By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Managing Editor | Graduate student forward Sadaidriene Hall runs down the court during SJSU’s 67-58 win over Wyoming on 1/25. (photo by Denim Bragg – Freelance Photographer)
It was a second half collapse that doomed San Jose State (10-12, 3-7 MW) in its 71-68 loss to San Diego State (14-5, 7-3 MW).
In the first half the Spartans at one point held a 21-point lead and finished the half with a 41-29 lead. Forty-one points was the most the Spartans have scored in half in conference play this season.
In the second half the Aztecs outscored the Spartans 42-27 and were able to cap off the win. So what went wrong for the Spartans?
To start off there was a lack of execution in the paint down the stretch as the Spartans made one shot inside the paint in the entire second half.
The Spartans shot only 7-23 from the field in the second half. This included San Diego State going on a 21-6 run in the last seven minutes of the game.
Aztecs sophomore guard Miles Byrd scored 0 points in the first half as the Spartans defense was playing strong and limited one of the Aztecs best scorers. But, Byrd came alive in the second half scoring 13 points including a big and-one layup and three 3-point shots to cement the comeback.
Aztecs freshman forward Magoon Gwath proved to be a problem all night for the Spartans as he scored a game-leading 24 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
San Diego State’s 21-point was its biggest comeback in eight seasons. Both teams went on 16-0 runs in the half they outscored their opponent.
San Diego State boasted one of the best 3-point defenses in the country and San Jose State shot 9-16 from deep in the first half alone and finished the game 15-31 from deep.
San Jose State came out the gates swinging as senior guard Josh Uduje had the hot hand scoring 14 of the Spartans’ first 17 points including going 3-3 from 3-point range.
The Aztecs were playing sloppy, turning the ball over 11 times and the Spartans took full advantage.
Uduje would cool down from his hot start and finish the game with 21 points, the second most on the team.
A bright spot in the tough loss for the Spartans was sophomore guard Latrell Davis. Davis scored a career-high 23 points while shooting 5-7 from 3-point range.
This topped Davis’ previous career-high of 22 which he just set in a 67-58 win against Wyoming on Saturday.
Junior center Robert Vaihola grabbed seven rebounds in the game but did not attempt a single shot throughout the whole contest.
After a tough loss, the Spartans will look to bounce back at home against Air Force (3-19, 0-9 MW) at home on Saturday at 2 p.m.
In their last matchup SJSU defeated Air Force 69-62.
