By Richy Zajic — Managing Editor
The San Jose State men’s basketball team secured its first Mountain West victory since January 25, 2020 on Saturday defeating the New Mexico Lobos 83-71.
Here are three takeaways from the Spartans’ much-needed win.
This team is talented, just not consistent yet
It’s obvious after a game like this that this team is capable of impressive performances. With five Spartans reaching double-digit scoring outputs, this was an overall team effort and proved the potential depth of this squad. Missing their star player in Richard Washington, this team displayed cohesion as well as the individual capabilities of the rest of the team. However, this is the first time in a long while that this team has been able to have a game like this, and will need to string a few games of this caliber together before being seen as a threat.
Shooting efficiently from downtown
The deep ball has proven to be the difference-maker on so many occasions in today’s game of basketball. It was no different in this one. The Spartans shot 43.5 percent from beyond-the-arch, whereas the Lobos shot a measly 29.4 percent. Big performances from Trey Smith and Sebastian Mendoza were vital in SJSU securing this win and they did their damage primarily from deep. Smith and Mendoza both knocked down four triples respectively. This kind of production from three could lead to more Spartan wins in the future.
Defense wins games
It’s no secret that defense leads to more games won than just about anything else. This was certainly apparent in this contest. The Spartans were able to hold the Lobos to 29.4 percent from three, and they were able to force 15 turnovers. SJSU is usually the squad that struggles with turning the ball over, but in this contest the Spartans only gave the ball away seven times. When a team values possessions like that, it often leads to good shots and less breakaway opportunities for the opponents. This was key in the Spartans’ win.
The Spartans’ next game will be Thursday versus Air Force at 6:30 p.m. at the Ability 360 Sports and Fitness Center.
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