By Sara Biela — Executive Editor
All five starting players reached double figures in scoring as San Jose State men’s basketball (3-7) fell to Stanford, 78-73.
In one of their best games of 2018, the Spartans shot about 46 percent from the field with the starting five combining for 70 points.
Junior forward Michael Steadman and senior guard Oumar Barry became the first duo to record a double-double since Ryan Welage and Brandon Clarke in 2016.
“We’ve been in every single game and tonight was another indication of that,” said head coach Jean Prioleau. “We play hard and we play tough. I thought our guys competed and we were right there to win a game.”
SJSU came out strong as it jumped out to a 5-0 lead within the first three minutes. The lead reached its highest at nine when Barry hit a jump shot outside the paint to make it 22-13.
The Cardinal (6-4), however, closed the gap with an 18-11 run in the final seven minutes of the first half.
Forward KZ Okpala hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and gave Stanford its first lead of the game at 34-33 heading into halftime.
“That 3-pointer did not deflate us,” Prioleau said. “We actually came into the game knowing that we were going to give up 3’s. We were basically trying to pack the paint, to let them not get easy buckets and easy layups.”
It was a back-and-forth battle in early in the second half with the Spartans managing to keep it at a one possession game. Once forward Oscar Da Silva made back-to-back 3’s 13:06 and 12:15, the Cardinal never looked back.
Stanford continued the hot streak and extended its lead to 11 at 4:26 with a made 3 from guard Daejon Davis.
SJSU fought until the end and cut the deficit down to three with 21 seconds left, but the Cardinal held on to win by five.
Steadman led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Barry with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“I just play as hard as I can,” Steadman said. “I had a couple defensive miscues and if my game results in a double-double, then it’s a double-double.”
Junior forward Craig LeCesne recorded 16 points, while junior and sophomore guards Brae Ivey and Noah Baumann tallied 11.
The Spartans will continue its road trip with University of California on Friday.
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