Feb. 1, 2014
Albuquerque, N.M.-Rashad Muhammad scored 15 points off the bench, and Jalen James added 11 points, but San José State found cold shooting patches at New Mexico and fell 72-47 Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at The Pit (15,411).
Muhammad was 5-of-11 from the field and made three three-pointers after making just four threes combined in the past five games. James led the Spartans in rebounding with seven to go with his 11 points in 33 minutes of action.
The Spartans did find their three-point shooting in this game, making 10-of-28 attempts. It was the first game the team has made 10 or more three-pointers since San José State hosted New Mexico on January 11.
Early on in the game, San José State got down 17-3 at 13:01 mark of the first half. The Spartans then made a 13-5 run to cut the Lobo lead to 22-16 with 8:03 left. However, back-to-back Lobo three-pointers in a span of a minute gave New Mexico the double-digit lead back that they would maintain for the rest of the game.
In the second half, San José State cut the lead to 42-30 on a James three-pointer at 15:48 left in the game, but the Lobos then used a 7-0 run to open up a 22-point lead at 52-30. The Spartans did not make a field goal for 6:20 before a Chris Cunningham dunk at 9:28 gave the team just its second made field goal in the first 10-plus minutes of the second half.
The Spartans used their eighth starting lineup of the year, with four freshman starting - James, Isaac Thornton, Brandon Mitchell and Matt Pollard - along with junior Jaleel Williams. San José State was without the services of Devante Wilson who was held out after suffering an ankle injury on Wednesday. His status is day-to-day.
Five players scored against New Mexico - Muhammad 15; James 11; Thornton 9, Cunningham 7, and Williams 5.
The Spartans have their first bye of the season this Wednesday and next play at Fresno State on Saturday, February 8, at 4 p.m. Fans can listen on KLIV 1590 AM and/or watch online on the Mountain West Network.
San José State vs New Mexico
02/01/14 6:07 p.m. at Albuquerque, N.M. (The Pit/Bob King Court)
NEW MEXICO 72, SAN JOSÉ STATE 47
SAN JOSÉ STATE (6-16, 0-10 MW)
Muhammad, Rashad 5-11 2-2 15; James, Jalen 3-7 2-4 11; Thornton, Isaac 3-4 1-1 9; Cunningham, Chris 2-6 2-2 7; Williams, Jaleel 2-7 0-0 5; Pollard, Matt 0-2 0-0 0; Alexander, Dylan 0-2 0-0 0; Mitchell, Brandon 0-2 0-0 0; Brown, D.J. 0-3 0-1 0. Totals 15-44 7-10 47.
NEW MEXICO (17-4, 8-1 MW)
BAIRSTOW, Cameron 6-11 2-4 14; KIRK, Alex 6-11 1-1 13; WILLIAMS, Kendall 4-7 1-4 11; THOMAS, Cleveland 2-5 2-2 8; NEAL, Cullen 2-5 3-7 8; DELANEY, Deshawn 2-4 2-2 7; BANYARD, Nick 2-2 0-0 5; EDWARDS, Arthur 1-1 0-0 2; GREENWOOD, Hugh 1-5 0-0 2; AGET, Obij 1-5 0-0 2; LINDSAY, Merv 0-2 0-0 0; WILLIAMS, Devon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 11-20 72.
San José State................ 25 22 - 47
New Mexico.................... 37 35 - 72
3-point goals--San José State 10-28 (Muhammad, Rashad 3-8; James, Jalen 3-5; Thornton, Isaac 2-2; Cunningham, Chris 1-2; Williams, Jaleel 1-6; Alexander, Dylan 0-1; Mitchell, Brandon 0-1; Brown, D.J. 0-3), New Mexico 7-19 (WILLIAMS, Kendall 2-4; THOMAS, Cleveland 2-4; DELANEY, Deshawn 1-3; BANYARD, Nick 1-1; NEAL, Cullen 1-4; LINDSAY, Merv 0-1; GREENWOOD, Hugh 0-2). Fouled out--San José State-None, New Mexico-None. Rebounds--San José State 26 (James, Jalen 7), New Mexico 40 (BAIRSTOW, Cameron 7; GREENWOOD, Hugh 7). Assists--San José State 13 (Cunningham, Chris 5), New Mexico 20 (GREENWOOD, Hugh 7). Total fouls--San José State 20, New Mexico 12. Technical fouls--San José State-None, New Mexico-None. A-15411.
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