3%).

Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann has been shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the MW in 3-point percentage (46.5%). Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.5).

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 25.

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

Baumann holds the first and seconnd highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 versus Utah State and 26 versus New Mexico. The sophomore is averaging 10.7 points in MW play, second-most on the team (Steadman). He’s also second to Steadman with 11.6 points in the last five games.

The Zach Chappell Show
Freshman Zach Chappell has come on strong as of late, starting the last five games and averaging 9.4 points in those starts. 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 versus Colorado State.

In the win over New Mexico, 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 was tied with Craig LeCesne for the most by any Spartan.

Chastain in Charge
Junior center 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 10 games in his stead.

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.

Hidden Gem
Despite losing 90-71 to CSU, the Spartans may have found a hidden gem in the form of junior walk-on Brian Rodriguez-Flores, who played 17 minutes and scored a season-high 13 points. He followed with a season-best 33 minutes at Air Force, where he was the first player off the bench and finished with 12 points.

Starry Knight
Freshman guard Seneca Knight has upped his game recently. In the last five games, he has been averaging 9.6 points, third-best on the team in that stretch. Against Colorado State, he led the team with a 14 point performance. He followed with 12 points at Air Force.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10” forward is averaging a team-high 13.4 points per game and ranks sixth in the MW with 8.4 rebounds per game. He has nine double-doubles on the season, ranking fourth in the conference and has scored in double figures in 20-of-27 games. He also has 12 games with double-digit rebounds.

Steadman 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.

Steadman has also achieved the feat in the last two games, starting with a career-best 17 rebounds and 21 points at AF. In his last outing, he finished once again with 21 points and pulled down 11 boards in the win over UNM.

Steadman is averaging 14. 8 points per game in the last five games and is averaging 13.4 in MW games.

Change It Up
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 freshmen Seneca Knight, Zach Chappell, Trey Smith and Christian Anigwe.

Baumann and Steadman Remain as Keys
In SJSU’s four wins this season, there have been two critical factors: Noah Baumann and Michael 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 the 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 and rank sixth in defensive boards with 26.0.

Series History: SDSU
The Aztecs lead the series by a slim margin 39-35, but have claimed nine of the last 10, including the last three. The Spartans’ last win came on February 7, 2017 at home 76-71. Prior to that win, SDSU had a seven-game win streak, the second-longest streak in the series. The longest such streak belongs to the Spartans, who won nine straight from 1948-1952. SDSU won the first game against SJSU this season 67-56 in San Jose.

The Aztecs, under second-year head coach Brian Dutcher, enter Saturday’s game on a one-game losing skid after USU knocked them off of a five-game winning streak 70-54 in Logan, Utah.

SDSU excels at shooting the 3-ball. They rank second in the MW in 3-point percentage with a 36.6% clip and also rank third in 3-point defense (33.0%). The lethal scoring duo of Jalen McDaniels and Devin Watson will once again prove to be a huge test against SJSU as they each rank in the top-10 in the MW in scoring. The duo combined for 49 points the first time the teams met in February (Watson: 27, McDaniels: 22).

Baumann Chases 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.

Baumann is 67-of-144 from the 3-point range with three regular season games to go. His 67 makes currently rank as the seventh most in school history.

SJSU Single-Season 3-Point Record Leaders
1. Robert Owens (2010) … 78
2. Rashad Muhammad (2014) … 75
3. Billy Landrum (2000) … 74
4. Adrian Oliver (2011) … 70
5. Tim Pierce (2008) … 69
6. Mac Peterson (2010) … 68
7. Noah Baumann (2019) … 67

Baumann’s 46.5% 3-point percentage is also on pace to break his own school record set last season (46.0%).

San Jose State Athletics releases statement on former football head coach Dick Tomey

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

Via tuscon.com

Remember when former San Jose State football head coach Dick Tomey led the Spartans to the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M. against–you guessed it–the New Mexico Lobos in 2006? SJSU won that game 20-12 and handed a loss to UNM. Tomey’s hard work ethic played a role in the Spartans’ win.

According to Tuscon.com, Tomey asserted: “Let’s win the game first.”

Tomey didn’t care if his players were tired or the weather was unfavorable. Tomey gave his undivided attention to college football. Tomey coached the Spartans from 2005 to 2009.

