By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Managing Editor | Junior center Rob Vaihola drives through a Nevada defender. (Photo by Irene Adeline Milanez- Spear Photographer)
For the second straight game San Jose State (12-15, 5-10 MW) had to play without its top two scorers, senior guards Josh Uduje (16.4 points per game) and Will McClendon (12 points per game).
Offensively, the Spartans struggled shooting 39% (19-49) from the field during the 73-58 loss to the Wolfpack (15-10, 7-7 MW).
“We just didn’t play with the winning way,” head coach Tim Miles said. “Even when things went well on offense in the first half, far too many turnovers.”
The Spartans had 18 turnovers in the game, the highest total of the season.
“I don’t think we had 18 turnovers in two or three years,” Miles said. “They had 20 points off turnovers and we lost by 15. That tells you about everything you need to know.”
Overall, it was an off night for the Spartans.
Sophomore guard Latrell Davis led the team in points with 17, despite shooting 5-12 from the field.
“I thought he didn’t have a great night for us, but he was still productive,” Miles said. “I think that was super important. We just got to get everyone going on the same page.”
Dealing with the Wolfpack’s size was an issue for the Spartans, as they typically run a smaller lineup. Nevada outscored SJSU in the paint 38-20.
Despite this, the Spartans outrebounded 36-28 with 10 of them coming from junior center Robert Vaihola.
“The game is really physical against Nevada,” Miles said. “You’re engaged all the time. We didn’t handle that well and we didn’t get clean shots.”
Nevada had four different players score double-digit points. Senior guard Kobe Sanders led the Wolfpack in points with 18 shooting 6-10 from the field. Sanders also had nine assists.
Junior forward Sadraque NgaNga scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. NgaNga played 24 minutes, which was his highest minutes total since SJSU’s 93-56 win over Life Pacific on Nov. 11.
“He’s aggressive and we need some of that scoring,” Miles said. “We haven’t got to the other two centers scoring so it’s important we get him going.”
After dropping two straight home games, the Spartans begin a two-game road trip. Their first game comes against Utah State (22-3, 12-2 MW) at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
