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Men's Basketball Turns Sight To Boise State

Jan. 18, 2016

SJSU Game Notes

SPARTANS SET THEIR SIGHTS ON BOISE STATE
Last week against Wyoming, San José State picked up its first Mountain West win in 27 tries, and then came storming back in a wire-to-wire loss at Fresno State. Now the Spartans roll into Boise, Idaho, looking to erase what memories the Broncos might have of the 50-point drumming they put on SJSU in Taco Bell Arena last season. It will be the third time Spartans' head coach Dave Wojcik will be making his return to Boise after spending the 2011-13 seasons as the associate head coach under Leon Rice.




Game #19San José State (6-12, 1-5 MW) at Boise State (13-5, 4-1 MW)Wednesday, January 20, 2016, 7:00 p.m. MTTaco Bell Arena (12,480)Boise, IdahoWATCH: MW Digital NetworkLISTEN: Stretch Internet RadioTICKETSPurchase your tickets today for Saturday, January 23, when the Spartans return home to face New Mexico for a 2:00 p.m. tip. Tickets for Saturday's game and all men's hoops games are available at the ticket office website, which can also be reached by calling 408-924-7589. The Spartan Ticket Office is your one stop shop for tickets to all SJSU Athletics events.BE SOCIAL WITH YOUR SPARTANSSan José State Men's Basketball is active on both Twitter (@SJSUMBB) and Instagram (@SpartanMensHoops). By following along fans can get scoring and scheduling updates, and check out some of the featured photos from home games throughout the season. Mention us on Twitter and maybe you'll end up on our list of top tweets seen at the bottom of the page!
SPARTANS GIVE BULLDOGS A SCARE ON THE ROADSan José State showed exactly what it's capable of doing last week on the road at Fresno State -- shooting it's way out of a 19-point second half deficit. The problem is, being down by 19 in the first place. The Spartans got red-hot during a run in the second half behind five Ryan Welage threes, and cut the Bulldogs' 19-point lead to just one. San José State shot 30 percent (9-30) in the first half, and 53 percent (19-36) in the second. Fresno State pulled out an 81-74 win, using a couple of clutch shots in the final minutes, and an opponent-record 35 made free throws.KEEP SHOOTING WELYThe message to freshman Ryan Welage after 4 of 12 shooting and 0 of 6 from downtown in the first 20 minutes at Fresno State was, `just keep shooting'. That's exactly what he did, and he looked like a different player, making seven of his next eight shots and all five from beyond the arc in the second half. In doing so he led San José State back from a 19-point deficit, and finished with a season-high 28 points. He ended the night 11 of 20 shooting.WELAGE PACING MOUNTAIN WEST FRESHMEN IN SCORINGRyan Welage leads all Mountain West freshmen in scoring during conference play at 16.0 points per game. He's also the most efficient in doing so, with a .507 shooting clip. His 34 made three-point baskets are also a league-best among freshmen. And he's not just a shooter -- his 6.7 rebounds per contest ranks third behind UNLV's Stephen Zimmerman Jr. (11.4) and Nevada's Cameron Oliver (7.6). Welage's 28 points at Fresno State last week are the most points in a MW game by a freshman this season.CLARKE CONTINUES EFFICIENCYFreshman Brandon Clarke recorded his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds at Fresno State. A 6-for-8 shooting performance put him at a team-best .617 percentage for the year, and .727 (24-33) over the last seven games. Helping Clarke's efficiency is his ability on the offensive glass where he averages 2.8 boards per game. He had a season-high seven offensive rebounds at Fresno State.SPARTANS DEFEAT WYOMING TO END MW DROUGHTSan José State ended a 27-game losing streak Mountain West play when it beat Wyoming, 62-55, on Wednesday night in The Event Center. The Spartans took the lead with 12:25 to go in the first half, and never relinquished it. Gary Williams, Jr., led the way with a season-high 18 points, including six consecutive free throws in the final 1:27 to secure the victory.
CLARKE'S PRESENCE FELT ON BOTH ENDS IN THE WINFreshman forward Brandon Clarke balanced SJSU's offense by scoring 10 points on the inside on 5 of 8 shooting. But his biggest contribution came on the defensive end in the final three minutes. He forced two Josh Adams turnovers, which led to points on the other end, and he blocked Alexander Aka Gorski's potential go-ahead layup in the final minutes.ONWAS EYEING BOUNCE-BACK AFTER A TOUGH WEEKLast week was a tough one for Spartans' senior guard Princeton Onwas. He was held scoreless for the first time all year on the road at Fresno State (1/16), and in the Wyoming win (1/13) he committed eight turnovers, finished with seven points and fouled out with 4:32 to play. However, back-to-back career highs in points with 23 at San Diego State (1/6) and 24 versus Colorado State (1/9) are no distant memory at all. Onwas has played a handful of his best games since conference play began and head coach Dave Wojcik gave him the reigns to the offense from the point guard position.Dave Wojcik BACK IN BOISESan José State head coach Dave Wojcik had more than just a good run as an assistant at Boise State before joining the Spartans prior to the 2013-14 season. In three years as associate head coach under Leon Rice, the Broncos had two 20-win seasons and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2013. Wojcik was a part of the Broncos' transition from the Western Athletic Conference to the Mountain West, and now in the same league with San José State, will make his third return to Taco Bell Arena on Wednesday night.SAN JOSE STATE VS. BOISE STATESan José State is 2-26 all-time versus Boise State dating back to the first meeting between the programs in December of 1988. The most recent victory came on January 14, 2010, by a score of 76-74 inside The Event Center. The Spartans and Broncos have met twice in each of the last three regular seasons and once in the Mountain West Tournament. The last meeting between the two teams was in the final week of the 2014-15 regular season, which ended in a 68-51 Boise State win inside the Event Center. The Spartans would like to forget their last trip to Taco Bell Arena, when they fell 86-36.IT HAPPENED AGAINST BOISE STATEOne of the most thrilling San José State men's basketball games was against Boise State on January 7, 2011. The Spartans trailed by 16 points in the second half, but erased it and hit huge perimeter shots to force the first, third and fourth overtimes. The four overtimes matched a 1985 four-overtime win at Cal State Fullerton as San José State's longest men's basketball game. Boise State ended up pulling out the 102-101 victory, which is the last time an opponent of San José State scored 100 points. Justin Graham led SJSU with 29 points, and Boise State La'Shard Anderson had a game-high 31 points.

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