By Haddy Barghouti (HB_SportsBeat) – Spear Reporter | Junior forward Marcus Overstreet goes in for an open layup during SJSU’s 76–62 loss. (Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics)
San Jose State men’s basketball (6-12, 1-6 MW) dropped its seventh game in its last eight outings on Saturday, unable to keep pace with UNLV in a 76-62 home defeat.
The Spartans were missing five players, the most they have been without all season, but remained competitive against the Rebels.
SJSU trailed 40-31 at halftime but continued to battle in the second half. The Spartans briefly took their first lead of the game with 8:23 remaining after freshman guard Melvin Bell Jr. pushed the ball in transition following a UNLV miss and finished at the rim.
Bell Jr. delivered a career-high 22 points while leading SJSU with eight rebounds. He has now scored in double figures in seven consecutive games.
UNLV opened the second half with a 7-0 run and built its lead to 16 points before the Spartans responded. SJSU cut the deficit to three, capped by a 3-pointer from freshman forward Japhet Moupadele.
Missed layups down the stretch proved costly for SJSU, allowing the Rebels to extend the margin to nine points and regain control of the game.
“I thought they fought, they competed hard, they got pressed the whole night they were up against a lot,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said. “UNLV’s a solid team and they’re scrappy and they’re athletic and they pressure.”
UNLV finished with an edge in field-goal shooting, connecting on 54 percent from the floor compared to the Spartans’ 41.3 percent.
SJSU held the advantage from beyond the arc, shooting 54.5 percent on 3-pointers while the Rebels shot 47.8 percent.
Turnovers also played a role, as SJSU committed 12 while the Rebels limited themselves to seven.
Redshirt senior guard Howie Fleming Jr. led UNLV with 21 points.
SJSU again played without any guards off the bench. Bell Jr. and redshirt sophomore guard Pasha Goodarzi were the only available guards, and each played all 40 minutes. Just as they did in the Spartans’ 70-62 win over Air Force on Jan. 13, when SJSU had eight available players.
“There’s no doubt you can see some of our execution things go down, some of our concentration things go down, that’s where that lack of depth hurts,” Miles said. “But I credit our guys. I mean, they battled through that, tried to get some timeouts to rest a little bit, but at the end of the day, a lot of things have to go right.”
The Spartans’ bench showed resilience, led by junior forward Marcus Overstreet, who scored 10 points.
SJSU will look to get healthier as it continues its road trip at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, against Nevada at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
