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San Jose State Spartans Lose To Abilene Christian 77-71 After Wildcats Rally In Second Half

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Hard as they tried the San Jose State Spartans just couldn’t finish the job against the Abilene Christian Wildcats at the University of the Virgin Islands on Fri Nov 17, 2023 (photo by the San Jose State Spartans)

Friday, November 17th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

In the beautiful University of the Virgin Islands, the San Jose State Spartans avoid a rainy Bay Area on the beach competing in this Paradise Jam tournament against Abilene Christian. San Jose State this game needed to focus on three things if they were going to win and that’s ball control, hitting 3’s, and being quick, but not rushing.  They fell short to Abilene in a 77-71.

First half for the Spartans was them hitting on those key points. The flow of scoring came from a lot of shots being put on the board and the Spartans hit 56% from the field. The battle between the two point guards was a huge factor.

Alvaro Cardenas with seven points at half and three assists was able to direct traffic and MJ Amey Jr. with 12 points and four assists was able to create a gap in the score in a half that felt like it was within two points all half. 

The second half was the polar opposite of the first with SJSU only scoring 30 points in the second half. ACU closed the gap early on the half and with ten minutes left in the game even though San Jose State was able to tie it up, ACU got the lead right back with great post play.

San Jose State lost their flow in the second half especially with turnovers. The Spartans had seven turnovers, four of them in the second half, and ACU used it as an opening to take over the game. With 3:30 left in the Tibet Gorener hit a three that gave SJSU momentum in a back and forth final stretch and a two point lead.

The key stretch of this game was was the final 30 seconds, down two points, Gorener missed a three point shot (he was 3-9 from three this game) and after the review it was ruled a shot clock violation, because it didn’t hit the rim and that forced the Spartans to have to foul to save time, but the strategy was ineffective and ACU made each free throw ending the game with a score of 77-71 Albilene Christian wins in this game of the Paradise Jam tournament. 

Bad news, the Spartans lost a game they should’ve won, but let go. Good news is the team is by a beach, so it shouldn’t be hard to forget about this loss before the next game. That next game is in the Consolation bracket of this tournament November 18th against an unknown opponent at this moment, but the San Jose State Spartans have to figure out a way to close games when they can be so dominant in the first half.

Sharks Beat Blues In Decisive 5-1 Victory; Three Game Skid Comes To An End

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The San Jose Sharks had lots to be happy about as they’re offense was on as they defeated the visiting St Louis Blues at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Nov 16, 2023 (photo from Hockey News)

Thursday, November 16th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – It’s the San Jose Sharks against the St. Louis Blues in another regular season game and the Sharks are still looking for their third win. The positive for SJ right now in this wild season is that Tomas Hertl leads the Sharks in points and after last game he’s tied with Owen Nolan (206) for fifth on Sharks’ all-time goals list and can take over the spot after tonight. 

The first period was one of the strongest periods for the Sharks this season. Two minutes into the game former St. Louis player Mike Hoffman scored in the slot off a pass from Nico Sturm that put the Sharks up early, 1-0 San Jose.

Last game against the Florida Panthers, Hoffman scored his first goal of the season and now comes back in the building and gets his second. The Sharks had a way stronger attack this period than they did at any point last game plus there’s a sense of chemistry that the Sharks have been looking for from this group.

Another bright spot about this first period was Kaapo Kahkonen who blocked 11 shots this period, but had a couple saves that got big applause from the Sharks crowd. 

San Jose blew the doors open this second period with four goals and it was in outstanding fashion. 17 seconds in Nikita Okhotiuk hits a slapshot and it’s deflected by William Eklund and he gets the second goal. Eklund’s third goal of the season 2-0 SJ.

The rally continued from an “unlikely” source, Givani Smith got his first goal of the season with a wrist shot (assisted by Kunin & Carpenter), 3-0 SJ. A minute after that Luke Kunin scored making it 4-0 and the Blues changed goalies from Joel Hofer to Jordan Binnington, but the game didn’t change even though the goalies did.

