By Mohamed Bafakih (@MohamedABafa ):
San Jose State men’s basketball never led in a 22-point loss to close out the season Saturday afternoon in Colorado Springs against Air Force, 83-61.
The Spartans’ (4-25, 1-17 MW) youth was exposed as the Falcons (12-18, 6-12 MW) started all five seniors on their Senior Day and came out firing from deep.
Of the 18 field goals Air Force made in the first half, 10 of them came from beyond the arc. SJSU struggled from behind the three-point line, hitting only 1-of-5 in the first 20 minutes.
The Falcons came in second-to-last in points per game at 67, but got a lift in the scoring department from guard Jacob Van. He single-handedly gave the Spartans problems as he finished with 23 points which included a 6-10 showing from deep.
SJSU found itself down 50-28 at the break, the most points its given up in the opening half since the second game of the season on Nov. 12 against University of San Diego.
Not being able to find a spark in the second half to close the gap, Air Force extended its lead by as many as 32 with 8:23 left in the game.
Keith Fisher led the team in scoring on the road again with 18 while Jaycee Hillsman added 10 points. Ryan Welage was ice-cold from the field, going 3-for-12 and 1-for-4 from downtown to finish with eight points.
The last-place Spartans will play the No. 6 Wyoming Cowboys in the first round of the conference tournament Wednesday at 4 p.m.
