Jan. 15, 2014
Colorado Springs, Colo.-In a game of runs, Air Force made the decisive run in the second half as the San José State University men's basketball team fell to the Falcons, 77-62, Wednesday evening in a Mountain West game at Clune Arena.
Early on, Air Force used a 10-0 run to take it from a 10-5 Spartan advantage to a 15-10 Falcon lead at 13:31 in the first half. Air Force took its largest lead of the half at 18-12, and the two teams battled back and forth before the Spartans took the lead at 31-39. San José State took a 35-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Air Force came out flying in the second half, making three three-pointers in the first 2:30 of the period to take the lead for good at 42-39. San José State trailed 46-42 before the Falcons extended their lead again to 10 points at 55-45 with 11:52 left in the game.
The Spartans slowly chipped away at the lead and got within six points at 61-55 on two D.J. Brown made free throws with 8:31 left in the game. But the Falcons used a 9-0 run over the next 3:27 for a 67-55 lead with 4:44 left in the game.
"For the second consecutive game, we hit the eight-minute mark again, and they made a little run at us," said Spartan head coach Dave Wojcik. "I called a timeout to try and settle us down. I asked the kids if we are running out of gas down the stretch.
"Those are the times you have to finish. You have to finish the game late. This is the second game in a row we have not down that. Tonight we splintered apart as they made a run, and we collapsed."
San José State did force 23 Falcon turnovers in the game, but got just 14 points off those turnovers. The Spartans also committed 16 turnovers in the game.
Rashad Muhammad again came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 12 points. He was just 3-for-12 from the field but a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Two other Spartans scored in double figures. Jaleel Williams scored 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting and led the Spartans in rebounding with five. After playing just four minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Chris Cunningham scored nine of his 11 points in the second half and added three rebounds.
Jalen James and Brown each dished out four assists in the game. Brown also had a team-high four steals.
Three Falcons scored in double-figures, led by Tre' Coggins with 27 points. He was 9-for-13 from the field including 5-for-8 from three-point range. Marek Olesinski added 19 points and seven rebounds, while Kamryn Williams scored 11 points.
San José State continues on the road with a game at Wyoming on Saturday at 2 p.m. MST/1 p.m. PST. Fans can listen to the game on KLIV 1590 AM or watch on www.themw.com.
San José State vs Air Force
01/15/14 7:00 p.m. at USAFA, Colo. (Clune Arena)
AIR FORCE 77, SAN JOSÉ STATE 62
SAN JOSÉ STATE (6-11, 0-5 MW)
Muhammad, Rashad 3-12 4-4 12; Williams, Jaleel 5-10 0-0 11; Cunningham, Chris 5-6 1-1 11; Wilson, Devante 2-6 2-2 7; Thornton, Isaac 2-4 0-0 5; James, Jalen 1-4 3-5 5; Alexander, Dylan 2-2 0-0 5; Brown, D.J. 1-6 1-2 3; Mitchell, Brandon 1-2 1-2 3; Pollard, Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 12-16 62.
AIR FORCE (9-7, 3-2 MW)
COGGINS, Tre' 9-13 4-4 27; OLESINSKI, Marek 7-11 0-0 19; WILLIAMS, Kamryn 4-6 1-2 11; HAMMONDS, Justin 2-5 2-2 6; EARLS, DeLovell 2-5 2-3 6; YON, Max 0-2 5-6 5; KAMMERER, Chase 1-1 1-2 3; KOCUR, Zach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-44 15-19 77.
San José State................ 35 27 - 62
Air Force..................... 33 44 - 77
3-point goals--San José State 6-19 (Muhammad, Rashad 2-5; Williams, Jaleel 1-3; Wilson, Devante 1-5; Thornton, Isaac 1-1; Alexander, Dylan 1-1; Brown, D.J. 0-3; James, Jalen 0-1), Air Force 12-26 (OLESINSKI, Marek 5-8; COGGINS, Tre' 5-8; WILLIAMS, Kamryn 2-4; YON, Max 0-2; KOCUR, Zach 0-1; EARLS, DeLovell 0-2; HAMMONDS, Justin 0-1). Fouled out--San José State-None, Air Force-None. Rebounds--San José State 21 (Williams, Jaleel 5), Air Force 34 (HAMMONDS, Justin 8). Assists--San José State 12 (James, Jalen 4; Brown, D.J. 4), Air Force 19 (YON, Max 6). Total fouls--San José State 23, Air Force 16. Technical fouls--San José State-None, Air Force-None. A-1695.
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