The Blues were deflated, but San Jose wasn’t, they were amplified to a level unseen all season. 13:45 into the period and the Sharks scored again. Hoffman got his second goal on a breakaway and the score became 5-0 all the way through the rest of the period.

This second period wasn’t just a showcase of SJ’s best stuff, but it was an improvement on the faults that Coach Quinn wanted them to fix and it seems like they did exactly that.

Kaapo’s continued his great performance stopping everything in his path early in the third period. At this point in the game six Sharks players had multi points (Okhotiuk, Hoffman, Smith, Carpenter, Zadina, and Kunin) and on top of that this was Kunin’s third consecutive game with a goal.

Smith’s goal was the 300th goal scored in franchise history and all these positives resulted in probably the best game of this Sharks season so far. The Sharks couldn’t end their night in a shutout that’s a fairy tale, the Blues get a goal with about six minutes left in the game, but Kaapo still had 39 saves by the time of the goal. 5-1. The clock ran down and the game ended with this 5-1 score and a happy San Jose fan base.

The Sharks get a deserved break before their next game which is November 20th against the Vancouver Canucks Rogers Centre in Vancouver.

San Jose State Spartans Lose To Texas Tech Red Raiders 56-42 After Second Half Turnovers

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Myron Amey Jr (0) walks off the floor for the San Jose State Spartans after a defeat to the Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock TX on Sun Nov 12, 2023 (San Jose State Spartans photo)

Sunday, November 12th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

It’s the first road game for San Jose State and they face Texas Tech in the home of the Red Raiders. 

The 2-0 Spartans were prepared for the Red Raiders and focused on defense. Keeping Texas Tech and utilizing mismatches early. SJSU cut off the Red Raiders’ access to the paint and forced them to have to try to score from the outside.

On offense both teams weren’t hitting from the three point line, but the Spartans found a stride in the first half scoring in the paint. The game was close all first half, but Spartans Coach Tim Miles was adamant that his boys will win the battle in the key.

A battle Coach Miles wanted his team to win the most was on the boards, Adrame Diongue led the team with rebounds in the first, but the Red Raiders had 19 rebounds over the Spartans 17 rebounds and that battle shows why Coach Miles was so focused on it, because at halftime Texas Tech was up by one point, 22-21. 

The second half started with both teams trading leads. San Jose State’s ability to score on second chance points is phenomenal even though they only had six second chance points at the 11 minute mark in the second half. In the last five minutes Texas Tech had a six point lead and Spartans had to get back to what got them a lead in the first half, but turnovers were costing them and Texas Tech capitalized on the Spartans’ mistakes.

The Red Raiders went on a 13-2 run at one point and in the final minute Texas Tech was up 11 and let the clock run out, but not before hitting one last three to make it 56-42 and that was game. The Spartans main problem in this game was when they couldn’t get a run going, they tried to shoot threes and turned the ball over. The Red Raiders scored 19 points off of the Spartans 16 turnovers. 

It wasn’t easy, but Texas Tech pulled out and won making their record 2-0 and the Spartans go 2-1. San Jose State wanted this win, but they’ll get to forget about this loss in the U.S. Virgin Islands where they’ll be in the Paradise Jam tournament starting on November 17th. 

San Jose State Smashes Bethesda 117-72 To Go 2-0

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San Jose State Spartans and the Bethesda Flames battled it out in San Jose on Thu Nov 9, 2023 (San Jose State Spartans photo)

Thursday, November 9th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

It’s the second game of the season for the Spartans and it’s San Jose State facing off against the Bethesda Flames. This is a home game before they go to Texas Tech and then a tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Bethesda drove up from Anaheim in vans and showed up 3 hours before the game. 

The first half started with a dominant outing on offense with Tibet Gorener having nine of the Spartans first 11 points and holding a lead halfway through the first. The Spartans were scoring mostly in the paint and had second chance points that made the difference for them as the first half went on.

