Nov. 16, 2013
DeKalb, Ill.-For the second consecutive game, four Spartans scored in double figures, and the San José State men's basketball team had chances to tie or take the lead right up to the final buzzer of the game. But the Spartans fell at Northern Illinois, 60-59, Saturday evening at the NIU Invitational.
Jaleel Williams led the team with 13 points as he was 5-for-8 from the field including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also led the team with six rebounds. D.J. Brown added a season-high 12 points as he was 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Brown dished out a team-best four assists and grabbed four rebounds.
Two others scored 11 points a piece. Jalen James was 4-of-6 from the free throw line in scoring his 11 points, while Rashad Muhammad came off the bench to score 11 points including two three-pointers.
The Spartans took a 44-43 lead on a James made free throw with 6:17 left in the game. The Huskies then used a 12-5 run to take a 55-49 lead with 3:00 left on the clock. James got the team within one point at 55-54 on a James three-pointer.
Neither team was able to score until the Huskies hit two free throws with 17.9 seconds left. In all, NIU made five free throws in the last 17.9 seconds of the game to extend the lead.
Down 58-54, Brown was fouled driving to the basketball and sank both to close the gap to 58-56. After two more made Northern Illinois free throws, Isaac Thornton sank a three-pointer from the right baseline to make the game 60-59 with 0.8 seconds remaining. San José State was unable to steal the ball as the clock ran out.
"These kids are right on the cusp of doing some special things," said Spartan head coach Dave Wojcik. "I just feel for them right now. We have to be more patient on our offensive end and make our free throws to be successful. I talked to them about playing hard and competing at a high level."
The Spartans shot 34.8 percent from the field (16-46) and 63 percent from the free throw line (17-27) for the game. The team turned the ball over just nine times and dished out nine assists.
San José State plays its third game in three days on Sunday against James Madison at the NIU Invitational. The game tips at 1 p.m. CST/11 a.m. PST, and can be heard live in the Bay Area on KLIV 1590 AM. Fans can also listen online at www.kliv.com.
San José State vs Northern Illinois
11/16/13 8:00 p.m. at DeKalb, Ill. (NIU Convocation Center)
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 60, SAN JOSÉ STATE 59
SAN JOSÉ STATE (0-3)
Williams, Jaleel 5-8 0-3 13; Brown, D.J. 2-6 6-8 12; James, Jalen 3-9 4-6 11; Muhammad, Rashad 4-11 1-1 11; Thornton, Isaac 1-3 2-3 5; Alexander, Dylan 1-3 0-0 3; Cunningham, Chris 0-2 3-4 3; Wilson, Devante 0-2 1-2 1; Pollard, Matt 0-1 0-0 0; Mitchell, Brandon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-46 17-27 59.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (1-2)
THRELOFF, Jordan 6-9 5-6 17; BALLS, Daveon 5-9 3-5 15; HIGHSMITH, Dontel 2-8 2-2 6; BAKER, Travon 1-4 2-2 4; ARMSTEAD, Aaron 0-3 4-4 4; MARIC, Marin 2-3 0-0 4; RAKOCEVIC, Pete 1-3 1-2 3; ARMSTEAD, Aaric 1-5 0-0 3; BOLIN, Aksel 1-3 0-1 2; BOWIE, Darrell 0-7 2-4 2; CRAVATTA, J.J. 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 19-55 19-27 60.
San José State................ 24 35 - 59
Northern Illinois............. 26 34 - 60
3-point goals--San José State 10-31 (Williams, Jaleel 3-6; Muhammad, Rashad 2-7; Brown, D.J. 2-6; James, Jalen 1-4; Alexander, Dylan 1-3; Thornton, Isaac 1-2; Mitchell, Brandon 0-1; Wilson, Devante 0-1; Cunningham, Chris 0-1), Northern Illinois 3-15 (BALLS, Daveon 2-4; ARMSTEAD, Aaric 1-3; BAKER, Travon 0-1; ARMSTEAD, Aaron 0-3; BOLIN, Aksel 0-1; CRAVATTA, J.J. 0-1; HIGHSMITH, Dontel 0-2). Fouled out--San José State-None, Northern Illinois-None. Rebounds--San José State 37 (Williams, Jaleel 6), Northern Illinois 47 (THRELOFF, Jordan 8). Assists--San José State 9 (Brown, D.J. 4), Northern Illinois 9 (BAKER, Travon 6). Total fouls--San José State 19, Northern Illinois 23. Technical fouls--San José State-None, Northern Illinois-None. A-753.
# # #