Jan. 14, 2015
Postgame Press Conference Video
San Jose, Calif. --- The San José State men's basketball team erased an early 10-point deficit to take a lead against Fresno State, but a 20-4 Bulldogs run in the second period handed the Spartans a 73-62 loss in The Event Center Wednesday night.
"We didn't really execute well in the half court tonight," said San José State head coach Dave Wojcik. "I think that and our turnovers are what cost us the game tonight. When we weren't turning the ball over, we got good shots, and they were having a hard time guarding us."
Five of the Spartans' 17 turnovers came in the first 10 minutes of the game, allowing Fresno State to take a 24-14 lead.
The Spartans (2-15, 0-5 MW) however, bounced back using two threes from Brandon Mitchell, and another from Danny Mahoney as part of a 13-1 run that put the SJSU ahead, 27-25, with 3:10 remaining in the first half.
Rashad Muhammad ripped chord on his first shot attempt out of the break to tie the game, 32-32. But the Spartans would never see a lead in the second half, and the Bulldogs (9-9, 4-1 MW) went on a 20-4 run lasting over eight minutes.
The run included nine straight points by Cezar Guerrero which extended Fresno State's lead to 63-42. Guerrero finished with 15 points in his first game of the season, and Paul Watson ended with 19 points to lead the Bulldogs.
Muhammad led the Spartans with 16 points, and Jaleel Williams chipped in with 13.
"I think we did well as a team despite the loss," Williams said. "We outrebounded them, and tried to play physical the whole time. It gets exhausting, but as a team we held together and battled as hard as we could."
Williams, the team's only active senior, has played at least 38 minutes in each of the last four games.
San José State continues Mountain West play Saturday night, January 17, when Colorado State visits The Event Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip. For tickets to Saturday's game, call the Spartan Ticket Office at 408-924-7589.
Newspaper Box Score
Fresno State vs San Jose State
1/14/15 7:00 p.m. at The Event Center
At The Event Center
FRESNO STATE 73, SAN JOSE STATE 62
FRESNO STATE (9-9, 4-1 MW)
WATSON, Paul 7-11 3-6 19; HARRIS, Marvelle 6-13 3-4 15; GUERRERO, Cezar 4-9
3-3 15; EDO, Karachi 4-4 2-2 10; OWOOTOAH, Emmanuel 3-5 0-0 9; DAVIS, Alex
1-4 1-1 3; LEWIS, Julien 1-4 0-0 2; ANDERSON, Braeden 0-0 0-0 0; TAYLOR,
Darnell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 12-16 73.
SAN JOSE STATE (2-15, 0-5 MW)
Muhammad, Rashad 5-12 4-4 16; Williams, Jaleel 5-9 2-2 13; Thornton, Isaac
2-7 5-7 9; Mitchell, Brandon 2-5 3-5 9; Gaynor II, Darryl 2-5 4-6 8;
Mahoney, Danny 1-4 0-0 3; Basor, Ivo 1-2 0-0 2; Singer, Ryan 0-0 2-2 2.
Totals 18-44 20-26 62.
Fresno State.................. 32 41 - 73
San Jose State................ 30 32 - 62
3-point goals--Fresno State 9-20 (GUERRERO, Cezar 4-7; OWOOTOAH, Emmanuel
3-4; WATSON, Paul 2-3; DAVIS, Alex 0-1; HARRIS, Marvelle 0-5), San Jose
State 6-21 (Mitchell, Brandon 2-2; Muhammad, Rashad 2-7; Mahoney, Danny 1-3;
Williams, Jaleel 1-4; Basor, Ivo 0-1; Gaynor II, Darryl 0-2; Thornton, Isaac
0-2). Fouled out--Fresno State-HARRIS, Marvelle, San Jose State-None.
Rebounds--Fresno State 25 (WATSON, Paul 7), San Jose State 33 (MITCHELL,
Brandon 9). Assists--Fresno State 15 (LEWIS, Julien 5), San Jose State 7
(Williams, Jaleel 2). Total fouls--Fresno State 21, San Jose State 13.
Technical fouls--Fresno State-None, San Jose State-None. A-1091