Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Robert Vaihola’s game winning putback with 1.7 seconds gave SJSU men’s basketball (6-2, 0-0) a 67-65 win over Ball State (4-3, 0-0) to end their trip to the Bahamas on a high note.
“I always tell Omari, ‘Go get a bucket and I’m going to be there to follow it up,” said Vaihola, who had nine of SJSU’s final 13 points down the stretch.
The Spartans finished the Baha Mar Hoops tournament with a 2-1 overall record and took home fifth place in an eight-team pool.
Vaihola posted a Spartan-high eight rebounds and a career-high 15 points on a 6-for-7 day from the field which tied fourth-year guard Omari Moore for most on the team.
Thirteen of Vaihola’s 15 points came in a second half that featured 13 lead changes.
“It was just heart and fight. Simple as that,” said Vaihola, a second-year transfer from Fresno State.
“This kid [Vaihola] transferred from Fresno State to make a name for himself and tonight he did,” said SJSU head coach Tim Miles.
The Spartans were up 31-24 going into the second half, but allowed the Cardinals to find a way back into it with 41 second half points
Ball State went from shooting 27% from the field in the first half to shooting 50% in the second half.
The Cardinals had four players end in double-figures and Demarius Jacobs, Jalen Windham and Payton Sparks each had 14 points.
Sparks went for 10 boards and was the only player on the floor to obtain a double-double.
Boosted by Vaihola’s performance, SJSU outscored Ball State in the paint 36-28, 16-10 on second chance points and outscored them off the bench 17-6.
SJSU wasn’t great from beyond the arc, shooting 31%. Moore had one and Alvaro Cardenas and Trey Anderson shot a combined 5-for-14.
On the flip side, SJSU held Ball State to a 1-for-9 showing from three in the first half and 3-8 in the second half.
Fourth-year center Ibrahima Diallo and fifth-year forward Sage Tolbert III both fouled out early which gave Vaihola the opportunity to make his presence felt.
“I think that willpower that you are looking for out of your guys is the important thing and we really got some of that tonight,” said Miles.
SJSU will get a quick and much-needed break before they travel to their toughest opponent so far in the season in the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.