Nevada Takes Control And Beats San Jose State 90-60

photo by SJSU Spartans

Friday, February 2nd, 2024

By Troy Ewers

The Nevada Wolf Pack host the San Jose State Spartans for some Friday night hoops. Four of the eight conference games for SJSU have been decided by three points or fewer. They lost at Wyoming on a buzzer beater, fell by only three to No. 19 San Diego State, won at the buzzer at Air Force and lost on a last-second shot to Fresno State. 

Nevada shot well early in the first half and didn’t stop throughout the half. The Wolf Pack started off on a 12-0 run (25-5 in the first 10 minutes) and the Spartans couldn’t stop them if they tried. The Wolf Pack took control and it was 49-24 at halftime.

Out of the 24 points SJSU scored, three players scored 19 of those points. MJ Amey Jr. had nine, Alvaro Cardenas had seven, and Trey Anderson had three in the first half. The biggest point of concern in the first half was SJSU shooting 37% from the field and 25% from the three point line.

Everything was going well for Nevada as at one point they led by 40 points in the game, Nick Davidson with 22 points and Jarod Lucas with 20 ponts, the game was solidified in the Wolf Pack’s hands. San Jose State had a combination of nothing falling for them and what felt like everything fell for Nevada. The game ends with Nevada winning with no issues 90-60. 

This game was definitely something Tim Miles and the Spartans want to forget and they have four days to do it. SJSU’s next game is February 6th against the Fresno State Bulldogs back in San Jose and this season may be a no go for the Spartans as a Mountain West champion contender, but they still have that dog in them where they won’t end this season without a fight.

San Jose Sharks Win In A Shutout 2-0 Game Against The Seattle Kraken; SJ’s Blackwood stops 32 shots to blank Kraken

The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) looks on as Shark defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk (83) reaches out for the puck in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Jan 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SAN JOSE, CA – In the “Shark Tank”, the SAP Center the San Jose Sharks host the Seattle Kraken. Logan Couture’s impact has been felt since his return, logging his first assist of the season in his first game back (Jan. 20 vs. ANA) and posting the game-deciding goal in a shootout in the following game against the Los Angeles Kings (Jan. 22).

The Sharks’ centerman lead the team in numerous categories, Hertl in scoring with 15 goals, Granlund in assists with 24 and Sturm in faceoff win percentage with 61.3% (min. 100 faceoffs). Starting in net for San Jose is Mackenzie Blackwood and for Seattle, Joey Daccord. Blackwood stopped 32 shots by the Kraken for the 2-0 shutout.

Slow first period for both teams and it was both defenses jousting for position. Shakir Mukhamadullin got a minor for tripping and even though the penalty was killed off, it came with a close call where fans and even players thought the puck crossed the line, but it was waved off as play continued.

The period was scoreless, Blackwood stopping 13 shots on goal, the Sharks only getting three shots on goal. The Kraken had as many shots on goal as the Sharks had in attempts in the first period. 0-0 at first intermission, but Sharks showed no sign of energy in the first period. 

The second period was an even slower period, but that’s because of this high defensive output from both squads. In that period the shots on goal total for both teams was ten (Seattle with six and San Jose with four) and it stayed scoreless after another 20 minutes.

Other than shot attempts where the Kraken out-shot the Sharks by double, the stats on paper seemingly were as even as they could be for this close contest. At the second intermission the score was 0-0 and now the game was a battle of composure, who can stay level headed, because each team had one penalty that was killed off, so another mistake could shake up this whole game.

The third period was the literal game changer for the Sharks. Luke Kunin and Will Borgen got into a fight early in the period and the hands they were throwing put a battery in the San Jose crowd. Almost four minutes later the Sharks took advantage of this hype crowd and the energy they gave them.

William Eklund got some oohs and ahhs from the crowd with his stick handling and it led to an opening in the Seattle defense where Marc-Edouard Vlasic (his fourth goal) was able to hit a wrist shot from the blue line, 1-0 Sharks. The goal was assisted by Ty Emberson, his eighth and William Eklund, his 14th.

