By Haddy Barghouti (HB_SportsBeat) – Senior Staff Writer | Junior guard Colby Garland attempts a three-pointer from the top of the key as Antelopes redshirt freshman center Dennis Evans contests the shot during SJSU’s 94–79 loss. (Photo by Marilyn-Bride Anye — The Spear)
San Jose State men’s basketball (6-19, 1-13 MW) lost its eighth straight game, falling 94-79 to Grand Canyon (16-9, 9-5 MW) at home Saturday.
SJSU trailed 39–36 at halftime after overcoming an early 10-point deficit and building a 10-point lead of its own in the first half. However, Grand Canyon closed the half on a 13–0 run to regain momentum heading into the break.
The second half belonged to the Antelopes. GCU shot 75% after the break and 62% for the game, quickly extending the lead to double digits and pulling away. SJSU shot 49% from the field.
“In the second half our demise started with this: we couldn’t get a loose ball, then we couldn’t get a defensive stop, and then we lost a little bit of willpower, and that’s just too much to overcome,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said.
GCU controlled the paint and the boards, outrebounding the Spartans 36-17 and outscoring them 54-22 in the paint.
SJSU found success from beyond the arc, shooting 10-of-23 from 3-point range against a GCU team that entered the game ranked third in its conference in 3-point defense. GCU finished 6-of-20 from deep.
SJSU used a six-man rotation and did not play any guards off the bench. Sophomore guard Jermaine Washington missed his third straight game with an injury.
The Spartans continued their recent stretch of taking care of the ball, committing just seven turnovers compared to Grand Canyon’s 13. SJSU turned those into 22 points off turnovers.
Junior forward Marcus Overstreet was out of the rotation as the Spartans played with just two big men and remained without senior forward Yaphet Moundi, their leading rebounder.
The Spartans were led by junior guard Colby Garland, who played all 40 minutes and scored 23 points.
Redshirt sophomore guard Pasha Goodarzi added 15 points and made four 3-pointers, including one at the 10:53 mark of the first half that tied the game before SJSU built its largest lead.
Goodarzi has made a larger impact recently, highlighted by his career-high 21-point performance in the Spartans’ 82–75 loss to UNLV on Feb. 10.
GCU was led by senior guard Jaden Henley, who scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Junior guard Makaih Williams added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The 94 points allowed marked the second-most SJSU has surrendered this season. Utah State scored 96 in the Spartans’ 96-78 loss on Jan. 3.
“You just can’t have that kind of defensive effort with loose basketballs and rebounding and everything inside and expect to win,” Miles said.
The Spartans have now lost 14 of their last 15 games. They will look to snap the skid at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Nevada at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
