Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
The Bahama Islands weren’t all paradise for SJSU men’s basketball (4-2, MW 0-0) as they dropped the first game of the Baha Mar Hoops tournament 69-54 to North Texas (4-1, 0-0) 69-54.
Fourth-year wing Trey Anderson went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field which included four 3-pointers to lead all SJSU men’s basketball scorers with a season-high 16 points.
The Mean Green held a double-digit lead for all of the second half and led by as much as 19.
Second-year point guard Tylor Perry scored a career-high 35 points, the most points SJSU has allowed to a single player this season. He totaled 22 points in the first half on a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc.
At one point, Perry drilled a 3-pointer on three straight possessions to extend the Mean Green’s lead from 12-8 to 21-10 in the first half.
SJSU’s defense sharpened up in the second half, allowing 26 points after giving up 43 in the first. North Texas shot 9-for-11 in the first half from three but cooled off in the second half, going 4-for-9.
“We just didn’t rise to the occasion in the first half,” said head coach Tim Miles following the game. “Tylor Perry got away from us.”
Perry was accompanied by fourth-year guard Kai Huntsberry who pitched in 16 points on a 6-for-12 shooting day.
While Perry and Huntsberry combined for 51 points, only one other member of the Mean Green scored at least four points.
The Spartans’ struggles go beyond the lethal duo as they the turned the ball over a season-high 20 times.
The Mean Green capitalized on SJSU’s mistakes by turning the turnovers into 25 points.
Fourth-year guard Omari Moore was second on the team with nine points, but submitted his second five-turnover performance in his last three games.
In just his third collegiate game, true freshman Garrett Anderson nailed two of his three attempts from three and was the only Spartan besides Anderson to hit multiple three-pointers.
Led by Anderson’s 4-for-4 mark from three, SJSU shot 50% and obtained half of its points from the long ball.
All 15 players who made the trip to the Bahamas played due to the Mean Green commanding the game from start to finish. SJSU outscored North Texas 20-7 off the bench.
“This is what a great part about this is,” said Miles. “We get to bounce back and play right away again.”
The Spartans will square off against Oakland University, who most recently lost to Long Beach State 78-70, at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.