By Haddy Barghouti (HB_SportsBeat) – Senior Staff Writer | SJSU redshirt sophomore forward Adrian Myers battles Falcons junior forward Caleb Walker during SJSU’s 86–80 win. (Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics)
San Jose State men’s basketball (8-10, 3-14 MW) earned its first conference road win of the season Tuesday night with an 86-80 victory over Air Force (3-25, 0-17 MW) at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Spartans completed a season sweep of the Falcons. Their only previous win away from home came Nov. 26 against Loyola Chicago in the Acrisure Holiday Invitational in Palm Springs.
Redshirt sophomore forward Adrian Myers continued his hot streak, pouring in a career-high 34 points on 11 of 18 shooting and 8 of 9 from 3-point range. His eighth 3-pointer, which came with 4:43 left in the second half, tied the SJSU single-game program record for threes made.
It also marked his first career 30-point game and added a team-high seven rebounds.
Myers helped SJSU shoot 13 of 24 from beyond the arc, mirroring its Feb. 17 win over Nevada when the Spartans went 15 of 29 from deep. The performance was a sharp turnaround from Saturday’s 84-69 loss to Boise State, when SJSU shot just 4 of 23 from 3-point range.
The Spartans recovered from an early deficit after Air Force jumped out to an 11-2 lead. A 3-pointer by senior forward Sadraque NgaNga with 9:33 remaining in the first half gave SJSU its first lead at 21-20.
SJSU carried a 42-37 advantage into halftime behind 18 first-half points from Myers, who capped the half with a contested 3-pointer after a pair of pump fakes over freshman guard Ethan Greenberg.
Junior guard Colby Garland added 23 points, extending his streak to seven consecutive 20-point games. Garland was perfect from the free-throw line, going 10 for 10 as the Spartans shot 17 of 19 overall. Air Force finished 14 of 22 from the stripe.
Sophomore guard Jermaine Washington returned after missing five games with a lower leg injury.
Washington entered the game leading SJSU in 3-pointers made this season.
Air Force shot 36.4% from 3-point range but finished at 50.9% from the field, scoring 42 points in the paint compared with 26 for the Spartans. Freshman forward Lucas Hobin led the Falcons with 21 points, while freshman guard Kam Sanders added 20.
SJSU remained shorthanded, missing four players who have started games this season. Garland was listed as questionable entering the matchup. The Spartans also had a brief scare when freshman guard Melvin Bell Jr. left late in the first half with shoulder discomfort, but he returned in the second half.
SJSU head coach Tim Miles praised his team’s performance and emphasized the importance of building momentum.
“Good road win for us. Adrian Myers, wow, I mean, played lights out. Tied a school record in threes. Colby Garland was really good for us for a long time. Sada was good. Jermaine Washington back really helped us out. Big win. Now we need to continue to build on this,” Miles said in a postgame statement on the team’s athletics website.
The Spartans have three regular-season games remaining and will return home to face Colorado State at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
