Dec. 21, 2014
Pullman, Wash. --- San José State took control of the game early, but Washington State turned the tables with a 17-3 run in the first period and handed the Spartans an 82-53 loss at Beasley Coliseum on Sunday.
Transition dunks by Isaac Thornton and Brandon Mitchell lifted the Spartans (2-10) to an early 11-6 lead. From there, the Cougars (5-6) increased the pressure to a full-court press and went on a 17-3 run.
"We got tight with the pressure instead of attacking it," said Spartans' head coach Dave Wojcik. "I think we just got tired. We got worn down and you have to credit those guys."
Josh Hawkinson hit seven of his first eight shots for Washington State. The sophomore finished with 15 of his career-high 25 in the first period, sending the Spartans into the halftime locker room trailing 42-27. Hawkinson's previous career-high was six points.
The Cougars quickly opened up a 20-point lead in the second period despite some solid shooting by Brandon Mitchell. Mitchell finished with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and matched a career-high 7 rebounds.
"I thought Brandon played great tonight," Wojcik said. "He was good on the glass and he did well offensively understanding where his game is."
Darryl Gaynor II led San José State in scoring for the second straight game with 24 points.
"I thought we played hard for the entire 40 minutes," Wojcik said. "We had a lot of guys doing good things tonight. We just got worn down."
The Spartans begin Mountain West play in their next game at Utah State on December 31.
Newspaper Box Score
San Jose State vs Washington State
12/21/14 4 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum (Pullman, Wash.)
At Beasley Coliseum (Pullman, Wash.)
WASHINGTON STATE 82, SAN JOSE STATE 53
SAN JOSE STATE (2-10)
Gaynor II, Darryl 8-27 6-7 24; Mitchell, Brandon 5-7 2-5 12; Basor, Ivo 3-8
1-2 7; Thornton, Isaac 2-10 1-2 5; VOLLERT, Andrew 2-3 0-0 5; Mahoney, Danny
0-4 0-0 0; Singer, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 10-16 53.
WASHINGTON STATE (5-6)
Hawkinson, Josh 12-17 0-0 25; Lacy, DaVonté 4-8 5-6 14; Railey, Jordan 4-6
4-4 12; Kernich-Drew, Dexter 4-8 0-0 10; Johnson, Que 2-5 2-2 7; Dunbar,
Trevor 2-3 0-0 5; Iroegbu, Ike 1-4 2-2 4; Longrus, Junior 1-2 1-1 3;
Redding, Ny 1-3 0-0 2; Boese, Brett 0-4 0-0 0; Davis, Jackie 0-4 0-2 0;
Cheatum, Aaron 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 14-17 82.
San Jose State................ 27 26 - 53
Washington State.............. 42 40 - 82
3-point goals--San Jose State 3-17 (Gaynor II, Darryl 2-10; VOLLERT, Andrew
1-1; Thornton, Isaac 0-4; Mahoney, Danny 0-2), Washington State 6-24
(Kernich-Drew, Dexter 2-5; Dunbar, Trevor 1-1; Johnson, Que 1-3; Hawkinson,
Josh 1-2; Lacy, DaVonté 1-3; Boese, Brett 0-3; Davis, Jackie 0-4; Cheatum,
Aaron 0-1; Iroegbu, Ike 0-2). Fouled out--San Jose State-None, Washington
State-None. Rebounds--San Jose State 33 (Basor, Ivo 9), Washington State 45
(Hawkinson, Josh 13). Assists--San Jose State 8 (Gaynor II, Darryl 5),
Washington State 18 (Lacy, DaVonté 4). Total fouls--San Jose State 16,
Washington State 15. Technical fouls--San Jose State-None, Washington
State-None. A-1604