Nathan Canilao (@nathancanilao) – Spear Beat Reporter
The San Jose State men’s basketball team defeated Oakland University 80-67 in the second round of the the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship on Saturday afternoon in Nassau, Bahamas.
The Spartans bounced back after dropping their first round game of the tournament to North Texas University on Friday.
Senior forward Sage Tolbert III led the Spartans with 25 points on 12-13 shooting from the field. Junior forward Trey Anderson added 19 points while going 3-6 from behind the arc.
The Spartans dominated the first half after shooting 60% from the field in the first half. SJSU was red hot from the three-point line, hitting seven 3-pointers on 14 attempts.
Tolbert III and Anderson combined scored 24 of the Spartans’ 47 points.
OU was able to pick up their offensive output in the second half, but it was too late as the Spartans built an insurmountable lead.
The Spartans held the Grizzlies to 40% shooting from the field and forced eight total turnovers.
SJSU also locked down the paint, blocking five shots while holding Oakland to 30% on layups and dunks.
SJSU head coach Tim Miles said he was happy that Tolbert stepped into the scoring role and that Moore was able to close out the game with his passing.
“Sage Tolbert was huge for us today and Omari Moore was a closer for us today,” Miles said.
Tolbert’s big performance was a key reason SJSU was able to get past Oakland. The Temple transfer said he wanted to be more aggressive in today’s matchup.
“After a tough loss yesterday where we really didn’t play like who we are, I felt like we had to redeem ourselves,” Tolbert said. “I just wanted to be more aggressive today and lead my team to the win.”
SJSU men’s basketball will have one more game in the Bahamas against Ball State University at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow at Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center in Nassau, Bahamas.