Feb. 25, 2015
Final Stats | USATSI Photo Gallery
Fort Collins, Colo. --- A hard-fought game for the San José State men's basketball team ended with a 72-56 loss to Colorado State in Mountain West play at Moby Arena Wednesday night.
The Rams (24-5, 11-5 MW) used two big runs and nine different scorers to open up a 25-point first-half lead. Meanwhile, it seemed like SJSU couldn't buy a basket on the inside. Only three Spartans scored in the opening period, and seven of their eight made baskets came from beyond the arc.
"I was displeased in the first half because we didn't compete like we should have," Spartans' head coach Dave Wojcik said. "We weren't ready to play mentally because we missed five point-blank layups in the first half."
The second half was a different story.
The Spartans (2-25, 0-15 MW) outscored Colorado State 15-11 through the first eight minutes, and 33-31 overall in the final 20 minutes.
Down 20 with 10:39 to go, Danny Mahoney splashed in a three-ball that began a 13-2 Spartans run which cut the lead to nine, 60-51. Brandon Mitchell knocked down a pair of free throws, Darryl Gaynor II made a layup and Jaleel Williams converted on a conventional three-point play to fuel the burst.
It was Williams' fourth basket from downtown which got the Colorado State lead down to single digits.
However, nine points turned out to be the closest SJSU would get. Gian Clavell and Stanton Kidd each hit a jumper for Colorado State, and Kidd added a pair of free throws that sent San José State's hope away for good.
"I was thinking, just keep chipping away," Wojcik said. "But we were never able to get over the hump. I am proud though of the way we played in the second half."
Williams finished with a game-high 20 points. He has now hit multiple threes in seven consecutive games. Rashad Muhammad also hit four three-point baskets and finished with 18 points.
Joe De Ciman led Colorado State with 18 points. Clavell and Kidd joined De Ciman in double-figures. The Rams played the game without their leading scorer J.J. Avila, who was rested with a sore back.
San José State plays its last road contest of the season this Saturday, February 28, at Nevada. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. PT
Newspaper Box Score
San Jose State vs Colorado State
02-25-15 7:02 pm MT at Fort Collins, Colo. (Moby Arena)
At Fort Collins, Colo. (Moby Arena)
COLORADO STATE 72, SAN JOSE STATE 56
SAN JOSE STATE (2-25, 0-15 MW)
Williams, Jaleel 7-16 2-3 20; Muhammad, Rashad 7-18 0-0 18; GAYNOR II,
Darryl 2-9 3-4 8; Mitchell, Brandon 1-3 2-2 4; Singer, Ryan 1-2 1-2 3;
Mahoney, Danny 1-3 0-0 3; Thornton, Isaac 0-3 0-0 0; Basor, Ivo 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 19-55 8-11 56.
COLORADO STATE (24-5, 11-5 MW)
DE CIMAN, Joe 6-9 2-2 18; KIDD, Stanton 5-13 4-4 14; CLAVELL, Gian 4-9 2-2
12; BEJARANO, Daniel 2-12 2-2 8; DANIELS, Tiel 2-5 3-8 7; HURST, Carlton 2-2
0-1 4; GILLON, John 1-3 1-3 4; RICHARDSON III, Fred 1-2 0-0 3; HOLT, Marcus
1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-57 14-22 72.
San Jose State................ 23 33 - 56
Colorado State................ 41 31 - 72
3-point goals--San Jose State 10-26 (Muhammad, Rashad 4-10; Williams, Jaleel
4-9; Mahoney, Danny 1-3; Gaynor II, Darryl 1-4), Colorado State 10-26 (DE
CIMAN, Joe 4-6; BEJARANO, Daniel 2-10; CLAVELL, Gian 2-4; RICHARDSON III,
Fred 1-2; GILLON, John 1-2; KIDD, Stanton 0-2). Fouled out--San Jose
State-None, Colorado State-None. Rebounds--San Jose State 30 (WILLIAMS,
Jaleel 8), Colorado State 44 (DANIELS, Tiel 14). Assists--San Jose State 10
(Mahoney, Danny 5), Colorado State 17 (BEJARANO, Daniel 6). Total fouls--San
Jose State 18, Colorado State 13. Technical fouls--San Jose State-None,
Colorado State-None. A-4924