Nov. 28, 2016
SPARTANS CLOSE ROAD TRIP TUESDAY AT IDAHOThe San José State men's basketball team has a chance to go 2-1 on this road trip when they close it out on Tuesday night at the University of Idaho. SJSU is coming off of an 88-76 win at Washington State on Sunday, while Idaho has had a few days off since suffering a 69-62 loss to Sam Houston State on Nov. 25. Live video streaming will be available via the Big Sky Network and can be heard on KLIV 1590 AM radio with Justin Allegri's play-by-play call.
Game #6San José State (2-3) at University of Idaho (3-2)Tuesday, November 29, 2016, 7:00 p.m (PT)Memorial GymMoscow, IdahoWatch Live:Big Sky TVListen: KLIV 1590 AM
SPARTANS TAKE DOWN WASHINGTON STATESan José State beat Washington State 88-76 on Sunday afternoon for the first win against the Cougars since 1990 and the first win against a Pac-12 team since 2010. Ryan Welage and Brandon Clarke both finished with a double-double, and that was only the surface of a very balanced offensive performance for the Spartans who had five players in double-figure scoring. There were six lead changes in the game and they were all within the first 10 minutes of the first period. From there, it was all San José State.
OUSTANDING WEEK FOR WELAGERyan Welage (6-9, So., F, Greensburg, Ind.) extended his season-high in points in both game last week at No. 15 Saint Mary's with 17 and at Washington State with 20. In the win over the Cougars, Welage pulled down 11 rebounds to match a career high. In the two games combined, Welage averaged 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and went 6-of-11 from 3-point range. But the most glaring stat of the week, was zero turnovers in 66 minutes of action.
PROTECTING THE ROCKThe Spartans have only lost one turnover battle this season, and even then it was just 10 turnovers to #15-Saint Mary's' eight. The team averaged less than 10 turnovers last week in two games. Ryan Welage played a large part in that by being turnover free in his 66 minutes of work.
A PAIR OF SOLID GAMES FOR Jaycee HillsmanJaycee Hillsman (6-6, So., G, Champaign, Ill.) began last week with a new career-high 16 points on the road at #15-Saint Mary's. Then he backed it up with a very efficient 14 points against Washington State. He didn't miss a shot in three attempts against the Cougars, and made 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Hillsman drained all seven attempts from the stripe in the Saint Mary's game. Hillsman is looking quicker than ever after dropping weight during the offseason. His speedy attacks to the basket coupled with being a solid free throw shooter have made for a solid developmental step forward from freshman year.
Brandon Mitchell FULFILLS HIS ROLE IN A WINBrandon Mitchell (6-6, Jr., F, Memphis, Tenn.) came off the bench early in the second half at Washington State and gave the Spartans the solid 16 minutes they needed from him. Mitchell blocked two shots and one of his six rebounds was an offensive board that he put back for the second-chance bucket. During his first stint off the bench, SJSU increased its 3-point lead over the Cougars to 11 points.
SECOND-CHANCE SPARTANS15 of San José State's 50 rebounds against Washington State were on the offensive glass. The result was a season-high 16 second-chance points. The effort continued a trend where the Spartans are now averaging 13.8 second-chance points per game compared to the opponents' 5.8 per game.
BENCH DOESN'T LET UPThe Spartans bench outscored Washington State's 32-10, making it four out of five games with an advantage over the opponents. SJSU is averaging 33.6 points per game in bench production while opponents are averaging 18.4. Jalen James (6-4, Jr., G, Chicago, Ill.) and Terrell Brown (6-2, Fr., G, Hayward, Calif.) are the top-two scoring reserves at 9.8 and 8.0 points per game respectively.
CLARKE SCORING IN MORE WAYS
Brandon Clarke was good enough to be the Mountain West's Sixth Man of the Year last season. This year he's off to an even better start in his new role as the starting big-man. Clarke is shooting 53 percent (32-60) from the field through five games, and he is the per-game scoring (15.4) and rebounding (7.8) leader. His double-double against Washington State was the third in five games. The second-year man from Phoenix, has created more shots for himself against defenders this year, while still cleaning up around the rim like he did all of last season.
LAST MEETING WITH IDAHOThe Vandals topped the Spartans 74-54 last year in the season-opener for both teams. Ryan Welage finished with a double-double including 15 points and 10 rebounds, but the Spartans only shot 29 percent from the field in the loss. Perrion Callandret with 18 points and Victor Sanders with 13 were two Vandals that hurt SJSU that night, and are back again this year.
ALL-TIME VERUS IDAHOIdaho owns a slight 14-13 edge in the all-time series with San José State. The last win for the Spartans came at the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Mar. 10, 2011, 74-68. Since then, Idaho has won five straight games. The two teams first met on the final day of 1926 in San Jose, which Idaho won 21-14.
IDAHO GAME ENDS ROAD TRIPThe matchup at Idaho is the third and final game of the road trip, which so far has been split with a loss at #15-Saint Mary's (64-81) and a win at Washington State (88-76). The Spartans return home on December 3 to face Santa Clara inside The Event Center. Tickets for the game are available at the Spartan Ticket Office.