Spartans lose ninth straight conference game, and potentially Richard Washington to injury

By Jarra Gojolo — Senior Content Editor

Ralph Agee scored 14 points as San Jose State men’s basketball (2-11, 0-9 MW) lost to the University of New Mexico (5-8, 1-8 MW) on Thursday, 67-51.

Both teams were winless in Mountain West play coming into the game, and both teams came out of the gate slowly on offense as the first half saw only one three-pointer made from each team.

With five minutes left in the first half senior guard Richard Washington fell to the floor and was slow to get up, from what looked like a shot to the face 

He never returned to the game as junior Caleb Simmons played the majority of the second half in Washington’s place.

The former Wake Forest player is undergoing evaluation for a head injury.

Agee and junior transfer guard Jalen Dalcourt both put up double-digit second half points in their attempt to pick up the scoring load in Washington’s absence. The senior forward scored 11 of his 14 points after halftime while Dalcourt chipped in with 10.

Any stretch of absence for the Spartans’ — and Mountain West’s — leading scorer is bad news for a team already towards the bottom of the conference in scoring. SJSU would have to rely on players like Dalcourt and sophomore guard Omari Moore to step up their scoring if Washington misses games

Thursday’s game was played at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah because of COVID-19 restrictions in New Mexico similar to what SJSU has experienced with Santa Clara county.

The Spartans will face the Lobos in the rematch Saturday before coming back to Phoenix next week to take on Air Force.

Follow Jarra on Twitter @JarraGojolo

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