By Austin Turner — Content Editor
In the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas, San Jose State came out on fire. After hitting three 3-pointers in the opening minutes, the team ran out to a 13-0 lead. The Spartans were making a statement in a game they came into as severe underdogs.
And then Air Force took flight.
The Falcons went on a 15-0 run of their own, which eventually built up to a 25-2 run. After building a 13-0 lead, the Spartans found themselves down as many as 11 in the first half.
To SJSU head coach Jean Prioleau, the first half meltdown was symbolic of the team’s season.
“I think today was really the epitome of our team,” he said. “We are an inconsistent team.”
The Spartans’ first half was marred with mistakes. In a span of eight and a half minutes, the team turned the ball over seven times. The Falcons capitalized and headed to the locker room with a 36-28 halftime lead.
The Falcons continued their offensive showcase in the second half. They went on another big run, this time 20-2 over six minutes at the beginning of the half.
Air Force took advantage of SJSU’s zone-defense, which led to open shots from deep. The Falcons converted on 7-15 3-point attempts in the second half.
Prioleau admitted that sticking to zone after the half was a mistake.
“Well, we stayed with it because we’ve been in games where teams have cooled off,” he said. “Then, obviously, we went man maybe a little late. I should have gone man earlier.”
The Falcons shredded the Spartan defense to the tune of 51 second half points. They shot 55 percent from the floor in a dominant shooting effort.
They rode that performance — along with a smothering zone-defense — to an easy 87-56 win.
“Credit to our players,” said Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich. “They stayed within themselves. They didn’t panic. They didn’t point fingers. But they never do that. We just said, one possession at a time.”
Freshman guard Chris Joyce was dominant throughout the game. He led all scorers with 20 points on an extremely efficient 7-9 shooting performance.
The Falcons dominated the boards. They had 45 rebounds, including 11 offensively. The Spartans were limited to just 26 boards, with two on the offensive glass.
It was a frustrating end to a frustrating season for SJSU. The team’s leading scorer — junior forward Michael Steadman — was held to a single point, a free throw in the game’s 16th minute.
Air Force double-teamed Steadman throughout the game, which severely limited his effectiveness in the post.
“Not a lot of people can play Mike one-on-one,” Prioleau said. “As a matter of fact, there’s a lot of post players in our league you can’t play one-on-one. So there’s a lot of double teams that come with that.”
With the team’s star basically nonexistent offensively, a couple of freshman took the reins for the Spartans.
Freshman guard Seneca Knight led the team in scoring with 15 points, going 3-6 from beyond the arc and 4-11 from the floor.
Fellow guard Zach Chappell wasn’t far behind. He has 10 points and four assists, which led the team.
Even in the biggest game of his young career, he didn’t let the bright lights distract him.
“Mentally, it’s just, we’re trying to stay ready and we play basketball every day,” the freshman said. “So it’s just the fact that we have to make sure that we know what we’re looking for, don’t let the big crowds and all this just affect us and we’ve just got to play our game.”
Sophomore guard Noah Baumann capped off his brilliant season with another solid performance. The 3-point specialist went 3-7 from deep, finishing with 14 points. He also broke the school record for three’s in a season with 81.
The loss gives SJSU a 4-27 final record. It was just 1-17 in Mountain West play.
Despite the disappointing season, the Spartans held their heads’ high post-game. With a young team with only one graduating senior (center Oumar Barry), the team looks to have a solid young-core to work with next season.
“That’s the only way you fix it and we have a young group,” Prioleau said. “We have everyone back. And you have to keep working. That’s the only way you fix it. We’re not going to change what we are and who we are offensively or defensively.”
Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurner_