By Haddy Barghouti (HB_SportsBeat) – Spear Reporter | Junior guard Colby Garland looks to make a play during SJSU’s 79–60 loss to Michigan State. (Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics)
San Jose State men’s basketball (0–3, 0–0 MW) fell to No. 17 Michigan State (3–0, 0–0 Big Ten) 79–60 on Thursday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan.
SJSU trailed 46–23 at halftime after a slow start but later cut the deficit to 10 with 4:39 remaining before the Big Ten’s Spartans regained control.
Junior guard Colby Garland once again led SJSU, scoring 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting and a perfect 2-for-2 from deep.
Garland has been the driving force of SJSU’s offense this season, scoring 21 points in the opener against Utah and a career-high 30 against UC Santa Barbara last Saturday.
SJSU head coach Tim Miles expressed that the trip was needed for experience and competition.
“We came here wanting to give our kids the experience of a Big Ten environment, such a high-quality, nationally ranked opponent with a hall of fame coach, and they got every bit of that,” Miles said. “I was happy they competed in the second half and got that thing down a couple times.”
SJSU entered the game short-handed, missing senior starting guard Javaughn Hannah, who sat out against UCSB, as well as redshirt sophomore guard Pasha Goodarzi and starting forward Adrian Myers.
Hannah scored 12 points in the season opener and has been a key piece that SJSU continues to miss.
The limited rotation opened the door for senior forward Yaphet Moundi, who recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Eleven of his points came at the free-throw line, where he finished 11-for-16.
Free throws remained an issue for SJSU, which went 12-for-18 and is now 38-for-57 on the season. Michigan State held a slight edge at 17-for-25.
SJSU also continued to struggle from the perimeter, shooting 8-for-27 from three after going 5-for-17 and 6-for-20 in its first two games.
MSU senior forward Jaxon Kohler dominated inside, posting 17 points and 18 rebounds on 5-for-12 shooting. His performance helped MSU outrebound SJSU 42–26.
Ball movement continued to separate the two teams, as MSU recorded 25 assists to SJSU’s 10.
The Spartans received no scoring from their bench. Freshman guard Melvin Bell Jr. grabbed a career-high six rebounds to lead the Spartans in that category.
Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. added efficient shooting for MSU, going 3-for-5 from three.
Miles said the game plan focused on packing the paint but credited Fears for controlling the game.
“Fears is obviously the guy, he’s out there running the show and you’ve got to deal with him,” Miles said. “Our whole goal was to try to make them outside shooters tonight, and they still picked us apart even though we were trying to gap up the lane.”
MSU outscored SJSU 34–20 in the paint and added six blocks and seven steals. SJSU finished with one block and six steals.
Miles said MSU’s size and physicality affected his team early.
“They’re tough on the glass, and when things weren’t going well early, we made some cuts and they blocked a few shots,” Miles said. “That kind of gets guys finicky about going in there, and it happened early in the second half too.”
Despite the loss, Miles said he was proud of his team’s competitiveness against the strongest opponents on SJSU’s schedule.
SJSU will open its home slate at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, at the Provident Credit Union Event Center, where the Spartans will look for their first win of the season.
