Tag: San Jose State Spartans

San Jose State hopes for first conference win of the season at Air Force Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball has nothing to play for except for pride, but it’d be great if they picked up their first conference win of the season against the Air Force Falcons Saturday afternoon at the Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. Tipoff has been scheduled for 1:00 pm PT and Justin Allegri has the Spartans play-by-play call on the TuneIn app.

Like SJSU (3-22, 0-13 MW), AF (11-15, 6-8 MW) plays in the same conference so this likely will be a tough test for both teams. SJSU lost 16 in a row with its last loss occurring at home versus the Colorado State Rams on February 20th. AF, on the other hand, edged the Fresno State Bulldogs 64-61 on the road on February 20th. So there you have it folks, these two teams will likely battle it out on the hardwood.

In case you missed the SJSU vs. CSU matchup, I just have to emphasize that the Spartans fell to the hot-shooting Rams, who shot the ball with authority as six players finished in double figure scoring led by Kris Martin’s 19 points. The Rams shot 59.3% for the game and were 48.5% from the 3-point range. Moreover, the Rams’ 16 made 3s were the most the Spartans have surrendered this season.

The Spartans struggled from the floor, shooting 42% for the game and finished 5-of-21 from the 3-point range. SJSU was limited to just 39.3% in the first half. That was an embarrassment to put it lightly.

Still, the Spartans were delighted by a silver lining, despite what appeared to be a lot of negatives. SJSU committed just three second-half turnovers and wrapped up the game with only 11 total turnovers.

I’d also like to add that the Spartans out-performed the Rams in both points off turnovers (20-6) and points in the paint (42-34). SJSU improved from its 8-21 performance from the free throw line against UNLV (9-14). CSU struggled, finishing just 5-of-11.

San Jose State hits rock bottom with 16th straight loss; Baumann extends school record to 23 consecutive games

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A hapless San Jose State men’s basketball team searched for something, anything in Wednesday night’s matchup versus the Colorado State Rams, who were nearly as bad. SJSU lost 15 in a row, while CSU dropped three consecutive games.

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

This time around, SJSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, thanks to Steadman’s jumper in the paint just 58 seconds into the first half. CSU quickly responded with Adam Thistlewood’s 3-pointer, but the Spartans bounced back on Baumann’s 3 just 21 seconds later. With the 3, Baumann continued to make history as he extended his school record to 23 consecutive games.

However, it was all Rams for five minutes as they went on a 9-0 run that was eradicated by Baumann’s fastbreak layup at the 14:34 mark. Chastain followed up with a jumper in the paint to cut the deficit 12-9.

The game turned out to be a back and forth affair between the two teams. CSU got ahead when Nico Carvacho made a layup at the 13:18 mark. Christian Anigwe responded with a jumper in the paint about a minute later. Then, Anthony Mashinton-Bonner hit a 3 to extend the Rams’ lead 17-11 at the 12:05 mark.

Fast forward to the final 10 minutes of the first. Nico Carvacho threw down a dunk and made a layup to extend the Rams’ lead 23-15 with 8:05 left. The Spartans were sort of sluggish as the only Spartan who scored in that span was Ivey, who made a layup. But that all changed at the six-minute mark as Ivey hit a 3 and Chappell made a few layups, including a fastbreak layup, in a 1:21 run.

Just seconds before the two-minute mark, Chastain made a pair of free throws look easy. Anigwe made a free throw. Then, Ivey made a pair of free throws to help the Spartans’ cause. Still, SJSU was unable to secure a lead to bring into the locker room at halftime. SJSU trailed 42-29 at halftime.

The Spartans showed glimpses of notable plays such as Knight’s jumper and Steadman’s dunk in the second half. But they were overpowered by the Rams, who went on a 8-0 run on back-to-back 3s by Kris Martin and Thistlewood to open the second. Throw Carvacho into the Rams’ mix and that only added to the Spartans’ woes, which were mostly defensive.

The home crowd erupted as soon as Brian Rodriguez-Flores made a layup at the 14:24 mark. Knight added a fastbreak layup just 29 seconds later.