10 years later, Tomey was diagnosed with lung cancer, which was saddening to say the least. I haven’t actually interviewed Tomey, but I grew up watching Spartan football and he was one of the many coaches that I’ve seen in person. Tomey was definitely more than a coach — he was also a mentor and friend to a lot of folks.

Tomey provided the vital leadership and vision to significantly overhaul the academic deficiencies that plagued the SJSU football program at the time he became head coach. SJSU became the model institution among NCAA Division I FBS for academic reform.

In appreciation for Tomey’s continued athletics program involvement and impact, the Dick Tomey Class Act Award is presented each spring at the SAMMY Awards sponsored by SJSU’s SASS unit.

On Thursday, SJSU Athletics released a statement: “The entire San Jose State University community is saddened to learn that beloved football coach Dick Tomey is undergoing treatment for lung cancer. We hold Coach Tomey in very high regard for everything he has done for our university and, specifically, for our football program since he became a member of family in 2005. Even after he concluded being our head football coach, he continues being a viable mentor, trusted voice of reason, visionary, and loyal friend to our student-athletes, coaches, athletics staff and friends of our athletics program. Our best wishes go out to Coach Tomey, his family and all who love and adore him during this challenging time.”

Tomey’s family previously released a statement: “Coach Dick Tomey was recently diagnosed with a type of lung cancer at Tucson Medical Center and is currently undergoing further tests this week at MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

“We (Coach and his family) greatly appreciate all the people who have reached out to help in so many ways and all the expressions of love and well-wishes being sent our way from so many people. Following Coach Tomey’s example, our family is feeling very grateful and hopeful for a positive outcome.”

29 San Jose State football players named to Academic All-Mountain West Team for Fall 2018

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

An all-time high 57 San Jose State student-athletes from five sports were named to the Fall 2018 Academic All-Mountain West team.

The 57 student-athletes are an all-time high at SJSU for this past fall, including an all-time high 29 Spartan football players. SJSU has the second-most football award winners in the MW.

Spartan volleyball had nine players honored, tying for the most honored since joining the MW in 2013. Women’s soccer had nine players honored, followed by women’s cross country at six and men’s cross country at four.

Five Spartan student-athletes received their fourth Academic All-MW honor — Luiza Andrade (volleyball), Darriell Franklin (women’s soccer), Craig Huff (men’s cross country), Josh Oliver (football) and Jeanette Zambrano (women’s cross country). Seven students-athletes received honors for the third time in their career, while 13 Spartans earned Academic All-MW recognition for the second year. 32 achieved the recognition for the first time in their career.

“We are elated to recognize a record-number of Spartans who exemplified academic prowess this past fall,” said Eileen Daley, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic and Student Services. “We reach these goals by setting high standards, providing academic support and genuinely investing in the academic achievement of our student-athletes. The ongoing partnerships with our academic team, coaches and student-athletes have led to this success. This Mountain West recognition also provides incentive for more student-athletes to continue their hard work and effort in the hopes of standing among their peers as Scholar-Athletes.”

To earn Academic All-MW recognition, a student-athlete must complete at least one semester, maintain a 3.00 or better cumulative GPA and participate in at least 50% of the contests for the season.

A league-record 703 student-athletes have been named to the Fall 2018 Academic All-MW team. Sports recognized include men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Former linebacker soaks in first AAF win; Hapless an understatement for men’s basketball; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and @frankginda05

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. Frank Ginda, a former Spartan linebacker, and the San Diego Fleet soaked in their first AAF (Alliance for American Football) win 24-12 over the Atlanta Legends on Sunday, February 17th.

2. SJSU lost its 16th in a row last Wednesday 91-70 at home against the Colorado State Rams.

3. What were your thoughts on SJSU’s games against Air Force and New Mexico?

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

SJSU earns first conference win of the season

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball resumed their hunt for their first conference win of the 2019 season Tuesday evening. SJSU hosted the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center. There was a healthy mix of both Spartans and Lobos fans in attendance, which was a highlight considering the fact that the Spartans haven’t really sold out in recent years.

