By Haddy Barghouti (HB_SportsBeat) – Spear Reporter | Redshirt sophomore guard Pasha Goodarzi shoots a corner three over Long Beach guard Christian Jones during SJSU’s 89–83 overtime win on Dec. 9. (Photo by Diego Macaraeg – The Spear)
San Jose State men’s basketball (5-7, 0-1 MW) opened conference play with an 88-65 loss to the University of New Mexico (10-2, 1-0 MW) on Saturday night at The Pit in Albuquerque.
The Spartans fell behind early and trailed by 13 at halftime before cutting the deficit in the second half. SJSU opened the half on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to five, but New Mexico quickly regained control and pulled away behind efficient shooting.
SJSU had no answer for New Mexico senior forward Milos Vicentic, who scored 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Freshman guard Jake Hall added 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
After the game, SJSU head coach Tim Miles reflected on the difficulty of playing at The Pit.
“Tough night for the Spartans in one of the toughest environments in the entire Mountain West,” Miles said. “I thought we played a pretty good 23, 24 minutes to start the game.”
The Lobos shot 57% from the field, while the Spartans managed just 38%.
Junior guard Colby Garland continued his strong stretch of play, leading the Spartans with 27 points. It marked his fourth consecutive game scoring at least 20 points, the first time he has achieved that feat this season.
Senior starting guard Javaughn Hannah returned to the lineup after missing the previous 10 games with an injury and immediately made an impact, knocking down a 3-pointer early. However, Hannah later exited the game due to injury and did not return, finishing with 12 minutes played.
Despite the lopsided final score, the Spartans outshot the Lobos from beyond the arc, connecting on 40% of their 3-point attempts.
New Mexico dominated around the rim, scoring 36 points in the paint compared to San Jose State’s 20. The Lobos’ paint advantage translated to the free-throw line, attempting 18 free throws to the Spartans’ 10.
San Jose State made the most of its limited opportunities at the line, shooting 8 of 10.
The performance was an improvement for a team that entered the game shooting 71% from the stripe this season.
The Spartans made changes to the starting lineup. Senior forward Sadraque NgaNga came off the bench for the first time this season, while freshman forward Douglas Langford earned his first career start.
With Hannah returned to the lineup in this game, freshman guard Melvin Bell Jr. moved to a reserve role and provided a spark off the bench. He finished second on the team in scoring with 12 points.
Redshirt sophomore guard Pasha Goodarzi added 11 points, knocking down three 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. San Jose State’s bench accounted for 25 points, 23 of which came from Bell Jr. and Goodarzi.
The 88 points allowed marked the most the Spartans have surrendered in a game this season.
SJSU hosts San Diego State in its first Mountain West home game at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30 at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
