By Austin Turner — Content Editor
After giving a Pac-12 team a scare for the second straight game, San Jose State (3-8) ultimately fell to the California Golden Bears (5-6) 88-80 on Friday night in a thrilling game.
The Spartans held a 32-30 lead at the half, but it quickly slipped away as the Bears opened the second half on a 9-0 run thanks to great defense and shooting.
The trend continued throughout the half as Cal built a lead as big as 15 with just over 3 minutes remaining, but an 11-0 run over the next 2 minutes pulled the Spartans within just 4 in the final 30 seconds.
Turnovers hurt the Spartans once again. They had 15 to Cal’s 5, leading to 14 points for the Bears.
Cal also had a ton of help from its bench, with 24 of its points coming from its substitutes.
SJSU can attribute its near-upset to its best shooting performance of the season.
The team shot 55 percent on Friday, including a 61 percent second half. The Spartans went 9-18 from three, led once again by Noah Baumann, who was 6-9 from deep and had 18 points.
Oumar Barry continued his hot-streak with his fifth-consecutive game with double digit points while setting a new season high. He matched Baumann’s 18 and grabbed 6 rebounds on the night.
Michael Steadman had his fourth double-double of the year, with 16 points on 7-12 shooting and 13 rebounds.
The Spartans will finish off its trio of contests against Bay Area neighbors on Saturday, December 29 in Moraga when it visits St. Mary’s at 5 p.m.
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