By Nathan Canilao (@nathancanilao)- Spear Beat Reporter
In a game that would prove to be vital in Mountain West playoff seeding, the San Jose State men’s basketball team lost 96-68 against the University of New Mexico on Friday night at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
The Spartans suffer their worst loss in conference play this season and their worst loss since their 41-point defeat to Arkansas on Dec. 3. Had the Spartans won, they would have taken control of the No. 5 spot in the Mountain West standings which is vital heading into the Mountain West Championships in three weeks.
Senior guard Omari Moore led SJSU with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Junior center Ibrahima Diallo recorded 12 points and 9 rebounds.
“It was a disappointing night for the Spartans,” said head coach Tim Miles. “I thought that New Mexico was the aggressor in every phase of the game.”
The Spartans kept the game close in the first few minutes of play. SJSU held a small 15-14 lead at the 12:14 mark of the first half, but that was the last time the Spartans would be ahead of the Lobos.
New Mexico went on a 36-16 run from that point to end the first half and led 50-31 going into intermission.
The Lobos shot 62.1% from the field in the first half and scored 11 points off of 7 SJSU turnovers.
“We could never really get defensive stops,” Miles said about the Lobos’ fist half run. “It really came to our defense not playing at the standard it needed to tonight.”
The Spartans failed to mount any resemblance of a comeback in the second half and the Lobos cruised to a 28-point victory. The Spartans emptied their bench in the last five minutes of the game, signaling that they had waived the white flag.
A big question for SJSU coming into this game was if they were going to be able to keep New Mexico guards Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House in check. The duo combined for 34 points and 8 assists which led to the Lobos controlling the game on the offensive end.
SJSU also had a hard time defending forward Morris Udeze who led the Lobos with 31 and 12 rebounds.
“It starts with one-on-one battles,” Miles said. “Mashburn got his right over our guys . . . He was really sharp tonight.”
The Spartans had a hard time finding scoring outside Moore and Diallo all night. The three other starters for SJSU combined for 12 points on 29.4% shooting from the field.
The Lobos snap a four-game losing streak and hand the Spartans second conference loss at home.
SJSU will head north to face the University of Nevada, Reno at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Lawlor Events Center. The Spartans lost their last matchup with Nevada 67-40 on Jan. 7.
“I always go back and look at what adjustments do [I] have to make, so I’ll have to look at that and see what adjustments I have to make,” Miles said about their last game against Nevada. “That was a game a little bit like tonight where we were up one in the first and then it went sideways,”