Bethesda tried to stay in the fold keeping the score as close as they could, but there weren’t enough runs for the Flames. With five minutes left in the half, Bethesda had cut the lead to eight and were looking to go on their first run.

The nine total turnovers SJSU had brought Bethesda within two points, but a 6-0 run from the Spartans in the last 1:22 of the half put them up going into the locker room 56-47. The biggest problem for Bethesda were fouls. The Flames had 13 team fouls and SJSU took full advantage of these opportunities making 13-15 free throws in the first half. 

The Spartans started the second half the way they were supposed to getting a 20 point lead 5 minutes into the half. The Flames hit a drought where for 4:39 they didn’t score a point and that was the halfway point of the half in the game.

SJSU went on a terror run leading by 32 with eight minutes left and Gorener leading the team in points with 26. It was a complete runaway for San Jose State, beating their season high score from last season that was also against Bethesda. This is the third most points in San Jose State basketball history and the game was well in the books, SJSU winning 117-72. 

The game after halftime was a complete blowout, but it was something that is going to give the Spartans a lot of confidence going to Lubbock, TX where SJSU will face Texas Tech on Saturday. The three standout players for SJSU were Gorrener with 26 points, Alvaro Cardenas with 14 points and 8 assists, and Trey Anderson with 13 points. The Spartans are 2-0 and look to keep this party going into this ongoing season.

San Jose State Spartans Beat CSU East Bay 77-61 in an Exhibition Game

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The floor of Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose. The San Jose State Spartans hosted Cal State East Bay in an exhibition game on Sat Nov 4, 2023 (file photo from Sports Illustrated)

Saturday, November 4th, 2023

By Troy Ewers 

San Jose, CA – In the Event Center at San Jose State University it’s the SJSU Spartans against Cal State East Bay in an exhibition game and these two teams are ready to showcase their skills before this long basketball season. The Spartans won it 77-61 defeating visiting CSU East Bay at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose.

The first half started off with CSU East Bay taking over the momentum of the half. Forward Grady Lewis led East Bay in points with eight and his eight points were a major part of what kept the momentum up. For San Jose State they played a good game on the perimeter, but the post offense was being clamped on by this East Bay defense.

When William Humer got in the game the post offense picked up and he led the Spartans in points with seven in the first half. San Jose State’s offense really turned on when free throws gave them a rally and the Spartans went on a 9-0 run for the last 2:13 of the half and when the first half ended 31-27 SJSU Spartans with a lot of energy radiating from the offense. 

The Spartans continued running off their momentum from the first half by taking it straight to CSU East Bay as the second half started. East Bay began using a tap defense that seemed like it was going to slow the Spartans down, but it didn’t.

Even with the pressure SJSU was running with the lead, holding down a 20 point lead halfway through the second half. The offense here was led by MJ Amey Jr. who whether it was at the free throw line or the three point line, he found ways to score (15 points).

The second half pressure kicked up for East Bay with a 9-0 run at one point that lasted a minute, but the Spartans were still fighting them off. The final three minutes of the game was a tad sloppy for the Spartans, but wasn’t sloppy enough to detour the lead they had. Latrell Davis, who only had three points in the first half, went crazy in the second half, getting to the line to keep SJSU up (13 points).

The final buzzer sounded and the final score was 77-61 San Jose State and this exhibition game was great practice for what the Spartans have ahead. The three standout stars for SJSU were MJ Amey Jr., William Humer, and Latrell Davis

Next game for SJSU is their season opener against UC Irvine on November 7th and it will be a home game for the Spartans.

Sharks Drop To 0-9-1 After A Devastating Loss To Vancouver 10-1

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The San Jose Sharks left winger Anthony Duclair (10) attempts to put the puck on net against the Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Nov 2, 2023 (AP News photo)

Thursday, November 2nd, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose Sharks are back home and they are coming off a winless opening month of hockey and they hope to start the month of November off with a win. That will come with a challenge though as they face off against the Vancouver Canucks who are looking like one of the best teams in the Western Conference this early in the season. 