Baumann hit a 3 at the 13-minute mark, but it was Rodriguez-Flores who stole the show with a fastbreak layup at the 10:56 mark. As a result, SJSU trailed 69-47 at the time.

Rodriguez-Flores continued to work wonders on the hardwood with back to back layups–the first layup in the paint and the latter being a regular. But the Rams also worked wonders that squashed the Spartans’ hopes of a comeback. Sure, SJSU pulled within 20, but 2:42 wasn’t enough time to tie the game to force overtime. SJSU lost 91-70.

SJSU dropped to 3-22, 0-13 MW. CSU, on the other hand, improved to 10-16, 4-8 MW.

SJSU heads to the Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. to face the Air Force Falcons Saturday at 1:00 pm PT.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Men’s basketball just playing for pride; Spring football coming up; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and @SJSUSpartanFB

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. San Jose State men’s basketball lost to the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 71-64 last Saturday.

2. San Jose State will host the Colorado State Rams tonight at 7:00 pm PT.

3. San Jose State football set its Spring Ball Practice Calendar for the general public.

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

San Jose State continues homestand with conference matchup vs. Colorado State Wednesday night

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Once again, San Jose State men’s basketball has nothing to play for but pride, but I still have to provide some of the best Spartan coverage out there, so there you go. The Spartans wrap up their two-game homestand with a conference matchup versus the Colorado State Rams inside the Event Center Wednesday night. The tipoff has been set for 7:00 pm PT.

SJSU (3-21, 0-12) most recently hosted UNLV (14-11, 8-5 MW) and dropped a 71-64 decision following a promising first half with the Spartans holding onto a mere three-point advantage, 31-28, to the locker room on Saturday, February 16th. Meanwhile, CSU (9-16, 4-8 MW) lost to the San Diego State Aztecs 71-60 at the Moby Arena on Tuesday, February 12th. As you can see, home court advantage failed to help out the Rams, but then again, they faced a challenging SDSU team who currently holds a 16-9, 8-4 MW record.

The Spartans are bottom-feeders as they’ve lost 15 games in a row, while the Rams have dropped three consecutive games. That’s a tough pill for the Spartans to swallow, but hey, it’s NCAA basketball and anything could happen so don’t rule anything out Spartan Nation!

After all, SJSU did play a pretty darn good game versus UNLV last Saturday. Michael Steadman, as you should already know, was being “Steady Steadman” as one of the three Spartans in double-figure scoring with a team-high 16 points and seven rebounds. Moreover, Zach Chappell had his most complete game of the 2018-19 Spartans season with 11 points and season-highs of nine assists AND six rebounds in 29 minutes of play.

The Spartans failed to secure the upset over the Rebels, but there were quite a few silver linings like the two players I just mentioned as well as the reduced turnovers and increased rebounding. Since the Rams are third to last in the conference, I believe that the Spartans can beat them by 10 points or fewer. That being said, my prediction will be a Spartans 70-65 win.

Baumann becomes record-setter, but San Jose State falls to UNLV 71-64 for 15th loss in a row

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball has nothing left to play for except for pride and Saturday’s matinee versus the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels was a rather competitive Mountain West matchup inside the Event Center. SJSU had lost 14 in a row, while UNLV searched for its second straight win on the road.

The Spartans’ starting five consisted of the favorable likes of Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Ashtin Chastain, Michael Steadman and Zach Chappell. SJSU hosted Fight for Literary day, which encouraged fans to pledge and possibly donate for the literary of local schoolchildren in the South Bay.

The Rebels jumped out to a fast start as Cheikh Mbacke Diong made a layup and Joel Ntambwe hit a 3-pointer to make it a 5-0 game, but the Spartans got on the board, thanks to Baumann’s layup in the paint and jumper to make it a 1-point game. Knight’s layup gave the Spartans a 1-point lead 6-5 at the 16:54 mark of the first half.

