By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Spear Reporter
San Jose State men’s basketball (7-6) got a huge win at home against Santa Clara (8-5), a team that has beaten two Pac-12 schools (Stanford and Oregon).
The game came down to the last possession with a score of 81-78.
As Santa Clara’s final shot attempt clanked off of the rim, San Jose State’s bench erupted.
Junior guard Myron Amey Jr. ran over to the sidelines to celebrate with his teammates and he immediately embraced senior forward Trey Anderson, who is still sidelined with an injury.
“That’s my brother at the end of the day,” Amey Jr. said. “It sucks that he’s not playing but we still got to find ways to win without him.”
Amey Jr. was the teams leading scorer on the night with 17 points and he also grabbed nine rebounds.
Head coach Tim Miles knew a win like this right before the start of conference play would be huge for the teams confidence. Especially after a 1-4 stretch where in two of those game SJSU held the lead during their opponents final possession.
“I think (this win) is a shot in the arm,” Miles said. “I think the guys were kind of hanging their heads, we’ve been undermanned and I thought this one was a good one for the guys to stick with our game plan and just do a better job and come up with a win tonight.”
Miles also mentioned that he is hopeful to get Anderson back at some point this season but there is no timetable for his return as of now.
Alvaro Cardenas puts up a three | photo via Andrew Hartley – The Spear
Another top performer for San Jose State was junior guard Alvaro Cardenas who put up a double-double on the night with 14 points and 10 assists.
Three of those assists came off alley-oop passes to sophomore center Adrame Diongue, a play him and Cardenas have built nice chemistry on.
Freshman guard Latrell Davis found himself in the starting lineup tonight and had an immediate impact. Davis scored six of the first eight points for the Spartans and played a very physical brand of defense.
“I thought his energy was very important for us early,” Miles said. “He created some defense to offense which is always important.”
Davis finished the game with 12 points, seven rebounds and 3 assists.
Sophomore forward William Humer got the start over Diongue. Humer finished the game plus 17 despite not taking a shot from the field.
“All those guys foul plenty so it’s like everybody’s going to get their fair share of time and go from there.” Miles said.
San Jose State doesn’t play again until January 2nd but that is when conference play begins. They hope to bring the energy from this win at Wyoming (7-4) on January 2nd at 5:30 p.m.