The first period for San Jose was why they’re projected to be not only the worst team this season, but one of the worst teams in NHL history. Two and a half minutes into the game, the Canucks scored a power play goal after Nico Sturm’s high sticking minor.

The goal was scored by Brock Boeser (assisted by Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes) on a great slap shot that followed elite passing, 1-0 Vancouver. Not even two minutes later J.T. Miller scored the second goal, still on the power play, but this time when Boeser cleared the puck it ricocheted off the boards and Miller scooped it and backhanded it past Kaapo, 2-0 Vancouver.

The spiral continued four minutes later after another was scored, but this one is attributed to sloppy defense from the Sharks. The goal was scored by Hughes, who at this point had three points (1 goal and 2 assists) and the building might as well have been here for drinks and atmosphere.

Thatcher Demko of Vancouver stopped all six shots the Sharks brought his way, but the story here was the Sharks defense never leaving the starting blocks. A Mario Ferraro tripping penalty gave the Sharks their second penalty, but more importantly it gave Boesar his second goal of the game (assisted by Andrei Kuzmenko and Miller) and by the end of the opening period, the Sharks made their way back to the locker room down 4-0. 

The second period was even worse for the Sharks and it felt like the end of the road for San Jose. One minute in the period and Vancouver immediately jumped on the Sharks with a one time goal by Ilya Mikheyev (assisted by Soucy and Pettersson), 5-0 Canucks.

The next goal for Vancouver was not only bad, because it added to the avalanche of goals, but Kaapo Kahkonen was injured during the goal. Andrei Kuzmenko scored with assists by Pettersson and Mark Friedman to make it 6-0, but the damage was done.

Kahkonen was out with an injury and Mackenzie Blackwood was in, but the scoring didn’t stop. Sam Lafferty would add to this with a wrap-around goal and it was 7-0.

The fourth goal of the period for the Canucks was by Pius Suter for his first of the season, but on this goal Quinn Hughes got the assist and by the end of this second period, Hughes had five points in an 8-0 lead as the we were in the second intermission.

Sharks fans booed and some walked out, but it was clear that air was taken out of the building. This is Coach David Quinn’s 300th game and this might be the game where fans call for his job. The stats show that it’s not his fault this Sharks team is this bad, but don’t tell that to these fans. 

The final period wasn’t any different from the rest of the game if anything it was David’s nightmare. “Fire Quinn” chants began after Anthony Beauvillier scored on a power play to make it 9-0 and we were only three minutes into the period.

 Beauvillier scored his second goal eight minutes after his first and at this point it was 10-0 and the Canucks had scored more goals in one game than the Sharks have all season. By the end of this game the Sharks scored one goal by Fabian Zetterlund and the crowd that was still in attendance popped for it, but the game was more than over, it was a goal for Quinn.

The next game for San Jose is against some familiar foes when they face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins and this is Erik Karlsson’s first game back in San Jose with his new team and this doesn’t look good for the Sharks as analysts project another loss for the Sharks, but that seems like the what whole regular season is projected at this point.

USC Escapes Berkeley Barely Beating Cal In A Tight 50-49 Game

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USC Trojans running back Austin Jones (6) is airborne for a touchdown over the Cal Bears defensive back Jeremiah Earby (6) in first half action at Cal Memorial Stadium in Berkeley (AP News photo)

Saturday, October 28th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

Berkeley, CA – It’s another PAC-12 matchup for the Cal Bears, but this time it’s against the USC Trojans and their Heisman winning QB, Caleb Williams. This game may be “meaningless” as far as rankings and record, but a win for Cal would be a major example of bragging rights. There was no bragging after this game except the Bears did play a tight game against the Trojans in a 50-49 loss.

The Trojans started off the drive and Caleb Williams showcased real early why he was such a threat. On foot and in the air Williams had USC completely in-sync. After a 69 yard drive the Trojans couldn’t get a touchdown, but they settled for a field goal to get the game’s first points 3-0 USC.

