Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Photo via Titus Wilkinson of The Spear
As means of motivation (or torture) Miles had the Spartans rewatch and relive the final five minutes of its loss to Utah State in Logan a month ago. Scabbed wounds of a blown double-digit lead in the second half were re-opened and exposed. For motivational purposes of course.
No individual wound deeper than team leader Omari Moore’s who had a disappointing second half and crumbled with the game on the line back in Logan.
Moore was on a mission for “get back” on Saturday night, scoring 20 points in the second half leading SJSU (15-10, 6-6 MW) to its first Mountain West upset of the Miles era. The Spartans came in trailing the trailed Aggies by 77 spots in the NET.
“We all had a bad taste in our mouth after the last game and we just wanted some get back,” said Moore, who finished with 27 points. Dating back to 2018, SJSU had lost nine-straight to Utah State, and dating even farther back to 1996, SJSU has lost 36 of the last 38 meetings since they topped Utah State to win the Big West tournament.
Before history was made, angst of repeating history loomed with 8:58 left in the game after a jumper from Utah State’s Max Shulga put SJSU down 51-47. The Spartans had led by double digits and were up for a majority of the game.
Although it loomed, it leapt away after Moore exploded for 14 points over the final 8:58 stretch.
Most importantly, Moore closed a deal he had previously fumbled.
“[Omari] was the one guy that I knew could make a play against all their guys,” second-year head coach Miles said. “He’s one of the best players in college basketball. He’s a pro, he’s really good.”
Leading up to his matchup with Utah State, Moore said, “It’s like, ‘They’re going to feel me this time around,’ I’m going to go give it my all and give them 40 minutes of hell hopefully.”
Over the final stretch, hell was undeniably given by Moore and his counterparts on the defensive end.
Utah State three-point marksmen Steven Ashworth, who was guarded primarily by Moore, was held without a three in the second half, despite coming in with a 47.3% clip – third best nationwide and best in the Mountain West.
Ashworth scored eight points in the second half (14 total), six of which came from the line. Night and day from when he went 4-for-8 from three en route to scoring 16 points in the second half back in Logan and spearheaded an avalanche of deep balls which saw Utah State (19-7, 8-5 MW) going 8 of 13 from three.
“You have to give him a lot of defensive attention and there were times we committed two to the ball so he had to give it up,” said Miles.
The Spartans held the Aggies to a collective 3-for-13 mark from three in the second half and were held without a field goal in the final 3:04 of the game.
“Tonight, our second half defense is what carried us,” said Miles.
Ashworth wasn’t the only Aggie marksman who was off the mark.
Utah State’s Taylor Funk, who was second in the conference in three-point percentage behind Ashworth with a 41.1% clip, was 0-for-6 from three and missed a potential game tying three with six seconds left.
“All we had to do was our job and we let that one get away and we were not going to let this one get away and I think you saw that in the defensive intensity,” said Miles.
The differences between SJSU’s final five minutes in Logan – which center Ibrahima Diallo said cost him a night of sleep – and the final five in San Jose were unmistakable.
But not to be mistaken, the Spartans weren’t flawless.
Point guard Alvaro Cardenas was shutout in the second half after going 0-for-5 from the field. Furthermore, they shot just 1-for-7 from three and went 13-for-20 (65%) from the line in the second half.
Yet, when it mattered most, Diallo sank two free throws to make it a two possession game with four seconds left.
“It was pressure,” said Diallo who led the floor with a +17 and totaled three blocks. He now leads the Mountain West with 1.8 blocks per game.
And now pressure has found its way into the Spartans inner matrix as they’ve cracked the top 100 in the KENPOM.
Can the Spartans run the table at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas between March 8-11?
Can Moore rip off more performances akin to his one from Saturday night?
Can Miles do the unthinkable and lead SJSU to its first postseason win in program history?
Pressure is the toll fee of crossing bridges that have never been crossed before.
“Proof in the pudding that we are here with the rest of the Mountain West,” said Moore.
“I feel like it’s just the beginning for us.”
Next up: SJSU will head to Las Vegas to play UNLV. SJSU won the previous meeting to open up Mountain West play with a win for the first time in program history. The win also granted SJSU its first winning record in conference play since joining the Mountain West, too.