Kassandra Zeledon — Reporter
San Jose State men’s basketball (5-4) returned to their winning ways and successfully defended Provident Credit Union Event Center by defeating University of the Pacific (3-5) 78-66 in San Jose, Calif earlier this afternoon.
Within the first 30 seconds of the game, UOPscored 2-0 on a shot by sophomore center Sam Freeman. However, the Spartans quickly responded and scored at a torrid pace.
After a 3-pointer by senior guard Trey Smith and a made-free throw by Pacific Tigers’ Jordan Belle, the scoring rapidly increased from both sides, as it was close within the middle of the first half, with the Spartans leading 19-17.
With SJSU carrying the momentum, sophomore guard Omari Moore led the Spartans with 11 points, as the Spartans held a 35-28 lead after the first half. The first half consisted of a ton of back-and-forth energy with the Spartans coming out on top, but the Tigers continued to push SJSU.
During the second half, SJSU continued to show UOP whose court they were on by continuously ramping up the score to 55-43.
With Spartans’ Smith passing the ball over to Moore who finished it off with a groundbreaking alley-oop.
Trey Smith, Moore, and sophomore forward Trey Anderson were a few forces to be reckoned with on the court tonight.
Anderson made a new career-high in points, finishing the game with 23 in the victory. The Tigers fought valiantly but ultimately fell short to the Spartans’ high-scoring, making it a five-game winning streak for the SJSU at home.
The Spartans will be looking to win a game away from San Jose, as they take the road against the University of Portland on Friday Dec. 17 in Portland, Oregon at 6 p.m. and you can listen-in live on Spartans All-Access.