Now a major thing about USC’s first drive is Cal put them in a third down scenario three times and even a fourth down scenario, Caleb still got out of it, until USC got in the red zone and the box was too small to convert. Cal began their first drive, but on their second play, QB Fernando Mendoza fumbled the ball and USC recovered in amazing field position.

Caleb Williams and the Trojans went right back on their assault, this time looking to get than three points and they would get that after five quick plays with a Marshawn Llyod two yard punch in making the game now 10-0 USC.

Ten minutes into this first quarter the Trojans already had 116 total yards, 78 of those yards were passing and 38 were rushing, meaning they were perfectly balanced as an offense in this first quarter immediately putting Cal on notice.

The Bears wouldn’t go down that easy though as they came out swinging the next drive and it was none other than their knockout specialist running back Jadyn Ott who would score on a big 43 yard run. This is Ott’s sixth rushing TD and he really has showcased why he’s PAC-12 and national leader in rushing coming into this game as far as yards per game (100), rushing yards (603), rushing TDs (5), all purpose yards per game (114), and total TDs (6). 10-7.

USC didn’t slow their game down after that Cal touchdown as they went 80 yards in six plays the very next drive and scored on a pass from Williams to Austin Jones and now it was 17-7 USC and there was still a minute to go in the first quarter.

We were in for a thrill ride. The next drive Cal adapted to USC’s fast pace and they adapted quickly feeding off the home crowd as on a three play drive, Ott would score another rushing TD, but this time going 61 yards to the end zone and the place erupted. 17-14. 

The second quarter was underway and the first punt of the game is what followed as USC had to punt for the first time in this game and now it was Cal’s chance to strike while the iron was hot and they did exactly in just eight plays and it was highlighted with another Jaydn Ott touchdown, his third rushing TD of the game, putting his current total to eight rushing touchdowns on the season and this touchdown from Ott put Cal in the lead for the first time in the game. Making it 21-17 Bears.

The Bears knew that if they didn’t keep striking the Trojans would stay on their neck, but Cal kept striking and Mendoza got his first passing touchdown of the game to Trond Grizzell and they scored after only three plays, but they went half the field and now halfway through the second quarter it was 28-17 Cal Bears.

Cal’s defense was just as much a key to this lead as the offense as they forced another punt from USC to give this Bears offense another chance to extend their lead. The Bears couldn’t extend in that drive, but now it was USC’s turn and at this point in the second quarter it was the defenses playing a game of who can mess up first.

The second half came to a close with no change in the score and that’s a testament to the defense having a true stalemate the last three minutes of the half. The USC fans were stunned, but Cal was the talk of the college football world with this 28-17 lead at halftime. 

In a wild way to start the half they replayed a down that was messed up clockwise before the half with one second left on the clock and USC tried to knock down a field goal to chorus of boos and they missed. So the official third quarter started with Cal having the ball like they were going to do anyways, but after the missed field goal the energy and momentum was in Cal’s favor.

The Trojans recovered and got the ball back from Cal and Caleb Williams took matters into his own hands and scored using his feet, but their attempt at a two point conversion failed and now it was 28-23. After another failed drive for Cal, USC was in the driver’s seat, but forced to punt after Cal’s defense contained Caleb Williams.

USC’s defense responded with an interception on Cal’s second play of that drive and now USC had great field position and they used it to perfection. Williams on the first play of the drive threw a 22 yard touchdown pass to Brendan Rice, but missed an extra point and now the Trojans regained the lead 29-28.

On Cal’s next drive it was a true battle and a couple pass interference calls put them in a great spot which was followed by a big Mendoza QB keeper that put them in the red zone. Mendoza ended up scoring a big touchdown when he couldn’t find an open receiver and took it in himself, but on top of that the Bears converted on two point conversion and got the lead back 36-29.

The stadium became rambunctious after Williams was sacked for 23 yards and almost fumbled the ball and now they were forced to punt. Cal went three and out and was forced to punt and now with a minute left in the quarter it was a battle now. Caleb Williams went three and out and the Trojans were back on defense as the quarter ended. 

