By Vincent Rupena – Spear Reporter
SJSU’s Alvaro Cardenas (left) drives to the hoop while guarded by Utah State’s Great Osobor (right) | Photo by Christian Vieyra – The Spear
San Jose State men’s basketball (9-22, 2-16 MW) lost against Utah State (25-5, 13-4 MW) in its regular-season finale 90-70. SJSU came into Wednesday night’s game looking to end a five-game losing streak and build momentum heading into the Mountain West Tournament.
Perimeter defense has been one of the biggest struggles for the Spartans this season and they have not been able to find a solution.
“I think that’s the story of the game, is that they played elite offense and we were not able to get them under control,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said after the game.
The Spartans’ biggest focus on the defensive end was to find a way to stop Aggies’ junior center, Great Osobor. SJSU would double or even triple team Osobor almost every time he got the ball in the post.
Osobor put up 31 points last time he played against the Spartans.
SJSU’s strategy kept Osobor relatively contained throughout the game. He only scored 16 points which is below his average for the season.
With so much of the defensive pressure on Osobor in the paint, Utah State was able to get good looks from 3 and capitalized.
The Aggies went 16-27 from beyond the 3-point line. Graduate guard Darius Brown II led Utah State in 3-point shooting going 7-9.
The Spartans managed to keep the game close early in the first half. In large part due to the offensive play of junior guard Myron Amey Jr.
Amey Jr. led the team in scoring for the game with 20 points.
Whether it was driving to the hoop or shooting from 3-point range, Amey was doing it all. There was a moment in the second half where the shot clock was winding down and he was forced to launch a prayer of a shot from deep. But it miraculously found the bottom of the net.
Up next, SJSU is scheduled to head into the Mountain West Tournament next week at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