The game turned into a back-and-forth affair between these two teams. UNLV entered the driver’s seat, but SJSU gave the road team a hard time on Walt McPherson court. Steadman made two jumpers–one regular and the other in the paint–and Chappell knocked down a jumper to put the Spartans ahead 22-18 with 7:38 left in the first.

The Spartans continued to pour in the points. Steadman added a jumper in the paint, while Knight came alive with a layup, jumper and lone free throw. Also, Christian Anigwe threw down a dunk with 10 seconds left on the clock to help the Spartans to a 31-28 lead to close out the first.

Baumann opened up the second half in one of the most exciting ways possible. Baumann hit a 3 to not only extend the Spartans’ lead to 34-28, but also to set a new school record with a 3 in 22 consecutive games. The Spartans followed up with Knight’s 3, Steadman’s jumper in the paint and Chappell’s layup. The latter allowed the Spartans to regain the lead 41-39 at the 16-minute mark of the half.

The Rebels regained the lead 46-41 at the 12:07 mark of the half. Mbacke Diong made a pair of layups along with a lone free throw plus a jumper. However, Steadman ended the Rebels’ 7-0 run with a jumper at the 11:27 mark of the half. Steadman then made a layup on the fastbreak to make it a 1-point game.

The Spartans attracted attention to themselves as Ivey hit a 3 on the fastbreak and then drew a questionable penalty for fouling, which was arguably uncalled for by the officials. Still, SJSU regained the lead 48-46, so there wasn’t much to complain about. Well, at least until the Rebels tied the game 46-46 on a pair of free throws by Noah Robotham and snatched a 1-point lead 49-48 on Kris Clyburn’s lone free throw on the fastbreak.

Fast forward to the final minutes (and seconds) of the game where the Spartans pulled within five, thanks to Anigwe’s pair of free throws with 53 seconds left on the clock. Ivey made a pair of free throws in response to Amauri Hardy’s pair of free throws, but Robothom heated things up by making three straight free throws on the fastbreak in a 12-second span. Sure, Anigwe made a free throw on the fastbreak, but that wasn’t enough as San Jose State dropped its 15th in a row by a final score of 71-64.

SJSU hosts the Colorado State Rams on Wednesday, February 20th at 7:00 pm PT.

San Jose State returns home to host UNLV in Saturday matinee

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The 2018-19 San Jose State men’s basketball season has been a lost cause for quite a while now, so the team has been playing for pride because they have nothing to play for until the end of the season against the rival Fresno State Bulldogs at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. on March 9th. But, until then, San Jose State has to endure seven more games and possibly seven straight losses as much as I don’t want to say the latter.

SJSU last played against the New Mexico Lobos at the Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. Wednesday and got ran over by a final score of 92-60. SJSU (3-20, 0-11 MW) lost its 14th consecutive game, while UNM (11-13, 5-7 MW) rebounded following a 91-62 blowout by the hands of the No. 7 Nevada Wolf Pack on February 9th. Moreover, UNM took out their anger on SJSU and that was an understatement as they pretty much had the conference game from start to finish. SJSU, however, put on a strong offensive show to open the first half, so let’s give them credit where it’s due, okay?

Anyways, I’m not ruling out the fact that SJSU can somehow pull off an upset over UNLV, but there’s a sad reality that all of us must realize and that’s how the Spartans struggle to close out the games as they tend to suffer second half scoring woes for some reason or more than a few reasons if you’re a glass half empty type of person…or a full blown troll who has too much time on his or her hands.

But I can confirm that Noah Baumann is like a boss as his most recent performance allowed him to lead the Spartans with 10 points. Not only that, Baumann hit two 3-pointers and extended his consecutive games with a 3-pointer streak to 21 games to tie SJSU’s record set in the 2009-10 season by Robert Owens. I’d also like to add that Ashtin Chastain has been having himself a game after what seemed like a long scoring drought that partially occurred due to injuries in the past year or so. Chastain recorded a team-high 11 rebounds along with seven points in the Spartans’ loss to the Lobos in Albuquerque. It was just that Lobos won the rebound battle 44-39 as the Spartans actually finished with just 11 turnovers. The Lobos were simply the better team as a whole and they weren’t anywhere near the likes of Nevada, Utah State, Fresno State, San Diego and UNLV.