The rest of the period was the Sharks holding off the Kraken and after Jan Rutta hit an empty net goal, the period ended 2-0 and the Sharks get a shutout victory and Blackwood was awarded the first star of the game.

This win for the Sharks is a big victory, their 14th win on the season, but they get less than 24 hours to enjoy this win, because they go to Anaheim to face the Ducks January 31st (tomorrow) and then it’s the All-Star break where they won’t have a game until Valentine’s Day.

The Sharks may not be in the hunt for a cup this year, but one thing is clear is they won’t go without a fight and especially against teams with winning records.

UNLV Runnin Rebels Run Over San Jose State Spartans 77-65

The San Jose Spartans battled and dropped their third game in a row to the UNLV Runnin Rebels at Provident Event Credit Union in San Jose on Sat Jan 27, 2024 (photo by SJSU Spartans)

Saturday, January 27th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

The San Jose State Spartans host UNLV in a conference game. The Spartans won both contests against the Runnin’ Rebels last season, including an overtime win at home and a nine-point victory in Las Vegas.

Tibet Görener scored 11 points in both games while Trey Anderson registered a game-high 19 points in the win on the road. The Spartans couldn’t hold the Runnin Rebels back and went down to defeat 77-65 at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose.

Starting off hot, the Spartans shot 90% from the field and 100% from three in the first nine minutes and gained a controlling lead early. UNLV closed the gap by shooting proficiently from the field, 24 points in the paint, but were scoreless in the final three minutes of the half which kept SJSU on top. SJSU held the lead at half 39-32.

Tibet Gorener and Alvaro Cardenas both led the Spartans with 10 points and SJSU’s largest lead was 12 points. The Spartans have held leads in the past, but they haven’t had a great track record of holding leads. 

The second half was a complete breakdown for the Spartans as they lost the lead to the Rebels halfway through the second half. UNLV went on a 14 of 14 run to end the game and put a dagger in the heart of the Spartans and pop the balloon of energy in the Event Center. UNLV wins 77-65 decisively. Keylan Boone led the Rebels with 18 points and was a huge deciding factor in this game. 

The Spartans couldn’t hold this lead and it’s another loss on the season, most importantly another loss in the Mountain West Conference. The next game for SJSU is against Utah State in Utah on January 30th and the Spartans look to regain some momentum going into February.

New Mexico Beats San Jose State In A 95-75 Blowout

The San Jose State Spartans guard Myron Amey Jr. gives chase of the basketball as the New Mexico Lobos guard Jalen House (10) tries to control the ball at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose on Wed Jan 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, January 24th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SAN JOSE–The newly ranked New Mexico Lobos are in the Event Center to face the San Jose State Spartans. The Lobos come into San Jose looking for consecutive Mountain West road wins for the first time since a three game MW road win streak from the end of the 2017-2018 season to the start of the 2018-2019 season.

The Spartans on the other hand have had four of the five conference games decided by three points or fewer. They lost at Wyoming on a buzzer beater, lost by only three to No. 19 San Diego State, won at the buzzer at Air Force, and lost on a last second shot to Fresno State.

The Spartans have yet to play a conference game where the winning team won by more than ten points, Boise State came closest when they beat the Spartans by nine. The Lobos got a 20 point win over the Spartans 95-72 at Provident Credit Union Event Center.

The first half started with New Mexico having complete control five minutes into the game, missing only two shots at first. Fouls further put the Spartans slightly behind, but they kept the gap close at times.

Shooting only 33% in the first half is what couldn’t get the Spartans any type of lead in the first half, but their leading scorers were Tibet Gorener with 12 points and MJ Amey Jr. with 11 points and a halftime buzzer beater, who are two of the four players on this Spartans team who average more than ten points per game.

At halftime the Lobos had an 11 point lead 43-32, but the game felt closer than what the stats and score displayed, the energy in the building was behind the Spartans, especially after Amey Jr.’s buzzer beater. 

The second half was where the wheels fell off for the Spartans. 18 turnovers for SJSU and the Lobos scored 22 points off of these turnovers. At one point the Spartans closed the gap to nine points, but that was it the deficit was too great for San Jose State to overcome.

