Dec. 20, 2015
Seattle, Was. --- The San José State men's basketball team had a 12-point lead in the second half erased, and fell to Seattle U inside KeyArena on Sunday night, 67-64.
Isaac Thornton scored a career-high 17 points, but his game-tying three-point shot with four seconds left went off the iron. Ryan Welage collected the offensive rebound and had the presence of mind to race beyond the arc for a last-gasp attempt, which also went awry.
San José State (4-7) committed 18 turnovers for the game. Seven of which came during the Redhawks' four-minute, 15-3 run, that wiped out SJSU's 12-point lead. Seattle U's Malik Montoya hit a jumper that completed the comback and made it 49-49 at the 7:26 mark. Frank Rogers hit a three in the short-left corner with 7:03 left in the half to stop the bleeding.
After a pair of Seattle U (5-6) free throws put San José State down by two, Thornton banged a three to put the Spartans back on top 55-54 with 5:32 left. SJSU's most experienced player, Thornton, hit a shot on the next possession to help maintain a one-point lead. He stole a pass on the left wing and hit a streaking Brandon Clarke for a jumper that made it 59-56 with 3:58 left to play.
That would be the last basket of the game for the Spartans who scored their last five points from the free throw line.
Welage went to the stripe for two shots with eight seconds left and SJSU trailing 65-63. The 48 percent free throw shooter hit the front iron on his first attempt, and drained the second. Seattle U's Brendan Westendorf hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left to make it 67-64.
With no timeouts, San José State advanced it and looked to run a play that freed Schwartz up for a three. But the play was busted and Thornton found himself in space all alone with time winding down.
The Redhawks finished 19 of 25 from the line while SJSU was just 7 of 14. Manroop Clair ended with 15 points to lead Seattle U.
Cody Schwartz scored 15 and Welage added 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Brandon Clarke was a force off of the bench, especially on the defense, which limited Seattle U to 28 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes.
The Spartans return home to face Life Pacific College on December 22 at noon PST. It will be the final game before Mountain West play opens on December 30.
Newspaper Box Score
San José State vs Seattle University12/20/15 6:00 pm at Seattle, WA (KeyArena)At Seattle, WA (KeyArena)
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY 67, SAN JOSé STATE 64
SAN JOSé STATE (4-7)Thornton, Isaac 8-12 0-1 17; Schwartz, Cody 6-10 0-0 15; Welage, Ryan 4-123-4 13; Rogers, Frank 2-6 2-2 7; Clarke, Brandon 2-7 1-3 5; Onwas, Princeton2-3 0-0 4; Bahner, Leon 1-2 1-4 3; James, Jalen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 7-1464.
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY (5-6)Clair, Manroop 5-9 0-0 15; Powell, William 4-11 5-8 13; Westendorf, Brendan2-8 4-4 9; Montoya, Malik 2-4 3-6 8; Cohee, Jadon 1-4 5-5 7; Shaughnessy,Jack 2-5 0-0 5; Menzies, Aaron 2-2 0-0 4; Crook, Jack 1-7 2-2 4; Chibuogwu,Manny 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 20-53 19-25 67.
San José State................ 33 31 - 64Seattle University............ 25 42 - 67
3-point goals--San José State 7-20 (Schwartz, Cody 3-6; Welage, Ryan 2-6;Rogers, Frank 1-4; Thornton, Isaac 1-3; Onwas, Princeton 0-1), SeattleUniversity 8-19 (Clair, Manroop 5-9; Montoya, Malik 1-2; Shaughnessy, Jack1-4; Westendorf, Brendan 1-3; Powell, William 0-1). Fouled out--San JoséState-None, Seattle University-None. Rebounds--San José State 35 (WELAGE,Ryan 8), Seattle University 30 (Crook, Jack 10). Assists--San José State 13(Rogers, Frank 4; Thornton, Isaac 4), Seattle University 12 (Westendorf,Brendan 7). Total fouls--San José State 20, Seattle University 13. Technicalfouls--San José State-ONWAS, Princeton, Seattle University-None. A-1275