Dec. 3, 2014
Davis, Calif. --- Despite a tough shooting night on offense, the San José State men's basketball team pressured UC Davis down the stretch, but the Aggies' clutch three-point shooting handed the Spartans a 70-56 loss at The Pavilion Wednesday night.
"I thought we competed tonight," said Spartans' head coach Dave Wojcik. "We played really hard, we just didn't play smart. You have to make shots. At the end of the day, it's about who puts the ball in the basket the most. Right now, we just aren't making jump shots."
The Spartans (1-7) shot 31 percent in the first half, and trailed 31-21 at the break.
More shots started to fall in the second half. Muhammad led the way with 12 of his season-high 20 in the period. Muhammad played 18 minutes off the bench in the second half after Spartans' point guard Jalen James was forced to leave the game with a leg injury.
"He gave us a great lift off the bench and shot the ball really well," Wojcik said. "I feel for Jalen. He has been my point guard for the last two years and it's tough to see anyone get hurt."
The Spartans cut the Aggies' 18 point lead down to 10 with Muhammad's three-ball at 8:08.
However, UC Davis (6-0) never relinquished the double-digit lead, and got clutch threes down the stretch from Lemar Brynton and the game's high scorer, Josh Ritchart.
The Aggies nailed 11 threes for the game to SJSU's five.Frank Rogers and Jaleel Williams each scored nine for San José State. Jordan Baker scored seven and hauled in six rebounds. Corey Hawkins put in 20 points for UC Davis.
San José State returns home this Saturday to face Santa Clara in the Clash of the County at 7:00 p.m. in the Event Center. Fans can purchase tickets for the game through the Spartan Ticket Office via telephone (408) 924-7589, or by visiting the tickets section on SJSUSpartans.com.
Newspaper Box Score
San Jose State vs UC Davis
12/03/14 7 p.m. at Davis, Calif. (The Pavilion)
UC DAVIS 70, SAN JOSE STATE 56
SAN JOSE STATE (1-7)
Muhammad, Rashad 7-11 3-5 20; Williams, Jaleel 4-6 0-0 9; Rogers, Frank 4-8
0-0 9; Baker, Jordan 2-11 3-4 7; James, Jalen 3-6 0-0 6; Thornton, Isaac 1-4
0-0 2; Basor, Ivo 1-2 0-0 2; Bahner, Leon 0-1 1-3 1; Singer, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0;
Mahoney, Danny 0-3 0-0 0; Gaynor II, Darryl 0-1 0-0 0; Mitchell, Brandon 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 22-54 7-12 56.
UC DAVIS (6-0)
Ritchart, Josh 7-14 3-3 21; Hawkins, Corey 7-11 2-2 20; Adenrele, J.T. 4-6
1-3 9; Fox, Josh 2-3 3-4 7; Johnson, Avery 2-6 0-0 5; Lemar, Brynton 1-3 1-2
4; Les, Tyler 1-4 0-0 3; Graham, Darius 0-2 1-3 1; Monson, Neal 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 24-49 11-17 70.
San Jose State................ 21 35 - 56
UC Davis...................... 31 39 - 70
3-point goals--San Jose State 5-21 (Muhammad, Rashad 3-6; Rogers, Frank 1-3;
Williams, Jaleel 1-2; Thornton, Isaac 0-2; Mahoney, Danny 0-2; GAYNOR II,
Darryl 0-1; James, Jalen 0-2; Baker, Jordan 0-3), UC Davis 11-25 (Ritchart,
Josh 4-8; Hawkins, Corey 4-5; Johnson, Avery 1-4; Lemar, Brynton 1-2; Les,
Tyler 1-4; Graham, Darius 0-2). Fouled out--San Jose State-None, UC
Davis-None. Rebounds--San Jose State 29 (Baker, Jordan 6), UC Davis 36
(Ritchart, Josh 8). Assists--San Jose State 9 (Baker, Jordan 3), UC Davis 14
(Johnson, Avery 4; Graham, Darius 4). Total fouls--San Jose State 17, UC
Davis 13. Technical fouls--San Jose State-None, UC Davis-None. A-1965