Nov. 16, 2015
SPARTANS HOST MONTANA MONDAY NIGHTAfter a day's rest San José State will take on Montana in the second game of the regular season Monday night at 7:00 p.m., in The Event Center. The Spartans are hoping to rebound from a 20-point loss in the season-opener last Saturday night against Idaho. For tickets to Monday night's game, or to find out about season-ticket options, call the Spartan Ticket Office at 408-924-7589. Fans can also watch the game for free on the Spartan Digital Network by using the link provided below.Game #2San José State (0-1) vs. Montana (1-0)Monday, November 16, 2015, 7:00 p.m. PSTThe Event Center (5,000)San Jose, Calif.LIVE STATSLIVE VIDEO
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A QUICK TURNAROUND MAY BE A GOOD THINGThe Spartans took a 74-54 beating in the season-opener against Idaho Saturday night, but had a quick turnaround to get ready for a tough Montana team Monday night. It was a cold shooting night from start to finish for San José State, which ended 18 for 62 from the floor. A 22-point first-half deficit took the Spartans out of any sort of game plan, and although they cut it to 11 at one point, were never able to get any closer.Ryan Welage CRANKS OUT DOUBLE-DOUBLEIn his Spartan debut, freshman forward Ryan Welage scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. He finished the night 5 of 10 from the floor and earned a team-leading nine free throw attempts.NEW SPARTANS HIT THE COURTOf the 10 Spartans that took the court Saturday versus Idaho, six of them were making their debut for San José State. A rough shooting night made it a challenge for the group to get in sync, but SJSU did manage to get 13 points and seven rebounds out of Gary Williams, Jr., from the point guard position, and Ryan Welage went for a double-double.MEN'S HOOPS OVERPOWERS PACIFIC UNIONSan José State defeated Pacific Union college of the NAIA 112-56 in the team's only exhibition game of the year. Five Spartans finished in double-figures scoring, led by point guard Gary Williams, Jr., with 19 points. A major emphasis this season for third-year head coach is assist to turnover ratio, which was 3:1 in the victory (31 Ast, 10 TO).STRONG RETURN FOR JAMES IN EXIBITIONRedshirt sophomore Jalen James played a solid 20 minutes with 17 points and four assists in his first game back since suffering a season-ending ankle injury three weeks into last season. James finished 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and only had one turnover. He was a factor in SJSU's up-tempo style of play in the 112-56 win.SPARTANS GO OFF TO THE RACESMade or missed basket, it didn't matter, the Spartans were off and running on the change of possession in the exhibition game against Pacific Union College. The team finished with 34 fast-break points. SJSU also finished with 41 points off of 25 Pioneers turnovers.MORE ON MONTANAThe Montana Grizzlies opened the season last week with a 74-72 victory over Boise State. Three players finished in double-digits scoring, including Martin Breunig with a team-high 21 points. Michael Oguine pitched in with 17 points. Montana is coached by Travis DeCuire in his second season. Last year the Griz won 22 games before falling to Texas A&M in the first round of the NIT.NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKThe 2015-16 San José State men's basketball roster has five true freshmen and one redshirt freshman. What the group may lack experience-wise, it makes up for with size and a winning pedigree. Cody Schwartz (6-8, Fr., F, West De Pere, Wis.) and Ryan Welage (6-9, Fr., F, Greensburg, Ind.) each led their high schools to multiple state championship games in their junior and seniors seasons. Both players were all-state selections following the championship runs. Jaycee Hillsman (6-6, Fr., G, Chicago, Ill.) led Don Bosco Prep to a 35-5 record in 2014-15 after graduating the year prior from Simeon High School in Chicago, Ill. Brandon Clarke (6-7, Fr., G, Phoenix, Ariz.) was one of the top shot blockers in the state of Arizona as a junior and a senior. He led Desert Vista High School to the state championship game as a senior.
FIRST FOUR-STAR RECRUIT READY FOR ACTIONCody Schwartz became the first four-star rated (ESPN) recruit that the SJSU men's basketball program ever signed when he inked a National Letter-of-Intent in November of 2014. Schwartz backed up the rating during his senior campaign at West De Pere (Wis.) High School in 2014-15 when he averaged 20 points per game. For the second straight year, he was a unanimous Division II all-state selection by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. The Associated Press also gave Schwartz an all-state honorable mention nod to go along with the Bay Conference's player of the year award.
NO-NO-NOFreshman forward Brandon Clarke joins the Spartans this season after being a top shot blocker in the state of Arizona during his final two years at Desert Vista High School. Clarke finished his senior season averaging 17 points, eight rebounds and 4.6 blocks per contest. Upon signing with San José State in November of 2014, Clarke was rated in the state of Arizona's top-five for most versatile players by Arizona Power Basketball. He was an All-Tribune honorable mention as a junior and ranked 12th on AZCentral.com's Top-20 Recruit List.
JAMES, BAHNER SET TO MAKE RETURNLast year's starting point guard Jalen James (6-3, R-So., G, Chicago, Ill.) and center Leon Bahner (6-11, R-Fr., C, Bonn, Germany) are set to make their return after taking medical redshirts in 2014-15. James had started 39 consecutive games for the Spartans before going down with the season-ending injury on Dec. 3, 2014. Bahner had played in nine games and made five starts as a true freshman before sitting the remainder of the year with a foot injury.
Gary Williams, Jr. RETURNS TO THE BAYAfter two successful seasons at Indian Hills Junior College in Ottumwa, Iowa, Gary Williams, Jr. (6-5, Jr., G, Oakland, Calif.) returns to the Bay Area and will debut in the Spartans' backcourt in 2015-16. In his final season at Indian Hills JC, Williams was a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) third-team All-American. He averaged 12.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while leading the team to the NJCAA championship tournament. In two seasons with Williams on the team, Indian Hills went 54-9.
Rodney Tention JOINS COACHING STAFFSan José State added the experience of nine NCAA Tournament berths and seven conference championships with the hiring of Rodney Tention as an assistant coach. Tention's Division I success began with a run of eight consecutive NCAATournament berths as an assistant to Lute Olson at Arizona from 1998 through 2005. Tention was also the recruiting coordinator during his tenure with the Wildcats, who went all the way to the national championship game in 2001. Tention joins the Spartans after spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of San Diego.
GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUTFor the first time, the San José State men's basketball team will leave its stamp on the nation's longest standing college basketball tournament when it competes in the 2015 GCI Great Alaska Shootout. The event hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage is set for November 25-28, 2015, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Eight teams from as many conferences make up the field for this year's Shootout, putting the Mountain West representative Spartans among: Drexel (Colonial Athletic Association), Loyola of Ill., (Missouri Valley Conference), Middle Tennessee (Conference USA), UNC Asheville (Big South Conference), San Diego (West Coast Conference), Toledo (Mid-American Conference) and the host, Alaska Anchorage (Great Northwest Athletic Conference).PURCHASE SINGLE-GAME AND SEASON TICKETS TODAY!Call the Spartan Ticket Office today at 408-924-7589 for all of your single-game or season ticket purchases for men's basketball season. Check out the various ticket plans online to find the best fit for you to catch the exciting action during the 2015-16 season.
LISTEN UP!Fans across the nation can listen to every men's basketball game on Stretch Internet Radio for free. Access the live broadcasts at portal.stretchinternet.com/sjsu/. Broadcasts can also be accessed with links inside the weekly releases and on the men's basketball schedule page. Saturday games will also be broadcast live on KLIV 1590 AM. The voice of the Spartans, Justin Allegri, will call the play-by-play.