By Ernie Gonzalez (@superego1012):
San Jose State (3-13, 0-5 MW) men’s basketball suffered its fifth straight loss in conference play against San Diego State (11-4, 3-1 MW) Tuesday night as it fell to 1-8 on the road this season after another disappointing blowout loss, 85-49.
It’s the second 30-plus point loss in a row for the Spartans as they were defeated 80-47 three nights ago in Albuquerque.
In both contests, the Spartans’ shooting percentage hovered around 30 percent and both have been season-lows.
Even forward Ryan Welage, who entered Wednesday’s game fourth in scoring in the Mountain West with 18.4 per game, couldn’t find a rhythm, as he was kept in check all night, shooting just 3/14 in 31 minutes of action.
His eight points however, placed him with an elite company of Spartans, as his two free-throws with 4:12 remaining earned him career points 999 and 1,000, something only 14 other players in school history have done.
As for San Diego State, forwards Malik Pope and Max Montana led the Aztecs with 17 points each, with the majority of those points in the second half.
The 36-point win was tied for the second-largest victory in SDSU’s Mountain West history.
Going forward, any team can basically guarantee an extra double-digit amount of possessions against SJSU, as its conference-play average still remains above 20 per game.
Up next for the Spartans is a team they’ve had recent success with, the Air Force Falcons, who are the only other team to be winless in conference play.
The Spartans have won three straight against the academy dating back to 2016. The matchup is set for Saturday afternoon.