New Mexico’s leading scorer with 18 points was Jalen House, who even scored three straight threes as he playfully talked trash with the Spartans crowd. The leading scorer for San Jose State was Amey Jr. with 24 points and nine rebounds, but that didn’t stop the Lobos from dominating the game. The final score 95-75 New Mexico with another road win. 

New Mexico has now won four straight games by double figures as well and this is their fourth straight win in general.

The next game for SJSU is against UNLV, Saturday January 27th in the Provident Credit Union Event Center and SJSU is finally out of the crazy loop where all the games were decided by three or fewer, even though I’m sure they’d want it to be a win.

Sharks Beat Ducks 5-3 On Couture’s Return From Injury; SJ ends three game skid

San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs (4) gets congratulated by teammates after scoring a second period goal against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Jan 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, January 20th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – While the Niners are in a playoff battle in Santa Clara, down the freeway the San Jose Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks in a battle of their own. Now this game is actually a big deal for the San Jose Sharks, because the Captain Logan Couture is back.

Couture’s return from a lower back injury is his first game since April 13th, 2023. His linemates tonight are Alexander Barabanov and William Eklund and the fans expect an exciting debut back in the SAP Center, especially against a rival like the Ducks.

In net tonight for the Sharks is Mackenzie Blackwood, who is tied with Kaapo Kahkonen with five wins on the season. The Sharks would snap their three game losing streak with a two goal 5-3 win over the Ducks.

The period started with Logan Couture out there with Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov just for a shift, Eklund was back out there with Couture and Barabanov the rest of the period. 18 minutes into the first period Filip Zadina scored a goal in the slot past the Ducks goalie John Gibson or so we thought.

After referee review the goal was called off for an offside and the score still 0-0 and the crowd was deflated to an extent for the remainder of the period. 0-0 at intermission and only two shots on goal for the Sharks in the first.

The second period was where a lionshare of offense took place. The Sharks added five to their on goal total, but they utilized all five this period. Couture got his first points of the season on his return night with an assist to Marc-Edouard Vlasic for his second goal this season on a breakaway, making 1-0 for San Jose.

Also gaining his first points for the season was goalie Mackenzie Blackwood who gained an assist on the Vlasic goal. The Ducks fired right back when Jackson LaCombe scored and this was under review too, because it appeared that Blackwood had stopped in on the line with his pad, but after review the goal stood to tie things up.

The Sharks still had fire under their skates and Kyle Burroughs scored his first goal of the season from an assist by Tomas Hertl, his 18th assist on the season. Sharks back on top 2-1.

With 28 seconds left in the period, the Sharks continued their rally as Fabian Zetterlund while fighting off LaCombe scored a wrist shot, 3-1 Sharks, but the Ducks 24 seconds later answered back with an Adam Henrique goal, 3-2. The rivalry game was heating as we entered intermission and with the final period of the game approaching, the fans were in full swing coming off a Niners playoff victory. 

The Sharks trying to close out the night with a W, they came out in the third period aggressive, but methodical. Trying to find the perfect spots, utilizing as much of possession they could. Jan Rutta scored his first of the season on a wrist shot making it 4-2 and the Sharks feeling like they had this one in the bag, but it still wasn’t over.

Nico Sturm got a penalty for tripping and before the power play was over, Mason McTavish scored off a rocket of a wrist shot past Blackwood and it was now 4-3 with about 5 minutes left.

The intensity of the Sharks defense carried on as the period went to the closing seconds and the fans were able to exhale calmly when Tomas Hertl scored an empty netter with seven seconds left and the game was officially over, Sharks win 5-3. 

With a packed crowd and Couture’s return, a win like this brings a smile to the guys in the locker room, especially Coach David Quinn. Coach Quinn said in his post game presser that starting Couture with Hertl at center might be a “snapshot of things to come” when Granlund returns, but for right now the feeling of victory is one he and his boys want to savor.

Their next game being Monday in LA against the Kings and with five games before the break, the Sharks look to walk away with some momentum now that the captain is back.