Fourth quarter started and Cal had the chance to make or break everything in this drive and capitalized with a Mendoza rushing touchdown and the score was now 43-29 which was the biggest lead of the game. Caleb Williams and the Trojans pushed down the field thanks to a 53 yard catch by Marshawn Llyod put them in the red zone and Williams rushed for a one yard touchdown and they got the extra point.

43-36 was the score here and with 11 minutes left in the game this game had a whole crowd at attention. The Bears had big attempts to try to move downfield, but the clamps were put on them and they punted the ball, but the punt was right on the seven yard line and Williams had to go all the way down the field to potentially tie this game up.

When the Trojans were forced to punt Cal returner Jeremiah Hunter received the punt and got a little too crafty trying to shake the Trojans defense, but fumbled and USC recovered in the red zone now with a chance to even the score.

A touchdown was scored when Llyod punched in a rushing touchdown and the score was now tied after a successful extra point, 43-43. The Bears needed to close out this game strong, but one thing you don’t do when trying to close out a game like this is fumble which both teams did on back to back plays.

Cal fumbled and USC recovered, but USC fumbled and Cal recovered right after and this game was more than even it was a “who will make the mistake that closes this out” game. The Bears went four downs, but no luck and they turned it over on downs, now it was USC’s chance.

The first play of this new Trojans drive was a 56 yard run by Lloyd that put them in the red zone and was followed by a touchdown run by Austin Jones and the lead was in USC’s grasp with 3:33 left. 50-43 USC. Fernando Mendoza had to lead this team down the field and it was an unsportsmanlike conduct that saved them and Mendoza was back in the mix.

A third down pass from Mendoza to Hunter kept the drive alive, then followed it with a 23 yard run by Justin Thomas that put them in the red zone and now there was a little over a minute left.

Cal finally got into the end zone with a pass to Jaivian Thomas and then they went for two, but was unsuccessful and the game was deemed over as USC was gonna receive the ball with 58 seconds left. The score was 50-49 and after the onside kick was recovered by the Trojans, the game was over as USC ran the clock out and escaped Berkeley with an extremely close victory.

Kings defeat Jazz 130-114 in Salt Lake City

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Mary Anne

The Sacramento Kings took on the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. The Kings defeated the Jazz 130-114 at Delta Center. Sacramento improved to 1-0, while Utah fell to 1-0 to open the 2023-24 NBA season.

Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 33 points and four rebounds and was 11-for-16 from the field goal line. Domantas Sabonis recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds. De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points and six assists. Mailk Monk added ten points and seven assists.

The Kings’ starting lineup featured De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis. Fox got his first bucket of the season early in the first quarter. In addition, Sabonis capitalized on a three-pointer opportunity in the first. The Kings ended the first on a 12-4 run and led 32-24 over the Jazz.

The Kings continued to succeed in the second quarter. Chris Duarte made his first regular season bucket, Harrison Barnes poured in the points, and Sacramento went back-to-back from three-point land.

The Kings led the Jazz 72-58 at the end of the first half. Harrison Barnes had 27 points and four rebounds and 10-for-11 from the field goal line and 5-for-5 from the three-point line — the most points in a first half in the opening game of the season by a Kings player since the 1996-97 NBA season, passing Kevin Martin, who had 24 at the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 28, 2009.

The Kings reached the 100-point plateau in the third quarter. Malik Monk’s noteworthy dunk helped the Kings to a 20-point lead, 102-82, with 40 seconds left in the third. The Kings led the Jazz 105-87 after three quarters.

The Kings maintained composure in the fourth quarter. Domantas Sabonis waited patiently around three Jazz defenders to shoot his shot, which hit the rim, late in the fourth. The Kings beat the Jazz 130-114.

Notes
Kings’ injury update
Chris Duarte (left knee) is available, while Trey Lyles (left calf strain) and Jalen Slawson (illness) are out.

