Nov. 27, 2016
Pullman, Wash. --- Brandon Clarke and Ryan Welage both notched a double-double, and a collective effort from top to bottom helped push San José State men's basketball over Washington State, 88-76.
A four-point burst out of the halftime locker room extended SJSU's lead to 10, and that set the tone for the second half.
After Washington State cut the lead back to three, 48-45 with 17:41 left, Jaycee Hillsman and Jalen James combined to score 13 straight points for the Spartans. Then, Welage's 3-pointer at the 8:44 mark put San José State up 64-51.
All the while Brandon Mitchell had come off the bench at the beginning of that series and blocked two shots, and turned an offensive rebound into a put-back basket. The Spartans outrebounded the Cougars 50-39 for the game and had 16 second-chance points.
Welage and Isaac Thornton put exclamation points on a couple of very deliberate Spartan possessions late in the second half. Thornton's 3-ball ripped chord with 4:10 to play, giving the Spartans a 71-56 lead.
Welage's three on the next possession gave San José State its largest lead of 16, 74-58, at the 3:28 mark.
It is the first win against Washington State since a 70-69 win on Dec. 5, 1990 in San Jose. It's also the first win against a Pac-12 team since beating Oregon, 75-72 on Nov. 20, 2010. SJSU's 88 points are the second-most all-time against a Pac-12 foe and the most since 1968 when the Spartans scored 98 points against California.
Clarke's double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds was relatively quiet -- except for the thunderous two-handed slam in the first half. Gary Williams, Jr., scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half.
Welage matched his career-high with 11 rebounds to go along with his season-high 20 points. It's the second game in a row that the second-year forward has extended his season-high in points after putting in 17 against No. 15 Saint Mary's on Tuesday.
Washington State had four players finish in double-figure scoring, led by Josh Hawkinson with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
San José State goes a short nine miles across the state line to face the University of Idaho on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. (PT).
Newspaper Box Score
San Jose State vs Washington State
11/27/16 3 p.m. at Beasley Coliesum (Pullman, Wash.)
At Beasley Coliesum (Pullman, Wash.)
SAN JOSE STATE 88, WASHINGTON STATE 76
SAN JOSE STATE (2-3)
Welage, Ryan 7-13 3-5 20; Hillsman, Jaycee 3-3 8-10 14; WILLIAMS, JR. GARY
5-10 0-1 12; Clarke, Brandon 6-10 0-2 12; Thornton, Isaac 2-5 7-8 12; JAMES,
Jalen 3-10 2-3 9; Brown, Terrell 2-3 0-2 5; Mitchell, Brandon 1-2 0-0 2;
Nichols, Isaiah 1-6 0-0 2; Chastain, Ashtin 0-0 0-0 0; Schwartz, Cody 0-1
0-0 0; Boyce, E.J. 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-65 20-31 88.
WASHINGTON STATE (3-3)
Hawkinson, Josh 7-17 4-4 19; Flynn, Malachi 5-7 5-9 18; Iroegbu, Ike 3-9
8-10 15; Callison, Charles 4-11 3-4 12; Franks, Robert 2-6 0-0 6; Daniels,
Viont'e 2-5 0-1 4; Clifford, Conor 0-3 2-2 2; Pollard, Jeff 0-2 0-0 0;
Langston, KJ 0-1 0-0 0; King, Derrien 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-63 22-30 76.
San Jose State................ 44 44 - 88
Washington State.............. 38 38 - 76
3-point goals--San Jose State 8-25 (Welage, Ryan 3-6; WILLIAMS, JR. GARY
2-4; Thornton, Isaac 1-4; James, Jalen 1-4; Brown, Terrell 1-1; SCHWARTZ,
Cody 0-1; Boyce, E.J. 0-2; Nichols, Isaiah 0-1; Mitchell, Brandon 0-1;
Clarke, Brandon 0-1), Washington State 8-19 (Flynn, Malachi 3-4; Franks,
Robert 2-4; Hawkinson, Josh 1-2; Callison, Charles 1-4; Iroegbu, Ike 1-2;
King, Derrien 0-1; Daniels, Viont'e 0-2). Fouled out--San Jose State-CLARKE,
Brandon, Washington State-None. Rebounds--San Jose State 50 (Clarke, Brandon
11; Welage, Ryan 11), Washington State 39 (Hawkinson, Josh 12). Assists--San
Jose State 11 (James, Jalen 4; Nichols, Isaiah 4), Washington State 13
(Flynn, Malachi 3; Iroegbu, Ike 3; Daniels, Viont'e 3). Total fouls--San
Jose State 23, Washington State 24. Technical fouls--San Jose State-None,
Washington State-None. A-2317