SJSU will likely get blown out by UNLV. My prediction stands at 95-55, but hey, anything can happen, so let’s see if the basketball Gods will work wonders or not.

In case you missed it, SJSU had a productive Friday morning. The Spartans read out loud to the elementary school students at Horace Mann Elementary in San Jose. Moreover, Caleb Simmons, a 6-foot-6, 195 pounds guard from Desert Vista High in Phoenix, Ariz., talked to the students about positivity, perseverance, and prosperity. It’s good that Simmons did that and I hope those young kids learned a thing or two because today’s kids are supposed to be the future in the advancement of this country.

If you want to pledge to support Fight for Literacy before tomorrow night’s game, click on the “Pledge Here” link to the embedded tweet below. It’s a notable cause that will do good for the local students in the South Bay.

San Jose State drops 14th straight game to New Mexico 92-60 at the Pit

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

It was a tale of two halves as San Jose State men’s basketball fell to the New Mexico Lobos, 92-60, at the Pit Wednesday evening. The Lobos shot 50% from the field while the Spartans were held to a 35.3 clip.

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

Both teams came out with a strong offensive showing to start the game. SJSU (3-20, 0-11 MW) did most of their damage in the paint with 16 points while New Mexico (11-13, 5-7 MW) relied on the deep ball, making eight from the 3-point range. The Lobos would go on to finish with 14 threes (14-of-27).

Knight, making his fifth-straight start, drained a corner trey to give the Spartans a 14-11 advantage at the 11:56 mark and Baumann drained his second three of the half to give SJSU a 30-27 lead with 5:01 remaining in the, however that would be the Spartans final field goal of the half.

New Mexico took advantage and went on 15-2 run over the final 5:01 to close out the half and take a 42-32 lead into the locker room. The Spartans shot 41% from the field prior to the run, but finished with a 37% clip for the half.

The run carried over to the second half as the Lobos opened with three quick treys and took advantage of the Spartans’ scoring woes. New Mexico extended the run to 35-6 that spanned a total of 12:41 and was able to close out the game comfortably. New Mexico finished the half shooting 54%, while SJSU shot just 33.3%.

Turnovers, which have been an Achilles heel for the Spartans all season, were a non-factor as they finished with just 11 and didn’t commit their first until the 9:36 mark in the opening half. New Mexico, however, did take advantage of those few committed with 14 points scored off. The Lobos also dominated on fast-break opportunities as they outscored the Spartans 35-2.

Baumann led the Spartans with 10 points. With his two made 3s, the Phoenix, Arizona native, extended his consecutive games with a 3-pointer streak to 21 games, tying the school record set in 2009-10 by Robert Owens. Chastain had a team-best 11 rebounds to go with seven points, while Knight finished with nine points.

Keith McGee led the Lobos with 20 points while Corey Manigault added 17 of his own. The Lobos scored 18 points at the charity stripe (18-of-27), while the Spartans were 8-of-15. New Mexico won the rebound battle 44-39.

The Spartans return to the Event Center Saturday as they host UNLV. Tip-off set for 2:00 pm PT on AT&T SportsNet and TuneIn.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Men’s basketball on the decline, but good news pours in for former football players

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and 247sports.com

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana:

1. San Jose State men’s basketball got blown out by Boise State 105-57 last Saturday.

2. San Jose State men’s basketball concludes two-game road trip at New Mexico Wednesday night and returns home to host UNLV Saturday afternoon.

3. San Jose State signed Texas-based running back Darrin Smith in the National Letter of Intent signing period.

4. San Jose State tight end Josh Oliver on the pursuit of a NFL career.

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

San Jose State looks to rebound with win over New Mexico Wednesday

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball will wrap up their two-game road trip with a trip to Albuquerque, N.M. as they look to rebound with a win over the New Mexico Lobos Wednesday night. Tipoff set for 6:00 pm PT on the Mountain West Network. Justin Allegri has the Spartans play-by-play call on TuneIn.

