Dec. 6, 2014
San Jose, Calif.----- The San Jose State University men's basketball team had one of its best offensive starts of the season, but Santa Clara University was better at the start of the second half for a 61-50 non-conference victory.
The Spartans (1-8) shot 57.9 percent from the field in the first half making 11-of-19 tries including 5-of-8 from three-point range, but found themselves tied 32-32. For the first time since the November 16 home game with Portland, San Jose State led in the first half and was ahead by five points on three occasions n the first 11 minutes of the game.
Seeking to end a seven-game losing streak, San José State cooled off considerably in the second half converting just 7-of-23 from the field. The Spartans hurt their chances to win matching a season-high 20 turnovers compared to Santa Clara's 11. Several of the turnovers were of the unforced variety.
"Bottom line is the turnovers tonight. I thought we defended well. They only scored 61 points. We outrebound them. Free throws, difference. They `outgoaled' us by 12, partly because we turned the ball over," said San Jose State head coach Dave Wojcik.
"That's one thing I talk to them about. If you take half those turnovers and take half of those 10 and score on five of them, that's the difference in the game. We fight and scratch and claw back into the game and then there is a costly turnover."
Despite Santa Clara's leading scorer Brandon Clark making just 2-of-14 field goal tries and finishing with just 10 points, the Broncos got a nice lift from guard Jared Brownridge who led all players with 20. Brownridge's back-to-back three-point baskets early in the second-half broke a 36-36 tie and were the start of an 8-0 run and a lead Santa Clara (4-4) would not relinquish the rest of the way. The win was the Broncos' third in a row.
Rashaad Muhammad led the Spartans in scoring for the second game in a row with 15, including the team's first 13 points of the game in a seven-minute span. Forward Frank Rogers came off the bench scoring 13 points and picking up a game-high eight rebounds before fouling out in the final minute. Jordan Baker was a third double-figure scorer for San José State with 12.
"It was a real good environment. I was intense. I was locked in. My teammates found me and I was hitting the open shot," Muhammad said about his fast start before picking up his second foul at the 11:14 mark and heading to the bench.
The Spartans played the game without starting guard Jalen James, who suffered an ankle injury in the December 3 UC Davis. James was the only San Jose State player to start in each of the first eight games and is not expected to return the remainder of the season. The 6-foot-3 sophomore was averaging 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds a game prior to his injury.
"It's a big loss for us. He's been the starting point guard for us since he arrived on campus. He's done; he's out for the year. Other guys have to step up," Wojcik said about losing James. The Spartans also did not have back-up point guard Danny Mahoney for the Santa Clara game due to a bad back.
San Jose State can get back on track, Tuesday, December 9 when the Spartans host St. Katherine College of San Marcos, Calif., in a 7:00 p.m. game at The Event Center.
Newspaper Box Score
Santa Clara vs San Jose State
12/6/14 7:00 PM at The Event Center
SANTA CLARA 61, SAN JOSE STATE 50
SANTA CLARA (4-4)
BROWNRIDGE, Jared 7-10 2-2 20; CLARK, Brandon 2-14 4-4 10; KRATCH, Nate 4-6
0-3 8; HUBBARD, Matt 3-9 0-0 7; JOHNSON, Denzel 2-7 1-2 5; HEALEY, Kai 2-3
0-0 4; PUGH, Jarvis 1-2 1-2 3; EDWARDS, Stephen 0-1 2-3 2; RICHARD, Jalen
1-2 0-0 2; WARDLOW, Evan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 10-16 61.
SAN JOSE STATE (1-8)
Muhammad, Rashad 5-6 3-3 15; Rogers, Frank 5-8 1-2 13; Baker, Jordan 5-11
1-2 12; Thornton, Isaac 1-6 1-2 3; Williams, Jaleel 1-3 0-0 3; Bahner, Leon
0-1 2-4 2; Mitchell, Brandon 1-1 0-0 2; Singer, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0; GAYNOR II,
Darryl 0-6 0-1 0. Totals 18-42 8-14 50.
Santa Clara................... 32 29 - 61
San Jose State................ 32 18 - 50
3-point goals--Santa Clara 7-19 (BROWNRIDGE, Jared 4-6; CLARK, Brandon 2-6;
HUBBARD, Matt 1-3; HEALEY, Kai 0-1; EDWARDS, Stephen 0-1; RICHARD, Jalen
0-1; KRATCH, Nate 0-1), San Jose State 6-18 (Rogers, Frank 2-3; MUHAMMAD,
Rashad 2-3; Baker, Jordan 1-4; Williams, Jaleel 1-3; Gaynor II, Darryl 0-2;
Thornton, Isaac 0-3). Fouled out--Santa Clara-None, San Jose State-ROGERS,
Frank. Rebounds--Santa Clara 29 (KRATCH, Nate 7), San Jose State 31 (ROGERS,
Frank 8). Assists--Santa Clara 10 (CLARK, Brandon 6), San Jose State 12
(Baker, Jordan 6). Total fouls--Santa Clara 13, San Jose State 18. Technical
fouls--Santa Clara-None, San Jose State-None. A-2123