By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
Air Force flew into San Jose and dropped another loss on the Spartans resume 63-53, making it six straight to begin Mountain West play.
Despite never having a lead after the 10 minute mark in the first half, it felt like the Spartans had enough gas in the tank to top the Falcons.
With three minutes left, Omari Moore hit a three-point play to bring the contest to 54-51. The Spartans needed one big run to slam the door, but it just never came around. Air Force’s Carter Murphy and A.J. Walker hit big three’s to make the game 60-53 to put a bow and ribbon on the game.
“Early in the game until about the last eight or nine minutes that we were having trouble getting five guys on the floor that were competing hard and well,” said SJSU head coach Tim Miles.
Alvaro Cardenas-Torre was not lumped into the group that wasn’t competing. His 3/10 night shooting doesn’t give justice to the fluid and fast switches made on defense and fighting tooth and nail for any ball that came near him.
“There was no doubt that I thought he played very strong tonight with a couple errors here and there that were critical, but at the same time a whole bunch of plays that really helped us keep the fight going.”
Tuesday marked another night where Moore had his feet held to the fire and came out with hardly any burns. He led all Spartans with 20 points, making it the second most he has totaled in a game this year. Shooting 1/4 from beyond the arc hurt the Spartans, but the game would’ve looked completely different without his drives to the rim.
Miles was most impressed with Moore being able “to stick with it”.
The Spartans opened up the first half with a completely different M.O. and went away from the three ball early on. The Spartans only attempted 3 shots from three in the first half and had success with getting guys to drive in. Eventually it did catch up to them as they ended up shooting 3/14. There comes time in a ball game when you just need guys to snipe away to either catch up or build a bigger lead. That moment came for the Falcons, but not the Spartans and the final score reflects it.
Beyond the box score tonight was a refreshing wave of energy washing throughout the Provident Credit Union Event Center. During crucial moments down the stretch, the place was rocking and felt like it could’ve been enough to carry SJSU into the win column.
“There was a good crowd and certainly at the end of the game when we were trying to come back,” said Miles. “You could feel the energy of the crowd. That’s really helpful and something we need to keep building on.”
Shon Robinson was one of the springboards for energy thanks to his career high five blocks.
An intimidating presence was built and now the hope is to keep that chugging along as the Spartans face off against the University of New Mexico Lobos on Friday.