Photo by Aidan Bostic
By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) — MBB Beat Reporter
University of New Mexico Lobos 55(11-16, MW 3-10) vs San Jose (8-19, MW 1-14)
With eight minutes left and Spartans up 58-49, there was a metaphysical energy bouncing off the walls as “YMCA” was blaring out the speakers. Fans were feeding off the great play on the hardwood and emphatically throwing their arms in the air as a result of it.
“With our fans and students in the stands they can impact winning,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said. “Players feed off the energy and it can intimidate opponents at times when there is great energy.”
Ibrahima Diallo’s play in his first game back since December put energy on a silver platter for fans to feast on.
In his first defensive possession he stretched his pool skewer of a left arm and spiked the ball into the Earth’s core.
Imagine Doctor Octopus with the ruthless mentality of Thanos.
“Doing that they [my teammates] were so excited and we needed that,” said Diallo who had 14 points going 7 of 11 from the field.
Omari Moore used the space Diallo created downlow by finishing with a triple-double, the third one in school history. There was room to operate for Moore and he took full advantage of it.
“Diallo coming back and him being a bigger body, he’s able to set hard screens,” said Moore.
When he sets those screens I’m able to get more separation.
There’s an acrobatic nature to Moore that allows him to contort his trunk and extremities in ways that are adjacent to Mister Fantastic from the “Fantastic Four”.
The Spartans showed no complacency down the final stretch with the Lobos not scoring a point with 3:57 left and shooting 1 of 11 to end the game.