Prior to the tipoff, SJSU announced a starting lineup featuring Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Ashtin Chastain, Michael Steadman and Zach Chappell. That was a solid lineup. It was just a matter of fact of whether or not the Spartans were able to hold on to secure a win.

UNM got on the board first as Carlton Bragg made a layup to open the scoring. SJSU then snatched a 3-2 lead on Baumann’s 3-pointer just 15 seconds later. Baumann extended his school record to 25 consecutive games with a 3. Steadman followed up with a layup and Chappell hit a 3 to make it a 8-2 game at the 18-minute mark.

The game turned into a back and forth affair. UNM knocked back to back jumpers by Corey Manigault and Makuach Maluach, and SJSU was within four after Chastain made a layup.

SJSU got ahead 14-7 on back-to-back jumpers by Steadman and Chastain. Sure, Keith McGee helped keep the score close for UNM with a 3 and fastbreak layup, but Steadman continued to dominate on the hardwood with a layup, jumper in the paint and vice versa. Christian Anigwe also dominated with a pair of free throws to make it a 20-14 game at the 12:27 mark.

The game remained in a back and forth affair. The Lobos’ offense heated up, but the Spartans refused to back down, making it a 1-point game, thanks to Chappell’s 3 with 7:14 left.

Chappell helped the Spartans grab a 31-30 lead with 6:24 left, but it was short-lived as the Lobos got ahead 32-31 on Manigault’s jumper in the paint 15 seconds later.

Baumann came to the rescue with two 3s in less than a minute to give the Spartans a 37-34 lead with 4:36 left. But the Lobos persisted on Manigault’s jumper and McGee’s 3 for a 39-37 lead with 3:59 left.

Steadman made a game-tying layup and Rodriguez-Flores knocked down a jumper to put the Spartans ahead 41-39 with 2:48 left. But the lead was short-lived as Bragg made a layup to tie the game and Anthony Mathis hit a 3 before drawing a foul that allowed Chappell to make two free throws. Chappell made one free throw to bring SJSU within two. Steadman added a game-tying jumper to tie the score 24 seconds later.

UNM regained the lead 46-44 on Manigault’s layup, but Baumann hit a 3, and as a result, SJSU salvaged a 47-46 lead to end the first. The Spartans had their best shooting this season — 19 of 31 or 69% — in the first.

SJSU opened the second half with a dramatic flair as Steadman made a fastbreak free throw, Chastain knocked down a jumper in the paint and Knight hit a 3 — all in 28 seconds.

But like the first half, the game was in a back and forth affair that saw multiple ties and leads. UNM pulled within three on Mathis’ pair of free throws and Malauch’s layup in just three seconds. SJSU went ahead 60-52, thanks to Chastain’s pair of free throws along with Baumann’s 3, by the 15:34 mark. Chappell gave the Spartans a 10-point lead 62-52 with a fastbreak layup at the 14:33 mark. Baumann hit a 3 to make it a 65-52 game 24 seconds later.

SJSU went on a 9-0 run that lasted a little over two minutes. Chastain made a pair of free throws, Baumann hit two 3s and Chappell made a fastbreak layup. Bragg made a layup at the 13:12 mark to end the Spartans’ run.

Steadman knocked down a jumper to help the Spartans to a 70-62 lead with 8:38 left. The Lobos pulled within five on Manigault’s layup and free throw. Baumann, however, hit back to back 3s to make it a 76-65 game with 7:35 left.

SJSU went cold and was unable to score for a little over six minutes. Brae Ivey’s layup extended the Spartans’ lead to 78-71 with 1:22 left, but the Lobos pulled within seven on McGee’s layup just eight seconds later.

The game went down to the wire. Chappell made two pairs of fastbreak free throws. McGee made a layup. McGee hit a 3. Ivey made a pair of fastbreak free throws. Baumann made a pair of fastbreak free throws. Anigwe threw down a dunk in the paint. Anigwe made a free throw and missed the other. Malauch hit a 3. SJSU held on for a 89-82 win for their first conference win of the season and snapped their 17-game losing skid in the process.

SJSU heads to SDSU for a conference matchup on Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm PT.

San Jose State to host New Mexico in TV game on Tuesday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball will host the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. Mountain West clash that will be televised on AT&T SportsNet. Drew Goodman (play-by-play) and Dave Bollwinkel (analyst) will have the call. Spartan fans can still hear Justin Allegri’s call on the TuneIn app.

