Dec. 17, 2015
SPARTANS LOOK TO STOP A THREE-GAME SKID AT SEATTLE USan José State has dropped three in a row and it will try and end the slide Sunday night at Seattle U. Tipoff between the Spartans and Redhawks from KeyArena is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PST. The game will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network.GAME #11San José State (4-6) at Seattle U (3-6)Sunday, December 20, 6:00 p.m. PSTKeyArena (17,000)Seattle, Was.
WATCH: WAC Digital Network
Listen: KLIV 1590 AM & Stretch Internet Radio
BE SOCIAL WITH YOUR SPARTANSSan José State Men's Basketball is active on both Twitter (@SJSUMBB) and Instagram (@SpartanMensHoops). Following along will give fans the opportunity to keep up with the team as they head out on the road. Mention us on Twitter and maybe you'll end up on our list of top tweets!
New from RTC: Frank Rogers' Road to Redemption at San Jose State https://t.co/2KroLRi5b3 @sjsuMBB #readthis great feature from @amurawa
-- Rush the Court (@rushthecourt) December 17, 2015
Super inspiring story. #SJSU https://t.co/1TTOY1ehck
-- Whitney Triplett (@InspireWhitney) December 17, 2015
Watching @DannyMahoney11 and @SJSUMBB play Montana State at San Jose State Events Center. #GoSpartans
-- Steve Kassel (@TaxNegotiator) December 13, 2015
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKESThe last time San José State and Seattle U squared off on December 13, 2014, the Spartans rolled out with a roster of eight players that included two active SJSU football players in their first-ever collegiate basketball game. Seattle U beat San José State 54-38 that night, starting a 20-game losing streak, which the Spartans carried through the end of the season. This year, SJSU is 4-5 heading into the matchup against the Redhawks. Some early-season highlights include a three-game win streak and taking two out of three at the Great Alaska Shootout.SCHWARTZ SETTLING INCody Schwartz has bounced back nicely from a tough start to his first season as a Spartan. In the last five games, the West De Pere, Wis., native is averaging 10.6 points and 3.4 rebounds. He is shooting 44 percent from the floor and 42 percent from beyond the arc during that stretch. In the first five games, Schwartz was 3 of 16 from the floor, and 15 of the 16 shots were from downtown. He also bricked all six of his free throw shots in the first five games. But he has also found his stoke at the free throw line, making 12 of his last 13 heading into Sunday's game at Seattle U.WELAGE REMAINS ONE OF THE TOP FRESHMEN IN THE MWFreshman forward Ryan Welage is currently fourth among freshmen in the Mountain West at 10.3 points per game. He is close behind Nevada's Cameron Oliver (10.5) and UNLV's Derrick Jones, Jr. (10.8), while SDSU's Jeremy Hemsley leads all freshmen in scoring at 13.5 points per game. Welage, a native of Greensburg, Ind., leads all freshmen with 16 made threes and joins UNLV's Stephen Zimmerman as the only two freshmen with multiple double-doubles this season.CONFERENCE PLAY IS LOOMINGNothing would help the Spartans more than going into conference play with a head of steam, and a win at Seattle U on Sunday would help them do just that. A victory will pull the team to 5-6 and with a matchup against NCCAA member Life Pacific College in the preseason finale, the Spartans have a shot at going into conference play with six wins.MORE ON SEATTLE UThe Redhawks are 3-6 this season heading into a Thursday night matchup at home versus Northwest Indian College. Jack Crook and Brendan Westendorf are the scoring leaders for Seattle U at 12.7 and 12.6 points per game respectively. The team is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 37 percent from beyond the arc, while outrebounded the opponent by 4.1 boards per game. Cameron Dollar is in his seventh season as the head coach for Seattle U.THE WAC IS HISTORY FOR SJSUSan José State spent 17 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference before joining the Mountain West before starting with the 2013-14 season. The WAC men's basketball lineup looks nothing like the one San José State was used to seeing, which included the likes of current MW foes: Utah State, Boise State and Fresno state. The Spartans are 12-34 against New Mexico State, and 12-7 against all of the other active WAC members combined.SPARTANS SHOW THEIR GRIT IN LOSS AT MARQUETTEThe Spartans found themselves down 24 points just 10 minutes into the game at Marquette Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Instead of packing it in, SJSU stages a comeback, outscoring the Golden Eagles by 15 over the next 10 minutes and went into the locker down by nine. Cody Schwartz's conventional three-point play early in the second half cut the lead to six, but Marquette would end up pulling away for an 80-62 victory. SJSU is now 0-2 versus Marquette and 0-4 against "the seven" in the Big East.CLARKE BRINGS ENERGY OFF THE BENCHFreshman forward Brandon Clarke entered the game Tuesday and scored six points in less than three minutes with a pair of jumpers and a slam dunk. His up-and-under two-handed slam in the second half was one of the top plays throughtout the first 10 games. Clarke helped spark the run, which cut Marquette's 24-point lead down to six, and he finished the game with a season-high 10 points.USING MARQUETTE AS A LESSON FOR CONFERENCE PLAYHead coach Dave Wojcik said after Tuesday's game that playing a team like Marquette makes for a good test before entering conference play. "This was a good experience for our young guys," Wojcik said. "We are going to continue building our schedule with these games each year." It was only the program's fourth game against "the seven" from the big east.