Buzzer Beater Finish For The Spartans As They Lose 85-82 To Fresno State

Tuesday, January 16th, 2024

The San Jose State Spartans made a valent effort against the Fresno Bulldogs at Save Mart Arena in Fresno on Tue Jan 16, 2024 (photo by the San Jose State Spartans)

By Troy Ewers 

The Fresno State Bulldogs hosted the San Jose State Spartans in a Mountain West Conference game. Three of the four conference games for SJSU have been decided by three points or fewer. They lost at Wyoming on a buzzer beater by the Cowboys’ Akuel Kot, fell by only three to No. 19 San Diego State and won at the buzzer at Air Force.

The Spartans have yet to play a conference game where the winning team won by more than ten points. Boise State came closest when they beat the Spartans by nine. This was a close three point game on Tuesday night in Fresno but the Spartans couldn’t hold on taking a tough 85-82 loss.

The first half of the game looked like Fresno State was going to run away with this early, but not if Tibet Gorener had anything to say about it. Spartans forward Gorener utilized every bit of his 19 minutes of the half. 22 points and 5 rebounds for Gorener led SJSU on a back and forth.

Spartans went 53% from the three point line which not only kept them in the game as halftime approached, but a one point lead at halftime. Fresno State hit 56% from the field, but it couldn’t stop Gorener and the Spartans from grabbing a lead. 40-39 Spartans at half. 

The second half was another close call for San Jose State. The whole half these two teams traded buckets Gorener adding another 10 points to his total, Trey Anderson had 21 points and MJ Amey Jr. came in with a clean 13 points.

The game was another heavyweight bout for the Spartans where no one had a real advantage, but the whole time these two never slacked off. When the final seconds ticked down Amey Jr. got a turnover off an offensive foul and after the Fresno State timeout with four seconds left.

The Bulldogs guard Isaiah Hill who walked out of here with 24 points, 16 coming in the second half, hit a contested three and once again the Spartans had a game decided by three points or fewer. Fresno State wins off a buzzer beater 85-82. 

Spartans can’t shake these late game pressure situations, making it the fourth out of five conference games that were decided by three points or fewer. The highlights for the Spartans, was Tibet Gorener having 32 points, but in SJSU’s case it’s another key player for them balling out, but can’t close it out.

The Spartans have a “long” break before their next game. An Eight day break and then the Spartans are back in San Jose at the Provident Credit Union Event Center against New Mexico on January 24th.

Winnipeg Jets Come To San Jose And Slip Past Sharks 2-1; Sharks 10th straight loss ties club record

The Winnipeg Jets center Gabriel Vilardi (top) celebrates with left wing Alex Iafallo (9) and center Mark Scheifele (55) who scored against the San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) in the third period at SAP Center in SanJose (AP News photo)

Thursday, January 4th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose Sharks host the Winnipeg Jets for another regular season, following a 5-3 to Detroit here in the SAP Center on Tuesday. Alexander Barabanov recorded his 100th career goal, but it wasn’t enough to stop a third period rally from the Red Wings.

Earlier today, San Jose’s Tomas Hertl was named an NHL All Star to represent the Sharks and as for the Jets, Winnipeg remained undefeated to start 2024 and San Jose seems like a likely place to keep that fire burning as the Jets edged the Sharks at SAP Center 2-1.

It was a quiet first period for both teams, with the highlight being Mackenzie Blackwood who got 11 saves and held his composure when the heat came. Winnipeg and San Jose went hit for hit with an evenly physical period, but it was a clean period with no penalties. 0-0 at the first intermission and energy high throughtout the SAP Center. 

The silence was broken in the second period and it came seconds after the Jets killed a hooking penalty. Barabanov scored off a wrist shot, assisted by William Eklund and Ty Emberson and the Sharks were up 1-0 and Barabanov recorded his 100th goal with the Sharks, a game after he scored his 100th career goal.

A minute later the Jets answered back. Neal Pionk shot the puck towards a screened Blackwood and the puck was deflected by Morgan Barron in the net, 1-1. As the period ended, the score was tied and momentum could sway either way. 