Up Next
The Kings will return home to host the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.

San Jose State Beats Utah State In A Decisive 42-21 Victory At Home

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San Jose State’s Jaime Navarro (54) helps Quali Conley celebrate the touchdown that gave the Spartans a 21-14 lead at Spartan Stadium in San Jose on Sat Oct 21, 2023 (Bay Area News Group photo)

Saturday, October 21st, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – CEFCU Stadium is the setting of this Mountain West matchup between the San Jose State Spartans (3-5) and Utah State Aggies (3-5). It’s Homecoming week for San Jose State and the Spartans last week picked up their first league victory of the season against New Mexico on the backs of their running backs Kairee Robinson and Quali Conley, who each had 100 plus yards and it was the first time since 2020 two SJSU backs each had 100 yards in a game.

Utah State is coming off a close loss to Fresno State despite their QB Cooper Legas throwing 363 yards and three touchdowns. This matchup pits San Jose State’s 22nd nationally ranked pass defense against the Mountain West leading offense of Utah State. 

SJSU started with the ball and quickly marched down the field on Utah State and in seven plays went 75 yards into the end zone off a ten yard Conley rushing touchdown. 7-0 Spartans. SJSU didn’t have a third down on that drive and it was Conley’s fourth rushing touchdown of the season and on the very next kickoff the Spartans forced a fumble and recovered it in their own red zone and it was set up for them to score again.

That didn’t happen though when Spartans QB Chevan Cordeiro was hit by Devin Dye and the ball popped out and this time the Aggies recovered the ball in opposing territory. Utah State was on the verge of going three and out on this opportunity after the fumble, but a pass interference by DJ Harvey continued the drive.

The Spartans recovered a couple plays later and was intercepted by Jordan Pollard and now SJSU has two takeaways early in the game. Plays later, so did Utah State as SJSU committed their second turnover and it’s the fourth turnover already in the first quarter. During Utah State’s next drive, the Spartans completely stuffed the Aggies and forced them to punt, but the punt was shanked and again SJSU had great field position.

The Spartans capitalized on this field position with a 39 yard drive that was led by Cordeiro and resulted in a touchdown after he hit Kairee Robinson with a four yard pass and this is Cordeiro ninth TD pass of the season. 14-0 SJSU. 

The second quarter started with the Aggies having the ball and they converted on fourth down which kept them alive enough to score a touchdowns. The drive went 12 plays and when Rashul Faison punched in a five yard run and the extra point was good, it was 14-7.

The next drive for the Spartans was another example of their explosive offense led by Cordeiro and the two running backs Conley and Robinson, but no score for the offense, not even a field as they missed that chance as well. Capitalizing off the missed field goal, Utah State’s efficient offense went eight plays and 69 yards in under three minutes.

They wouldn’t end this drive empty handed as McCae Hillstead completed a deep 25 yard pass to Micah Davis to tie the ball game 14-14. The tied score halted momentum for SJSU and after a the third sack for Utah State on Cordeiro, it forced SJSU to punt and a little over two minutes left in the half, the Aggies had the ball and a chance to take the lead.

That chance was squashed for a three and out, which forced Utah State to punt and with 1:24 left in the half, the Spartans had the chance to take the lead. Another three and out forced the Spartans to punt, but the punt was gorgeous and pressed the Aggies in the opposing red zone with 40 seconds left and the clock would run down and that was the end of the first half. Both teams showcased great defense, but also great offense, it just that this canceled out for both teams, they were as equal as equal could be at half. 

The second half started with Utah State having the ball, but after moving the ball down the field a punt was forced and SJSU now was in the driver’s seat. Cordeiro once again was leading the charge as he marched his way down field and then the exclamation point was Conley getting his second rushing touchdown of the night to give SJSU the lead, but on top of that Kairee Robinson achieved 2,000 career rushing yards on that drive.

