Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Boise State’s Marcus Shaver Jr.’s right hand and the basketball he was slowly yo-yoing were the only things moving on the court. There was 20 seconds left with the scored knotted up 64-64.
No one moved.
Everyone from fans at Extra Mile Arena, to his teammates, to his opponents stood still, patiently waiting to see the ball drop, just like they did on New Years a couple days ago.
After staring down SJSU’s Omari Moore for what felt like an eternity (14 seconds) Shaver darted for the right wing. He gave Moore a quick in-and-out dribble, then ripped off a vicious step back cross over.
Ball game. Boise State 67. San Jose State 64.
The Spartans’ 14-point second half comeback falling just one play short.
“Shaver made a big time play. He’s a big time player. He’s made those before. He made several game winning shots over his career so we knew that was going to be a key matchup,” said SJSU head coach Tim Miles.
It’s a difficult predicament for Moore.
The game-winner was scored on him, but without his second-half scoring surge, the Spartans wouldn’t have been given the opportunity to have their hearts ripped out in the first half.
“I don’t know what else he could’ve done,” said Miles.
SJSU (11-5, 2-1 MW )was down by as much as 14 with 15 minutes to play before Moore exploded for 18 points after scoring just four in the first half. His second-straight game with at least 22 points.
Moore’s poster cut Boise’s (11-4, 1-1 MW) lead to two and he put the Spartans ahead 62-61 moments later after drilling a three-pointer with 3:07 left in the game.
“When Omari takes over, he’s an amazing player. He had some unbelievable plays tonight that got us back in contention for us,” said Miles.
Alvaro Cardenas and Ibrahima Diallo both chipped in 12 points, as they were the only other Spartans who finished in double figures.
It was a season-high for Diallo, who had 10 points in the first half on four dunks and also finished with five blocks.
The Spartans had a rough day from beyond the arc, shooting 4-for-21 (19%) just a couple days after they drained 13 of 27 (48%) in their win over Colorado State.
Five Spartans attempted at least three three-pointers. No one hit more than one. Tibet Görener, who finished 4-for-7 against CSU, ended with a 1-for-6 line.
“I think this team knows there’s areas where we can get better at on offense,” said Miles.
The struggles from deep were just one reason as to why SJSU came up short, but three-point shooting has never been considered a strength for SJSU men’s basketball. They entered shooting .34% from beyond the arc; eighth-best in the Mountain West.
The difference between a 14-point comeback and a heartbreaking dagger can be found in the individual plays down the final stretch after Moore put SJSU men’s basketball ahead with a couple minutes to play.
At the 2:14 mark with the Spartans up 62-61, Gorener missed a free throw on a one of one opportunity which was recovered by Sage Tolbert, but Moore was called for a travel on the next possession.
A couple minutes later with the score knotted up at 64, Moore airmailed a pass to Robert Vaihola while he was slicing down the paint. It was Moore’s sixth turnover of the night and the Spartans last offensive possession before Shaver Jr.’s game-winner.
“They made one more play than we did. We didn’t make the plays down the stretch,” said Miles.
But not all was lost.
In years past, there was never a “stretch” to play poorly in to begin with.
The Spartans have never won at Boise State and lost by 16 last year after being down by as much as 29 in the second half.
This year, SJSU shut Boise down offensively in the second half, allowing 26 points on 9-for-28 shooting.
“Just a disappointing night, but at the same time, the guys should continue to gain confidence that they can play with anybody in this conference,” Miles said.
This season is about tangible progress.
No one, not even Shaver Jr., can deny that SJSU men’s basketball is not the team they were a year ago.
“This is the defending Mountain West champion and we took them right down to the buzzer. Last year we were down 20 at halftime, right?” said Miles. “We are moving forward, it is disappointing, but good teams don’t lose two in a row. So we need to go bounce back and get Nevada.”