Game No. 27
New Mexico (11-15, 5-9) San Jose State (3-23, 0-14)
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7:00 pm PT
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, 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.

TuneIn
Check out the video below for a quick tutorial on how to access the Spartans’ radio call on the TuneIn app.

What Would a Win Mean?
Breaking a 17-game losing skid for the Spartans’ first conference win of 2019. It would also be SJSU’s second-ever against the Lobos.

Recap of Game One vs. New Mexico
SJSU started well against the Lobos in Albuquerque, taking a 30-27 lead with five minutes to play in the first half, however, they went cold and allowed a 35-6 run that bridged the half. New Mexico went on to win 92-60.

Noah Baumann had a team-high 10 points. Ashtin Chastain pulled down 11 rebounds and had seven points. Seneca Knight finished with nine points.

Newcomers on the Rise
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 70.3% of the Spartans’ offense (1,188-1,689).

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the Spartan offense with 341 points (20.1%).

The Zach Chappell Show
Freshman Zach Chappell has come on strong as of late, starting the last three games and averaging 7.4 points in the last five games. Against UNLV, he 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.

Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann is shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he ranks second in the MW in 3-point percentage at 44.7%. He also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.3).

Baumann set a new school record of 22 consecutive games with a 3-point bucket made against UNLV on February 16, breaking a tie with Robert Owens, who closed out the 2009-10 season on a 21-game streak, for the new record. His streak is currently at 24.

In the 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 school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.

Baumann holds the first and third highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU and 23 vs. Northern Arizona. He’s averaging 9.6 points in conference play, second-most on the team (Steadman).

Last season as a freshman, Baumann finished the year 40-for-87 (.460) from the 3-point range. He has already eclipsed those numbers with five regular season games to go (59-132, .447).

Chastain in Charge
Junior Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup as senior Oumar Barry has been sidelined with an injury. Chastain has started the last nine games in his stead.

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.

Hidden Gem
Despite losing 90-71 to Colorado State, SJSU might’ve found a hidden gem in the form of junior walk on Brian Rodriguez-Flores, who played 17 minutes and scored a season-high 13 points. He followed that with a season-best 33 minutes at Air Force where he was the first player off the bench and finished with 12 points.

Starry Knight
Freshman guard Seneca Knight has upped his game recently as well. In the last five games, he’s averaging 9.2 points. In his last outing against Colorado State, he led the team with a 14 point performance. He followed with 12 points at Air Force.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10” forward is averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game and ranks sixth in the MW with 8.3 rebounds per game. He has eight double-doubles on the season, ranking fifth in the conference and has scored in double figures in 19-of-26 games. He also has 11 games with double-digit rebounds.

Steadman leads the team with four games with at least 20 points, including back-to-back efforts vs. Air Force and USU. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to Air Force. He then followed up with 20 points at USU and had 16 in his last game out at Boise State.

In his last outing at Air Force, Steadman pulled down a career-best 17 points to go with 21 points.

Change It Up
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.

On the Board(s)
SJSU ranks second in the MW in offensive boards with 11.1 per game. They rank sixth in defensive boards with 26.0.

Series History vs. New Mexico
New Mexico holds a 14-1 record in the all-time series and has won the last three since SJSU took down the Lobos 78-68 inside the Pit on February 4, 2017.

The Lobos check in to Tuesday’s game 11-15 and will look to break a two-game losing skid. UNM, led by second-year head coach Paul Weir, are exceptional at taking the ball away. They lead the MW with 6.9 steals per game.

San Jose State loses 17th straight at Air Force 82-68

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball arrived at Clune Arena with a goal to pick up its first conference win of the season against the Air Force Falcons Saturday. But, as you should already know, conference foes are one of the Spartans’ biggest challenges, so this conference game wasn’t an easy task for the road team.

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

SJSU won the tip and the game went underway at Clune Arena. SJSU, however, fell behind and trailed 19-11 at the 12-minute mark of the first half. Why’s that? Air Force dominated the boards 13-5 in the early minutes of the game. Caleb Morris later knocked down a 3-pointer to help the Falcons extend their lead to 27-16 with 8:25 left.

