By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Spear Reporter| Photo by Christian Vieyra
SJSU men’s basketball head coach Tim Miles could sum up the outcome of Saturday’s game with one word:
“Frustrating.”
The Spartans (8-12,1-6 MW) squandered another first-half lead against UNLV leading them to a 77-65 loss.
An all-too-common theme of the season has been failure to close out games.
“I feel like we just have not been able to put up 40 minutes of good basketball,” said junior guard Alvaro Cardenas. “Our offense was clicking in the first half but I mean, the problem is clearly defense.”
The Rebels scored on 14 straight offensive possessions in the second half. UNLV also shot 16-20 from the field and outscored the Spartans 45-26.
The play of the bench was a big factor in swinging the game in favor of UNLV. The Rebels scored 19 points off the bench while the Spartans only scored five.
12 of the 19 points came from the Rebel’s junior guard Jackie Johnson III who hit two big threes during a big momentum swing in favor of UNLV.
“We haven’t had a reliable bench all year,” Miles said. “It’s been really frustrating me and the guys (…) we just need better performances.”
The Spartans top scorer was junior guard Myron Amey Jr. who put up 18 points and had a team-leading five rebounds.
Myron Amey Jr. drives to the rim | photo by Christian Vieyra – Spear Editor
The Spartans now fall to 1-6 in the Mountain West and with a tough schedule coming up it will be tough to make a huge jump in the conference.
In order to even have a chance to qualify for the CBI playoffs San Jose State will need to reach at least .500 on the season. With the strength of schedule remaining, it is a tall order.
Miles expressed his frustrations that nothing seems to be going the Spartans way but, with the tough challenges that are up ahead, Miles is going to try and make sure his team can reach the level of play they have shown against good teams like the Aztecs.
“We competed for a long time tonight but, UNLV went on such a hot-streak that there was no way we were going to catch them,” Miles said. “These guys are plenty capable and I want them to remember that they are.”
The Spartans are now coming off a three-game losing streak and will be on the road for another tough Mountain West matchup against ranked No. 18 Utah State (18-2, 6-1 MW) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.