Nathan Canilao (@nathancanilao)- Basketball Beat Reporter
San Jose State (1-0, 0-0 MW) men’s basketball defeated the Georgia Southern Eagles (0-1, 0-0 Sunbelt) 63-48 on Tuesday night at Provident Union Event Center.
Guards Omari Moore and Alvaro Cardenas each had 14 points to lead SJSU in the win. Center Ibrahima Diallo added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.
The Spartans were able to play through Diallo early as he scored the team’s first four points and was the focal point of the Spartans’ offense.
SJSU got a big boost from Cardenas in the first half. Cardenas was +9 when he was on the floor and was the Spartans’ leading scorer with eight points.
SJSU had success getting to the free throw line as they shot 8-11 from the charity stripe. The Spartans got to the basket throughout the first half which allowed them to get open looks at the 3-point line.
The Spartans led at halftime 31-22 despite SJSU only shooting 35.7% from the floor.
The second half was all Spartans. Georgia Southern was only able to muster up 14 points through the first 13 minutes of the second half and SJSU took advantage of the momentum.
It started at the 12:35 mark when Diallo threw down a dunk over a Georgia Southern defender.
Diallo received a technical foul for taunting, but it gave the Spartans an extra push from that point on.
A few possessions later, Moore got in on the action dunking on two Eagle defenders, giving the Spartans a 21 point lead.
The Eagles were able to cut the lead to 10 with just under two minutes to go, but an alley-oop pass from sophomore forward Tibet Gorener to senior forward Sage Tolbert woke up the SJSU crowd.
On the very next play, Moore pinned Georgia Southern guard Jalen Finch’s layup attempt, ending the Eagles’ run.
Head coach Tim Miles said he was happy that the team was able to get their first win of the season.
“Well it’s great, 1-0 is almost as good as 2-0, that’s what we’re gonna work toward on Saturday,” Miles said. “We’re gonna enjoy this.”
Diallo’s contributions along with minutes from centers Max Allen and Robert Vaihola made a big impact.
Diallo missed a big chunk of games last season and Moore said he is happy that the Spartans were able to add size to their team.
“All of our different bigs offer something different to the team,” Moore said. “I think just the different ways that we can switch things up is definitely versatile and good for us. It makes things a little bit easier.”
Cardenas’ performance was one of the biggest differences for the Spartans. He said he focused on his defense and leadership qualities over the summer in preparation to the season.
“I feel like this year that is something [bringing energy] that the coaches really want me to do,” Cardenas said. “And it’s something I can basically do every day. It depends on me to just want to bring the energy and get my teammates going even if I’m not playing the best, but I can always bring my energy.”
SJSU men’s basketball next game will be against Bethesda University at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.