The third period was a battle, but this battle had an early game changing moment. San Jose’s Filip Zadina got a hooking penalty and that penalty broke the tie for Winnipeg. Gabriel Vilardi tipped in a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers past Blackwood and two minutes into the final period, the Jets were up 2-1. The Sharks gained some opportunities along the way, but to no success as the Jets skated off the ice with a 2-1 victory. 

The Sharks now start off 2024 0-2 and now have fallen even further behind in the standings as this season progresses with another loss. Coach Quinn has a lot on his plate as the season now prepares for the trade deadline and the next game for the Sharks is Sat January 6th against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the SAP Center a 4:00pm PT face off.

Buzzer Beater Finish As San Jose State Loses 75-73 To Wyoming

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

By Troy Ewers

 The San José State Spartans (7-7, 0-0 Mountain West) battled the Wyoming Cowboys (8-6, 0-0 Mountain West). The Spartans have not played since Dec. 20 when they won 81-78 over Santa Clara. In the victory, the Spartans were led by MJ Amey Jr. and Alvaro Cardenas. Amey Jr. registered 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block while Cardenas produced a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists. Unlike their win against the Broncos the Spartans were defeated by the Cowboys on Tuesday night by a bucket 75-73.

Game recap: The first half for the Spartans was a high energy and high volume half that ended with them having a hefty lead 47-35. SJSU hit 51% from the field, 50% from the three point line, and 22 rebounds and despite having five turnovers, the Spartans maintained control against Wyoming the whole half.

Cardenas led San Jose State with 12 points, also leading in assists and rebounds by halftime. Wyoming’s biggest flaw was their shooting, only hitting 30% from the field, causing them to try and dig out of a 12 point hole. The Spartans are 5-3 this season when leading at halftime.

San Jose State held the lead the whole half, but the gap was closed by Wyoming as they matched the Spartans on the boards and on the scoreboard. With six minutes left Wyoming tied it up at 66 points a piece.

The remainder of the half was a back and forth where both teams traded baskets and even leads, but the final seconds wound down and Wyoming’s Akuel Kot hit a mid range buzzer beater to win the ballgame for the Cowboys 75-73. 

Now 5-4 when leading at half, but more importantly 7-7 in their overall record, the SJSU Spartans need to string together some wins if they want this season to result in a conference championship or even sniff a chance at it. Being 0-1 after this Wyoming matchup isn’t helpful, but they can bounce back against Boise State back in San Jose at 7:30pm PT on Friday, January 5th.

Edmonton Oilers Destroy San Jose Sharks 5-0; Sharks drop seventh game in a row

San Jose Sharks goaltender Magnus Chrona (30) made his Sharks debut against the Edmonton Oilers surrendering four goals at SAP Center on Thu Dec 29, 2023 (San Jose Sharks photo)

Thursday, December 28th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose Sharks host the Edmonton Oilers in the final home game of 2023 and this game comes off a 4-1 loss Wednesday night to the Los Angeles Kings. Despite Kaapo Kahkonen making 37 saves and the Sharks killing all three Kings power plays, San Jose couldn’t get it done. The boys in teal lost another one at SAP Center in front of the home fans on Thursday night 5-0 to close out the year, as the hungry Oilers paved their way and went above .500 at 15-16-1 going into 2024. 

The game started with the Sharks starting Magnus Chrona in net for his first NHL game and it was a wakeup call of a first game for Chrona. A minute into the game, Ryan McLeod scored off of just great, efficient offense where the whole minute the puck was being passed tape to tape in Edmonton’s offensive zone and resulted in the first goal assisted by Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman, 1-0 Oilers.

For Hyman he wasn’t stopping there, because the offense was looking effortless for Edmonton as Connor McDavid hit a crisp pass to Hyman who tapped the puck past Chrona in net making it 2-0 Oilers. The wheels started to fall off for the Sharks as the Oilers continued this masterclass of offense with Bouchard firing a slap shot from the point, 3-0 Oilers.

