Dec. 18, 2016
San Jose, Calif. --- Brandon Clarke was absolutely everywhere in the first half, but it was his only field goal in the final 20 minutes which mattered most.
Clarke followed up teammate Jalen James' missed lay-up with a game-winning tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining, and San José State defeated Bowling Green, 77-76, in a non-conference men's basketball game.
Clarke finished with game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds as the Spartans (6-4) won their second in a row and fifth in their last six outings. The 6-foot-9 forward scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half. His 14 rebounds were a season-high and helped notch his fourth double-double of the year.
The game was a series of ebbs and flows with Bowling Green jumping out to a 13-3 lead in the first 4:16. The Spartans closed the half scoring 20 consecutive points including 10 in a row by Clarke, and went into halftime with a 44-29 advantage.
Senior guard Isaac Thornton's steal with 3:45 left in the first-half led to a transistion alley-oop dunk for Clarke. It was Thornton's 126th career steal which moves him into second all-time at San José State, behind only Justin Graham (2007-11) with 209. Thornton finished the game with four steals.
Foul trouble limited Clarke to 11 second-period minutes, and turnovers helped Bowling Green work its way back into the game. First with a 15-4 rally that closed the deficit to 57-52 with 8:33 remaining, and then took their first lead of the second half, 64-63, on two free throws by Demajeo Wiggins with 5:38 remaining.
The Spartans regained the lead, 70-68, on two James free throws with 2:56. They led by as many as five, 73-68, before Bowling Green went ahead for the last time on Zack Denny's layup with 8 seconds left.
James drove down the lane to his right with a defender draped on him. His desperation layup sailed over the rim and into the hands of Clarke, who put it right back up and in with 1.2 seconds left.
Denny missed a half-court shot at the final buzzer.
Ryan Welage with 14 points and guards Isaac Thornton and Gary Williams, Jr., with 10 each also scored in double figures for San José State.
Forward Wes Alcegaire and Denny led Bowling Green (4-7) in scoring with 16 each.
San Jose State closes out non-conference play, Wednesday, December 21, hosting Southern Utah in a 7:00 p.m. game.
Newspaper Box Score
Bowling Green vs San Jose State
12/18/16 2:00 PM at San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
At San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
SAN JOSE STATE 77, BOWLING GREEN 76
BOWLING GREEN (4-7)
DENNY, Zack 7-15 0-0 16; ALCEGAIRE, Wes 6-10 2-4 16; ALI, Ismail 6-11 0-1
12; FRYE, Dylan 4-7 1-1 10; LILLARD, Antwon 3-6 1-2 8; WIGGINS, Demajeo 1-6
4-4 6; CALDWELL, Rodrick 2-5 0-0 6; WORRELL, Rasheed 0-3 2-2 2; FOX, Matt
0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 10-14 76.
SAN JOSE STATE (6-4)
Clarke, Brandon 9-12 6-8 24; Welage, Ryan 5-11 0-0 14; Thornton, Isaac 4-11
0-2 10; WILLIAMS, JR. GARY 3-6 3-4 10; James, Jalen 2-7 5-5 9; MITCHELL,
Brandon 4-6 0-0 8; Brown, Terrell 1-1 0-1 2; Schwartz, Cody 0-0 0-0 0;
Hillsman, Jaycee 0-1 0-0 0; Singer, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0; Nichols, Isaiah 0-1 0-4
0. Totals 28-56 14-24 77.
Bowling Green................. 29 47 - 76
San Jose State................ 44 33 - 77
3-point goals--Bowling Green 8-15 (CALDWELL, Rodrick 2-4; ALCEGAIRE, Wes
2-4; DENNY, Zack 2-4; FRYE, Dylan 1-1; LILLARD, Antwon 1-1; FOX, Matt 0-1),
San Jose State 7-16 (Welage, Ryan 4-7; Thornton, Isaac 2-5; WILLIAMS, JR.
GARY 1-1; James, Jalen 0-3). Fouled out--Bowling Green-ALI, Ismail, San Jose
State-MITCHELL, Brandon. Rebounds--Bowling Green 28 (DENNY, Zack 7), San
Jose State 41 (Clarke, Brandon 14). Assists--Bowling Green 12 (ALI, Ismail
7), San Jose State 13 (Thornton, Isaac 6). Total fouls--Bowling Green 21,
San Jose State 17. Technical fouls--Bowling Green-None, San Jose State-None.
A-1452