Photo by Max Bechtoldt
By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
There was a piercing focus radiating from the pupils of San Jose State head coach Tim Miles.
A focus that can only come from sheer heartbreak from having a historical victory on the tip of your tongue all for it to disappear in the blink of an eye.
The Spartans led the Bulldogs 67-66 with 1:02 left in overtime March 9 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, host site of the Mountain West tournament.
This would be their last lead of the season.
Following the bucket, the Spartans gave up back-to-back offensive rebounds and turned the ball over on an inbound pass with 33 seconds left, setting up Bulldogs’ guard Jordan Campbell to sink a gut-twisting floater to seal the game with 0.6 seconds remaining.
Campbell had the height advantage over the 6-foot-1 Alvaro Cardenas and used it to his advantage.
A monumental upset went up in a puff of smoke. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and the orange flames were gushing through Miles in his postgame press conference.
He repeated the following three times.
“Enjoy it while it lasts. We are going to get bigger, stronger and better.”
The first time could be seen as typical lip service from a coach.
The second time felt like wishful thinking.
The third time was a powerful tsunami of emotions pouring out of a first-year head coach who was looking into the future. A future that holds a lot more than one conference win.
In my two months of hearing Miles express his thoughts after a game, this was the first time I’ve ever heard him say a phrase three times in-a-row.
“Enjoy it while it lasts. We are going to get bigger, stronger and better.”
The first half is a direct provocation on the entire Mountain West and the second half is the general blueprint for the operation.
Miles came into his first season knowing it was going to be the first step in rebuilding a team who proudly hangs CBI tournament banner appearances from over a decade ago.
He was also coaching an extremely young team who had four freshmen on the court during games in the middle of conference play.
Trey Smith was the team’s most impactful senior and he didn’t play the last handful of games because of an injured foot.
On March 9, Miles witnessed evidence that the Spartans won’t be an afterthought in a phenomenal Mountain West conference.
Coming down to the final minute and down 60-58, sophomore forward Trey Anderson stepped in front of Robinson with 39 seconds left to take a huge charge.
“[Robinson’s] going to try and get downhill, get all the way to the charge line and make his perimeter to post move,” Miles said. “… so if you can beat him to his angle, maybe you can take a charge.”
Transfer Tibet Görener had a crucial three to give the Spartans a 65-63 lead with less than two minutes left in overtime.
Junior guard Omari Moore had an out-of-this-world finish at the rim to push the game to overtime in the final few seconds of regulation over Mountain West All First-Team and former high school teammate Orlando Robinson.
His body twisted like vines around the Redwood tree known as Robinson in an artistically cunning fashion.
In a situation like this, it’s easy to become a prisoner of the moment and already picture big conference wins over San Diego State and Colorado State without remembering the crucial mistakes that led to the loss.
Görener’s fatal fumble on an inbound pass from Moore with the score tied at 67 that led to Fresno State winning the game with .6 seconds left on a floater from Jordan Campbell sticks out the most.
Games aren’t lost on a single play, but if he caught the ball to set up one final possession for the Spartans, their chances of winning skyrocket dramatically.
What would’ve happened on that final possession exists in a world of conjecture.
Does Moore swerve through the lane and finish at the rim again similar to his drive at the end of regulation?
Does Moore drive forcing the Bulldogs defense to collapse on him so he can kick out to Anderson to hit a big three?
These two are part of an infinite amount of tangible scenarios that are nothing more than probable.
Nearly pulling off one of the premier conference-tournament upsets in college basketball can take focus away from how the entire season went.
Granted, the Spartans had to deal with injuries to key players like Ibrahima Diallo, Trey Smith, Majok Kuath and Sebastian Mendoza, but a 1-17 conference record and .258 winning percentage still remain.
During the Spartans’ 14-game losing streak to open up conference play, they lost by single digits twice and lost by 20 or more eight times.
Excellent flashes from Moore were sandwiched between long stretches of dismal shooting from the perimeter and a defense that gave out career nights for star players from around the league the way hotels give out complimentary breakfasts.
Motivation sparked from a single moment is often fleeting and has the same longevity as a stick of Juicy Fruit.
When the high pitch beeps of an alarm clock ring at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday in the summer, a near-upset against Fresno State from months before won’t be enough to bench press cozy covers off. It will take something deep down inside each player to show up and exhaust their bodies to no end.
“We are going to get bigger, stronger and better.”
We shall see.