Jan. 9, 2015
SPARTANS BATTLE UNLV SATURDAY NIGHT AT THOMAS & MACK CENTER
San José State continues its road trip Saturday night with a matchup at UNLV with a 7:00 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Digital Network and can also be heard on stretch internet radio. Both teams are seeking their first win in Mountain West play.
GAMES #14-15
SAN JOSÉ STATE (2-13, 0-3 MW) at UNLV (9-6, 0-2 MW)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 7:00 P.M. PT
THOMAS & MACK CENTER (18,500)
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
COVERAGE
WATCH: MW DIGITAL NETWORK
LISTEN: STRETCH INTERNET RADIO
FOLLOW: @SJSUMBB - @SJSUAthletics
SPARTANS FALL TO AIR FORCE, 78-56
Despite Rashad Muhammad's season-high 26 points, the Spartans fell by 22 points, 78-56 on the road at Air Force on Wednesday night. SJSU had a six-point lead in the first half before the Falcons closed the period on a 19-2 run, and never relinquished their double-digit lead.
MUHAMMAD GOES FOR SEASON-HIGH 26
Rashad Muhammad hit his first four threes of the game against Air Force (1/7) and went on to score a season-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting. It was the seventh time this season the Muhammad has led the team in scoring.
ABOUT UNLV
The Runnin' Rebels (9-6, 0-2 MW) are coming off of a tough Mountain West loss at home to the in-state rival Nevada Wolf Pack 64-62. Led by national player-of-the week (Dec. 28) Christian Wood, UNLV has received votes in the national polls for the top-25 and even knocked off the country's then #3-ranked Arizona Wildcats, 71-67, on December 23. Rashad Vaughn leads the way in scoring at 17.5 points per game. Wood is second at15.5 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game. UNLV is coached by Dave Rice in his fourth season.
LAST TIME OUT & SERIES HISTORY WITH UNLV
UNLV topped San José State 70-46 in The Event Center in the last meeting between the two teams on January 29. Jaleel Williams scored a game-high 16 points for the Spartans. The Runnin Rebels have dominated the Spartans throughout the history of the matchup, leading the all-time series 32-4.
SPARTANS TAKE WYOMING DOWN TO THE WIRE
San José State led for nearly 26 minutes and went down to the wire in a 64-59 loss to the Mountain West's second-place
Wyoming Cowboys on January 3. Nine made free throws in 12 attempts during the final minutes gave Wyoming the edge. Ivo Basor was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor including two three-point baskets.Darryl Gaynor II scored 17 to lead the Spartans and was one of three to play all 40 minutes for SJSU.
MUHAMMAD & WILLIAMS RETURN TO ACTION
Rashad Muhammad scored 13 points and added five rebounds while Jaleel Williams had seven points and three assists in their return to action against Wyoming (1/3) after serving a three-game suspension for violating a team rule. Both played all 40 minutes of the game.
IT ONLY TAKES FIVE TO PLAY
San José State used its starting five for the entire first half against Wyoming and had three players, Rashad Muhammad, Jaleel Williams and Darryl Gaynor II on the floor for all 40 minutes. Head Coach Dave Wojcik said after the game that if not for foul trouble he would have stuck with the same five all game. Isaac Thornton andIvo Basor both fouled out of the game but played 37 and 35 minutes respectively. Basor played all 40 minutes in the previous game at Utah State on December 31.
GAYNOR MAKES IT FOUR STRAIGHT AS SCORING LEADER
Freshman point guard Darryl Gaynor II scored 17 points against Wyoming to lead the Spartans for the fourth consecutive game in scoring. He's averaging 17 points per game during that stretch and he dropped a season-high 24 points against Washington State (12/21). The graduate of Durango High School in Las Vegas led the state of Nevada in scoring as a senior at 24.9 points per game.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Spartans head back out on the road this week for two games after a short return home from visiting Washington State (12/21) and Utah State (12/31). The team will go straight to Las Vegas, Nev., to face UNLV on Saturday after visiting Air Force on Wednesday.
A HOMECOMING FOR GAYNOR AND MUHAMMAD
Darryl Gaynor II and Rashad Muhammad will be playing in their hometown of Las Vegas, Nev., Saturday night. Muhammad is a graduate of Bishop Gorman high while Gaynor led the state of Nevada last year as a senior at Durango High.
SINGLE-GAME & SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
For tickets to all San José State men's basketball games, call the Spartan Ticket Office at 408-924-7589 or visit the tickets section on SJSUSpartans.com. The Spartan Ticket Office is your one-stop shop for all single-game tickets and season ticket plans. Also see the Season Ticket Membership Brochure for information on this year's variable ticket pricing.
CONNECT WITH THE SPARTANS
Connect with the SJSU men's basketball team on Twitter @SJSUMBB and with all Spartans athletics teams @SJSUAthletics. Fans can keep track of in-game and news updates using #SJSU, #spartanup and #spartanstrong. If you are on Facebook, so are we! Check us out at facebook.com/SJSUSpartans.
CATCH EVERY GAME ON STRETCH
Every SJSU men's basketball game can be heard live on Stretch Internet Radio. Head to the schedule page atwww.SJSUSpartans.com and click the link to hear all the action called by play-by-play announcer Justin Allegri with commentary from Joe Boylan.