In case you missed it, you can check out Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau’s first mic-d up segment of the season.

Back to the upcoming game, San Jose State (3-19, 0-0 Mountain West) will face off against New Mexico (10-13, 4-7 Mountain West) in a conference matchup. SJSU had lost 13 in a row with their most recent loss occurring at Boise State in a 105-57 rout on Saturday. Meanwhile, UNM–like SJSU–suffered a blowout of their own 91-62 at the hands of No. 7 Nevada on Saturday.

The Spartans recently shared a fun fact about sophomore guard Noah Baumann. Baumann extended his three-point field goals made record to 20 games on Saturday. He’s only one shy of tying the record of 21 consecutive made, which was set by former guard Robert Owens during the 2009-10 season. Owens was part of the Spartans roster in 2009-10 and watched his college basketball team wrap up the season with a 14-17, 6-10 Western Athletic Conference record, but ultimately lost to New Mexico State 90-69 at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. in the quarterfinals of the 2010 WAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. SJSU was coached by fifth-year head coach George Nessman. Nessman currently serves as an Athletic Director at Justin-Siena High School in Napa, Calif.

At the moment, SJSU is most definitely honored to host a Coaching for Literacy Fight for Literary Game to support the nationwide #Fight4Literary movement. Why’s that? Literacy among children is very crucial. Did you know that 69 percent of fourth graders in California are not reading at the grade-level? Probably not. Well, now you know!

Boise State stomps on San Jose State 105-57

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball was searching for something, anything–and the Boise State Broncos were yet another tough conference opponent Saturday afternoon at the Taco Bell Arena.

The Spartans’ starting lineup featured the likes of Craig LeCesne, Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Michael Steadman, and Ashtin Chastain.

San Jose State, however, was unable to keep up with the red-hot Boise State, who shot 62.5% for the game and drained 15 three-pointers. The Spartans were held to just 37.7% from the field.

Boise State caught fire early as they drained five straight threes to open the game on a whopping 15-0 run. The three-ball played a large factor in the half as Boise State finished with eight and SJSU nailed five of their own for the most in a first half since scoring seven against Utah State on January 16. Baumann led the way with a pair of threes, extending his consecutive games streak to 20 straight, just one shy of the school record set by Robert Owens in 2009-10.

Boise State shot lights out with a 55% clip in the opening half (11-of-29) as Derick Alston (15) and Alex Hobbs (13) combined for 28 points. On the other end, SJSU was held to 38% (11-of-29), and the Broncos took a 46-28 lead into the half.

Boise State repeated their hot start in the second half as they went on a 12-0 run to take control and put the game out of reach. Boise State shot 71% for the half (22-of-31). SJSU trailed by as much as 53 with 4:50 left on the clock. Once again, turnovers proved costly as the Spartans lost the battle 16-5, which resulted in the Broncos scoring 27 points off of them. Rebounding, however, continued to be a strong point, as the Spartans finished just two behind the Broncos 33-31.

Steadman led the Spartans with 16 points while Christian Anigwe had one of his best games of the season with a game-high 12 rebounds along with 10 points for his second career double-double. Brian Rodriguez-Flores played well off the bench as he tied his season-high with seven points.

When it comes to the Broncos, Derrick Alston paved the way with 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from the three-point range. Alston accumulated the most points an opponent has scored against the Spartans this season. Alex Hobbs finished with 17 points and RJ Williams came off the bench to score 22.

With the loss, SJSU fell to 3-19 (0-10 Mountain West) and have yet to win a conference game this season. The Spartans lost their 13th in a row. On the other hand, Boise State rose to 11-13 (6-5 Mountain West). The Broncos snapped a two-game losing skid. The Broncos previously lost to UNLV 83-72 on February 6 and suffered a 93-73 blowout at No. 6 Nevada on February 2.

SJSU heads to New Mexico to take on the New Mexico Lobos on Wednesday at 6:00 pm PT.