By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Spear Reporter | Junior guard Will McClendon goes up for a shot during SJSU’s 89-65 win against Kennesaw State on Dec. 21 (photo by Evan Weiss – KSJS Photographer)
SJSU men’s basketball (8-10, 1-5 MW) was able to grab its first conference victory against Air Force (3-13, 0-5 MW) in a 69-62 victory Saturday.
Junior guard Will McClendon led the Spartans in points with 20 and he tied a season-high in three-pointers made as he shot 5-8 from deep.
“A good road win for the Spartans today and we needed that,” head coach Tim Miles in a video posted to the team’s website. “I thought we did a great job in the second half and hung on to win late in the game.”
It was a tale of two halves for the Spartans. |In the first half the Falcons were playing physical defense and forced nine turnovers. The Spartans found themselves down 31-29 at halftime.
But there were immediate fireworks as the second half began as the Spartans got off to an 11-0 and forced four turnovers from the Falcons.
The Spartans were able to get out to a 15-point lead and the half was firmly in their control. But in the final three minutes of the game, Air Force was able to go on a 9-0 run with three straight 3-point shots made to bring the game to 65-60.
The Spartans were able to hold on after McClendon made both of his free throws followed by a missed layup by Air Force and then sending graduate student Donovan Yap Jr. to the free-throw line where he made both.
Yap had a good all-around game as he scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists.
Graduate student center Chol Marial saw an increase in minutes with junior forward Sadraque NgaNga inactive. Marial led the team in rebounds with nine and blocked two shots in 15 minutes of action.
SJSU won the battle on the boards, out rebounding the Falcons 34-28.
Senior guard Josh Uduje scored 15 points on the game including a big three point shot late in the game to help give the Spartans the victory.
The Spartans next game will be against New Mexico (14-3, 6-0 MW). The last time these two teams faced off SJSU lost 83-77 on the road but at one point held a 13-point lead.
This time the Spartans will have the Lobos on their home court at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
