The San Jose State men’s basketball team (5-11, 3-9 MWC) was able to clinch its second game against Air Force after winning 75-62 on Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona.
This is the longest conference winning-streak since Jean Prioleau became head basketball coach in 2017.
“I’m so proud of our guys for the effort they’re putting in day in and day out,” Prioleau said in a video posted to the SJSU men’s basketball Twitter account. “The strength of our team is our team.”
This was SJSU’s third consecutive win of the season.
Scoring leader Richard Washington was still unable to play because of a head injury he sustained while playing against The University of New Mexico. This is the third game he has missed due to the injury.
Only six SJSU players played throughout the game.
Despite playing with a significantly depleted team, the Spartans prevailed. As soon as the game began they pulled ahead, sinking one basket after another.
At the end of the first half, the Spartans were leading by 11 points with a score of 39-28.
The largest lead of the game occurred in the first half, when the Spartans pulled 16 points ahead.
The Falcons tried to take the lead throughout the entire game, but were met with an overwhelming Spartan offense that couldn’t be stopped.
A large factor in the game to secure a win was shooting consistency.
SJSU shot the ball well, making 37.5% of 3-pointers and 52% of field goals.
This is a significant improvement from the first game against Air Force on Thursday and higher than their season average, which is 32% of 3-pointers and 45% of field goals.
“When we’re shooting the ball, I think we’re a really dangerous team,” Prioleau said.
For forward Ralph Agee, this game was a career high. He finished the night with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Trey Smith scored right behind Agee with 21 points and 2 rebounds, while 15 of those points came from 3-point shots. In the last minute, Smith scored 6 points from free throws alone.
Even though Sebastian Mendoza only played 24 minutes, he finished the game with 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Omari Moore finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and Caleb Simmons finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
SJSU had nearly twice as many turnovers as Air Force.
Air Force was able to make 6 points off of 11 turnovers, while SJSU made 11 points off of only 6 turnovers.
“We know how hard it is to get a win and the work that it takes,” Trey Smith said in a video posted to SJSU men’s basketball Twitter account. “So, when we get back to San Jose we’re just going to work and hopefully get the results we want from the work we put in.”
The Spartans hope to continue their winning streak as they go on to play San Diego State on Monday night.
The San Jose State men’s basketball team (5-11, 3-9 MWC) played a nail-biting game against the Air Force Falcons on Thursday in Phoenix, Arizona at the Ability360 Sports & Fitness Center.
SJSU narrowly secured a 59-58 victory.
This was the first of two back-to-back games the Spartans played against the Falcons to minimize travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This triumph set the team on a two-game winning streak, following the team’s victory against The University of New Mexico on Jan. 23.
“Now we’ve got two conference wins back-to-back, which has never happened in my tenure,” head basketball coach Jean Prioleau said in a video posted to the SJSU men’s basketball Twitter account. “And we’re doing it with a depleted team.”
Guard Richard Washington, the team’s scoring leader with an average of 20.7 points per game, missed his second game of the season because of a head injury he sustained while playing The University of New Mexico.
The Spartans played a remarkable game with strong defense that played a large part in the team’s win. Prioleau said the game was ultimately decided by solid defense and turnovers.
“What I loved about tonight is that we were able to get stops to win at the end of the game,” Prioleau said. “[In the last minute] Air Force had three chances to score the ball on one possession and we were able to get the stop each time.”
The Falcons started the game out dominant, gaining a 10 point lead in the first quarter. However, the Spartans eventually caught up and pulled ahead to lead 36-30 at the half.
The second half of the game was consistently neck-and-neck. There were a total of 10 ties and nine lead changes throughout the game. Whenever one team slightly came ahead, the other immediately caught up.
The final shot that determined the Spartan’s victory was a team effort.
Guard Trey Smith broke through the Falcons’ defense to shoot a layup with two minutes left in the game. When the ball didn’t go in, forward Ralph Agee made an assist and dunked it in.
The Falcons were unable to score again before the time ran out on the clock.
Both Agee and Smith finished the game with 15 points each, while guard Omari Moore trailed close behind with 12 points.
Sebastian Mendoza and Jalen Dalcourt put up 8 and 7 points respectively to help bring the Spartans to victory.
Despite consistent scoring from multiple players, Prioleau said this was a low-scoring game for the team.
SJSU’s shooting performance was down compared to the team’s averages. The Spartans made 50% of their free throws, compared to the 64% season average.
Turnovers were another factor in Thursday’s win. The Falcons were able to make 9 points off of 14 turnovers, while the Spartans made 17 points off of 12 turnovers.
Thursday’s win against Air Force was the first time since 2017 SJSU has won back-to-back games over conference opponents, according to SJSU Athletics.
