Photo credit: @SanJoseStateMBB
By Ana Kieu
After a bye week, San Jose State men’s basketball traveled to Southern California to face conference foe San Diego State in a two-game series starting Monday night. The Spartans carried a three-game winning streak into this nationally televised matchup, but they had a tall order in the Aztecs.
Despite shooting the ball pretty well in the first half, SJSU ultimately lost by a final score of 85-54 at Viejas Arena. SJSU fell to 5-12, 3-10 Mountain West. Jalen Dalcourt scored 13 points in the Spartans’ loss.
The Spartans’ lineup for game one vs. the Aztecs remained the same, as Omari Moore, Trey Smith, Jalen Dalcourt, Caleb Simmons, and Ralph Agee took the court.
The Spartans won the tip, and the game was underway. SJSU got two early baskets for an early 4-3 lead at 18:32 of the first half. Both teams exchanged leads and ties for several minutes, but the Aztecs’ offense came alive as they built a 10-point lead, 34-24, with 5:08 left in the first half. SDSU maintained a double-digit lead for the final minutes of the first half. Jalen Dalcourt missed a last-second, three-point attempt, and the Spartans trailed 47-29 at the halftime break.
The Aztecs opened the second half with Trey Pulliam’s jumper in the paint, extending their lead to 20 points, 49-29, just 30 seconds in. Turnovers affected the Spartans, who fell even further behind. SDSU continued to pour in the points, extending their lead to 31 points, 71-40, on Jordan Schakel’s three-pointer off of a Spartans turnover at 10:11 of the second half. The Aztecs won by 31 points, 85-54, for their fifth straight win by 27 points or more.
SDSU improved to 13-4, 7-3 Mountain West. Jordan Schakel led the Aztecs with 23 points.
The Spartans and Aztecs meet again Wednesday night at 8:00 pm PT in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.
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