What was the Falcons’ other scoring strategy? Just about any Falcons player could dump it down to Lavelle Scottie and boom! Scottie scores two points for the home team.

The Falcons built a comfortable 48-25 lead going into the locker room at halftime. The Spartans shot just 29 percent, which meant that they had a lot of work to do in the second half.

After the much-needed intermission, the second half was underway at Clune Arena. Pervis Louder recorded his first point of the game at the 17:33 mark by shooting a free throw. However, Louder missed a second free throw to make it two in a row. The score was 51-28 Falcons.

SJSU sent a small message to Air Force as a few bench players came off the bench and scored eight points before the first media timeout of the second. This scoring surge was capped off by Brae Ivey’s and-1. Ivey shot one after the break. Moreover, Steadman was being “Steady Steadman” with his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards.

Not only that, SJSU defended themselves and fought back as they held Air Force to just 2-of-9 shooting in the second. Knight had seven points at the 15:01 mark.

But the Falcons managed to hold onto a 60-43 lead at the 11:42 mark, despite the notable stat that the Spartans outshot the Falcons 54 percent to 28 percent.

SJSU wasn’t ready to back down though. Knight provided a huge spark for the Spartans with 12 points with 7:59 left. Still, SJSU trailed 64-50 at the under-8 timeout.

But the Spartans suffered from a 16-point deficit 76-60 at the final media timeout with 3:56 left. Sure, SJSU outscored Air Force 35-28, but the Falcons did just enough to keep the far-fetched advantage in tact.

SJSU (3-23, 0-14 MW) dropped its 17th consecutive game to Air Force (12-15, 7-8 MW) by a final score of 82-68.

SJSU returns home to host the New Mexico Lobos on Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm PT.

The late Rick Rasnick had a genuine love for college football

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Photo credit: bchd.org

By: Ana Kieu

It’s obvious that not all of you are going to recall the late Rick Rasnick (1959-2019), but he was more than just a former San Jose State Spartan football starter, team captain and assistant coach. Unlike most other newcomers, Rasnick spent two years at El Camino College as the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Lineman and then weighed offers from San Jose State and Fresno State to continue his college football career. He chose SJSU because he wanted to be on the biggest possible college football stage.

Rasnick placed his stamps of focus, determination, skill, athleticism and knowledge of the game on a stage that resulted in 12 football seasons, most of which were successful, at SJSU, followed by four seasons at the University of Utah (1991-94) and five seasons as the Eastern Michigan University football head coach (1995-99).

Rasnick used all of those traits along with a trove of sports-related experiences in a five-plus year battle against Alzheimer’s disease. The tough battle ended on February 13, 2019 when Rasnick succumbed peacefully at age 59 surrounded by loved ones. It happened a little over a week ago, but it’s still hard to believe that he’s already gone.

Rasnick was born in Las Vegas and raised in Southern California. Rasnick ran the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds, which was a very fast time for an offensive lineman in his era. There was some question about his size, especially his listed playing weight, and whether he could deal with the constant contact of defensive players 20-50 pounds heavier than him, but that eventually subsided.

“‘Ras’ was one-of-a-kind, 215-pounds soaking wet,” recalled offensive tackle Max Hooper, Mr. Rasnick’s Spartan teammate in 1979 and 1980 and a team captain in 1981.

Rasnick was listed at 225 pounds on the Spartans roster for his two seasons. Hooper also recounted one story involving weigh-ins when he tried to help Rasnick weigh more than he actually did. The scheme didn’t quite work, but a lot of things did as a starting center in the offensive line, team captain in 1980, undergraduate assistant, graduate assistant, offensive line coach, offensive coordinator and interim head coach during the 1990 spring prior to the appointment of Terry Shea as a head coach.

Rasnick played for San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame coach Jack Elway and coached with SJSU Sports Hall of Famer Claude Gilbert and Shea. His first game as a SJSU player was a 48-48 tie with Utah State in Spartan Stadium, then the highest scoring tie in NCAA Division I-A history. The Spartans had winning seasons in 1979 and 1980 and knocked off No. 10 Baylor, 30-22, in Waco, Texas on November 1, 1980, after trailing 15-0 in the second quarter.

“He told me Mike Singletary (Baylor’s middle linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Fame member) was the best player he’s ever seen on a football field and about the joy they going to Baylor (as a 28-point underdog) and beating them… I think he was joking around, ‘He was so good, I never really touched him during the game because he was so fast and so good.’ He would look up and see Mike Singletary six feet in front of him — the best player he’s ever faced and trying to chase him down the whole game was kind of comical. That was one of his biggest thrills — beating Baylor,” said younger brother Ryan Rasnick, a starting free safety for the Spartans from 1986-89.

Rasnick defeated both Cal and Stanford in the same season twice in 1981 and 1987. The “mythical Bay Area championship” eluded the Spartans until then.

During his SJSU days, Rasnick experienced beating Stanford 6-of-12 times; Cal on four occasions; going 2-2 with Oregon and 2-0 at Washington State. The Spartans lost a pair of seven-point games at Arizona State and lost two nail-biters at Washington by three (20-17 in 1990) and four (35-31) in 1988.

Rasnick won four conference championships and playing in four bowl games between 1981 and 1990.

Rasnick got promoted to the offensive coordinator position in 1987. At age 27, he was the youngest offensive coordinator in NCAA Division I-A football. In four seasons, the Spartans averaged 31 points a game, were never shutout, led the nation in passing offense in 1987, was in the top-15 in passing offense each year and averaged at least 400 yards of total offense a game each season.

“Coach Rasnick always made sure that we were 100% prepared to be successful. He made sure we knew what was likely coming at us, and what to do about it.  As a player, that builds great confidence and that’s the only thing you can ask from your coach, really,” said 1987 First-Team All-Conference offensive guard Jim Carter, who originally came to the SJSU football program as a tight end prospect.

“Putting your players in the best position to be successful, and then let them play. That’s what he did.  He was the best tactical coach I ever had.”

“He enjoyed the game, enjoyed watching game film, enjoyed being prepared and preparing his players. …Our guards were 235 (pounds). You play Stanford. Those guys were 275, 280, 290 years ago. Back in the day, he would take middle linebackers and if you weren’t starting, ‘You want to come over and play guard for me.’  We had pulling guards at 235 pounds that could run. That was an advantage we did have,” said the younger Rasnick about his older brother’s approach to coaching.

Rasnick was appointed SJSU’s interim head football coach in the spring of 1990 during a time of considerable consternation surrounding the program. His steadying hand was instrumental in laying the groundwork for a 9-2-1 record, conference championship, California Raisin Bowl victory and a final national ranking of 20th in the United Press International coaches poll. The Sporting News, the nationally-known weekly publication based out of St. Louis, named him the Big West Conference’s top offensive assistant coach for the 1990 season.

Rasnick shifted his priorities to the University of Utah in 1991 as the Utes assistant head coach for offense, working alongside Spartan alum Ron McBride.

“Rick’s talent as a coach extends far beyond his years. I’ve watched him coach and recruit. He is an excellent teacher of the game of football. He understands our offense, inside and out,” said McBride at the time he hired Mr. Rasnick.

The Utes would go on to play in three bowl games in his four seasons and be voted eighth in the final 1994 USA Today/CNN coaches poll and 10th the final Associated Press writers poll.

Rasnick’s coaching success led to his appointment as the head coach at Eastern Michigan University in 1995, just months before his 35th birthday. In his first season, EMU posted a 6-5 win-loss record, the school’s only winning season between 1989 and 2016. Though his head coaching record at the Mid-American Conference school was 20-34 over five seasons, he remained as EMU’s sixth winningest head football coach among the 41 to serve the school in that position.

Rasnick’s final years were spent often at the Beach Cities Health District Center for Health & Fitness in Redondo Beach, Calif., following the unfortunate diagnosis. In 2018, Rasnick was honored with the organization’s “Spirit of Wellness” Award” for the year.

Mr. Rasnick is survived by his parents, Jim and Donna Rasnick; brother, Ryan Rasnick; sister, Kendahl Rasnick; sons, Blair and Pierce Rasnick; and companion, Annette Adams.

A celebration of life has been set for Saturday, March 16, 2019 from 2-5 p.m., at the Rice Mortuary, 5310 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, Calif., 90503.