21-14 Spartans and the three headed monster of Cordeiro, Conley, and Robinson clicked on all cylinders to get that lead. The SJSU defense was also clicking on all cylinders after they shut down the Aggies defense and prevented them from converting on fourth down and Cordeiro was back with the ball in his hands with five minutes left in the third.

In six plays Cordeiro and the Spartans were right back in the endzone, this time after Cordeiro hits linebacker who checked in as full back, Charles Rogers for a 10 yard touchdown pass, 28-14 SJSU and the game was beginning to firmly be in SJSU’s hands as we were approaching the end of the quarter. 

The fourth started with SJSU just running the clock down, but when Utah State had the possession, the chance at a comeback went up in smoke when Jay’Vion Cole picked off Hillstead and now up two touchdowns, SJSU had the ball right outside the red zone.

Cole got his first interception against New Mexico a week ago and now earned his second interception here at such a crucial part of the game. Cordeiro was having a magnificent game already, but on this drive after the pick, he took it up a notch with a 29 yard touchdown pass to Nick Nash that was a dot and the score was now 35-14 after a successful extra point for the Spartans and to the 15,028 in attendance were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the game seemed to be well in hand.

The Aggies weren’t done though as with five and a half minutes left, Hillstead and Jalen Royals connected for a 20 yard touchdown pass and the game was 35-21. It looked like the game was put to bed, but it was up to the Spartans to tuck the Aggies in. Kairee Robinson did exactly that! The man who achieved 2 thousand career rushing yards punched in a one yard touchdown and the game was 42-21 with two minutes left, but the game was clearly over. 

The game ended and the Spartans got their third win of the season and these three wins SJSU outscored their opponents 136-62, but still with five losses and a 2-2 Mountain West record, SJSU’s season wasn’t looking like it was headed to a College Football Playoff game anytime soon. San Jose State’s next game is against Hawaii at Hawaii and the Spartans intend to have a winning conference record after next weekend.

Sacramento Kings report: Kings lose to Warriors 116-115 in preseason thriller

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Mary Anne

The Sacramento Kings took on the Golden Warriors in the second game of the home-and-home preseason series. The Kings lost to the Warriors 116-115 at Chase Center on Wednesday night. Sacramento fell to 0-4, while Golden State improved to 4-0 and remained undefeated.

De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 25 points and seven rebounds. Keegan Murray scored 24 points and eight rebounds. Davion Mitchell added 14 points.

The Kings’ starting lineup featured De’Andre Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis. Murray hit a fast three-pointer to help the Kings get on the board first, and Murray led all scorers early on, shooting 3-5 from the field, in the first quarter. The Kings merely led 23-22 at the end of the first.

The Kings continued to pour in the points in the second quarter, but the Warriors hit quite a few three-pointers, such as Andrew Wiggins’ three-pointer, to avoid falling behind by double-digits. The Kings carried a 56-49 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half.

The Warriors initially trailed by more than a dozen, but they picked up the pace and made it a four-point game, 68-64, with 6:08 left in the third quarter before a TV timeout. The Kings, however, made it rain with three-pointers, including Keegan Murray’s three-pointer. The Kings led 91-76 after three quarters.

Kings rookies Malik Monk and Colby Jones showed some range in the fourth quarter. Warriors veteran point guard Chris Paul hit a three-pointer late in the fourth. The game went down to the wire. Warriors star Stephen Curry hit a late three-pointer to make it a two-point game, 115-113, but Warriors power forward Dario Šarić missed a pair of free throws. The Kings’ challenge was tossed out, and the Warriors had the ball for the remaining 10.7 seconds. The Warriors sealed the scoring with a three-pointer for a 116-115 win.

Notes
Kings shooting guard Chris Duarte was out with a left knee injury.

Kings rookie Malik Monk recently talked about his fashion choices in a new episode of the show “NBA Style” on the NBA App. Watch Monk’s recent appearance here.

The Kings will hold their NBA 2K24 3v3 Tournament at Fan Fest on Saturday, October 21. Sign up here.

Up Next
The Kings will return home to host the Utah Jazz on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.