The fans were already on their hands from this opening period mugging, but they would go completely silent after Leon Drasaitl scored off a wrist shot right in front of the net even with a defender draped on him, 4-0 Edmonton and that was our score going into the first intermission. The Sharks were outplayed the entire first period and the traveling Oiler fans were putting their shoes on the San Jose fans couch. 

Sharks changed goalies to start the second period and in net was Kaapo Kahkonen, but the only difference was less goals than the first period. Halfway through the period Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tipped in the puck past Kaapo and it was 5-0 Edmonton. The Sharks now down five were facing the reality that another blowout loss was in their future. 

Final period was both teams just trying not to make a mistake, because it was over and had been over since the first period. Fans chanting “one more goal”.  5-0 Edmonton wins the game in a major blowout and the arena erupted in boos as they left the building when the game was over. 

This game for the Sharks was just an egregious example of what has been happening in 2023. Bad defense, no offense generated, and missed opportunities. The final game for San Jose of the 2023 part of the season will be on New Year’s Eve against the Colorado Avalanche and maybe by some chance of a miracle, 2024 has more positives in store for San Jose. 

Coastal Carolina Beats San Jose State 24-14 In The EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl

The San Jose State Spartans edged the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex in Manoa, HI in the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl on Sat Dec 23, 2023 (SJSU Spartans photo)

Saturday, December 23rd, 2023

By Troy Ewer

San José State (7-5, 6-2 Mountain West) is Hawai‘i Bound in the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl and will take on Coastal Carolina (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) from the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex in Manoa, Hawai‘i as the Spartans look for their seventh straight win.

The co-regular season Mountain West Champions head to their third bowl game in four years for the first time in SJSU history and it’s the first time since 1986-87 the Spartans have been to back-to-back bowl games as they look for their seventh consecutive win for the first time since 2020.

First touchdown of the game came with three minutes left of the first quarter from a 2 yard pass from Ethan Vasko to Matt Alaimo of Coastal Carolina after a whole first quarter where no one was really moving the chains. 7-0 Coastal Carolina.

The quarter ended 7-0 Coastal Carolina with the ball and a clear advantage in the momentum. The Spartans struggled the first half trying to get in the end zone, but for a majority of the half it was a combination of factors between good defense from Coastal Carolina and SJSU not capitalizing on the fact that Coastal Carolina also wasn’t scoring that much either.

The first half ended 7-0 making it the lowest scoring half in Hawai’i Bowl history. Very quiet half with one touchdown and a bunch of punts. 

The third quarter was looking to be just as quiet as the rest of the half, but Vasko connected with Kendall Karr on a 2 yard TD pass that capped a 87 yard drive, 14-0 Coastal Carolina. The Spartans couldn’t find their way to water if they were on an island and with three minutes left in the third, they needed to find water fast, because the score may have been low, but it was a hole they needed to get out of.

On the following drive it looked like the Spartans were getting things together, but a forced fumble recovered by Coastal Carolina stopped that SJSU momentum right in their tracks. The third quarter ended 14-0 and this game felt oddly over even though there was one last quarter, but it certainly wasn’t. 

Coastal Carolina started the fourth quarter with a field goal, which made it a 17-0 score and a deeper hole for the Spartans. San Jose State finally got on the board with a Chevan Cordeiro 35 yard touchdown pass to Sam Olson. 17-7 and it was a sign that there was still life in the Spartans.

A bad pass forced Coastal Carolina to punt and SJSU now had a chance to capitalize and close the gap. Quali Conley got the second touchdown for SJSU with a 12 yard rushing TD and Coastal Carolina fans were deflated in the stands in Hawai’i. 17-14 with 8:30 left in the game.

Coastal Carolina ran the ball down the field and the minutes off the clock, but in the red zone Vasko threw an 8 yard TD pass to Sam Pinckney and that left the Spartans 2:43 to try to comeback and get a big bowl victory.

The Spartans missed a field goal and Coastal Carolina took a knee to run the clock down. Coastal Carolina wins 24-14!!! A hard fought season for San Jose State and that roster and they have high hopes for next season, but for now the Spartans will enjoy their holiday break in Hawai’i as well as their offseason. Happy Holidays everyone.