March 8, 2014
San José, Calif.---Spartan senior Chris Cunningham scored 10 points on Senior Night, but Bulldog Paul Watson scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the first half as San José State fell to Fresno State 69-56 in the Mountain West Conference regular-season finale for both teams.
Guards Tyler Johnson, the Bulldogs' leading scorer at 16.6 per game, and Cezar Guerrero added 12 for Fresno State (16-15, 9-9 Mountain West). The Bulldogs finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the 11-team Mountain West.
"It was two different halves totally. We score 13 in the first half and then 43 in the second half. We dug ourselves too deep of a hole, down 20, 21. Then, you're fighting, biting, scratching to come back," said San José State head coach Dave Wojcik.
Fresno State led the entire game and had as much as a 24-point first-half lead before taking a 35-11 advantage into halftime. San José State's 11 points were the Spartans fewest in a first-half this season.
"The first half, they were much more physical than us and they were beating us on all the hustle plays. We were just a step slow in the first half," said Cunningham, the one San José State player honored on Senior Night. "And, we weren't making shots on top of that."
The Spartans (7-23, 1-17 Mountain West) rallied at the start of the second half cutting the deficit to 43-34 on a Rashad Muhammad three-point basket with 14:23 to go. Muhammad led all players with 17 points, all in the second half, while Jaleel Williams added 12 points for San José State, which lost its fourth straight prior to next week's conference tournament in Las Vegas.
"I've been in a little slump lately, but my teammates keep encouraging me to shoot the ball. I always try to keep my confidence up," said Muhammad, the Spartans leading scorer at 13.0 per game. The freshman wing player had scored just 11 points in the team's previous two games.
For the game, San José State shot just 35.5 percent from the field. The Spartans made just 6-of-30 field goal tries in the first half. Fresno State made 48.0 percent of their field goal tries and outrebounded the Spartans, 40-33.
San José State next plays at the 2014 Reese's Mountain West Men's Basketball Championships next Wednesday, March 12. The Spartans enter the tournament as the 11th seed and play 6th-seed Boise State at 7:05 p.m. Fans can watch on the Mountain West Network at www.themw.com and listen to Justin Allegri and Alex Scott with the call on KSJS 90.5 FM.
Fresno State vs San José State
03/08/14 7:00 p.m. at San José, Calif. (The Event Center)
FRESNO STATE 69, SAN JOSÉ STATE 56
FRESNO STATE (16-15, 9-9 MW)
WATSON, Paul 6-11 0-1 16; JOHNSON, Tyler 6-12 0-0 12; GUERRERO, Cezar 3-5 6-6 12; HARRIS, Marvelle 3-10 3-4 11; HUDDLESTON, Allen 1-4 5-10 8; DAVIS, Alex 2-3 0-2 4; EDO, Karachi 2-3 0-0 4; GIDDINGS, Tanner 1-1 0-0 2; NEWBILL, Broderick 0-0 0-0 0; WILLIAMS, Blake 0-0 0-0 0; OWOOTOAH, Emmanuel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 14-23 69.
SAN JOSÉ STATE (7-23, 1-17 MW)
Muhammad, Rashad 6-21 3-3 17; Williams, Jaleel 5-13 0-1 12; Cunningham, Chris 3-8 4-6 10; Thornton, Isaac 3-10 0-0 6; Brown, D.J. 2-3 0-0 5; Mitchell, Brandon 2-2 0-0 4; James, Jalen 1-3 0-1 2; Pollard, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; Wilson, Devante 0-2 0-0 0; Alexander, Dylan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 7-11 56.
Fresno State.................. 35 34 - 69
San José State................ 13 43 - 56
3-point goals--Fresno State 7-23 (WATSON, Paul 4-8; HARRIS, Marvelle 2-5; HUDDLESTON, Allen 1-3; OWOOTOAH, Emmanuel 0-1; GUERRERO, Cezar 0-2; JOHNSON, Tyler 0-4), San José State 5-25 (Williams, Jaleel 2-7; Muhammad, Rashad 2-11; Brown, D.J. 1-2; James, Jalen 0-1; Wilson, Devante 0-2; Thornton, Isaac 0-2). Fouled out--Fresno State-None, San José State-None. Rebounds--Fresno State 40 (HARRIS, Marvelle 10), San José State 33 (James, Jalen 7). Assists--Fresno State 8 (JOHNSON, Tyler 5), San José State 13 (James, Jalen 5). Total fouls--Fresno State 13, San José State 18. Technical fouls--Fresno State-DAVIS, Alex, San José State-None. A-2451.
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