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Men's Hoops Tries For Another Streak Wednesday Night

Dec. 20, 2016

SJSU Game Notes

SPARTANS GO FOR THREE IN A ROW WEDNESDAYSan José State has a chance to notch another three-game win streak on Wednesday when Southern Utah visits the Event Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip. Tickets for the game are just $5 when you go to the SJSU Ticket Office website and use the code WELOVESANJOSE. Live streaming video is available through the Mountain West Network, and fans can listen to Justin Allegri's call on KLIV 1590 AM.GAME #11San José State (6-4) vs. Southern Utah (2-10)Wednesday, December 21, 7:00 p.m. (PT)The Event Center (5,000)San Jose, Calif.$5 Tickets: Ticket Central (use code: WELOVESANJOSE)Video Streaming: Mountain West NetworkRadio: KLIV 1590 AMSPARTANS EDGE BOWLING GREEN WITH CLARKE'S GAME-WINNERSan José State came out on top of Bowling Green 77-76 thanks to Brandon Clarke's game-winning tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation. Clarke's shot saved the day as the Spartans had an 18-point lead over the Falcons at one point in the second half. Clarke finished with game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds. The win was San José State's fifth in six games and guaranteed that the team will head into conference play next week with a winning record.CLARKE WINS MW PLAYER OF THE WEEKFor his performance in the win over Bowling Green, Brandon Clarke was named the Mountain West Player of the Week for games played Dec. 12-18. Not only did he have the game-winning tip-in, but he finished with his fourth double-double of the year with 24 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. The Desert Vista High School graduate finished 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, which moved him into second among all Mountain West players in 2016-17 for shooting percentage.NONCONFERENCE RESETWednesday's game versus Southern Utah is SJSU's nonconference finale. Looking back on what has transpired, the Spartans have dialed up one of their best preseasons in recent memory. A win over SUU would give SJSU a 7-4 record heading into conference play, the best since the team was 8-3 heading into Western Athletic Conference play in 2010-11 - When the Spartans played in the CBI. After dropping two of the first three contests, the Spartans won five of the next seven, including a three-game win streak over Washington State, Idaho and Santa Clara. A win Wednesday would make it three in a row for the second time, something the team also hasn't happened since the 2010-11 season.THORNTON MOVES UPIsaac Thornton is now alone in second all-time at SJSU for his 126 career steals after taking the ball away four times in the win over Bowling Green. The senior trails only Justin Graham (2007-11) who finished his career with 209 steals. Thornton is currently second among all Mountain West players this season averaging 2.0 steals per game.TOP RANKS IN THE MOUNTAIN WESTSan José State currently owns the league's best rebounding margin over the opponents at +6.2. The team is averaging 38.3 rebounds per game, which ranks second only to Colorado State (39.1 rpg). A big part of SJSU's rebounding advantage is the offensive rebounding category, where the team is also tops in the league at 12.6 per game. Other top-5 rankings in the MW include: Scoring offense (75.7 ppg, 5th), Made 3-pointers per game (7.5, T4th), turnover margin (+1.6, 3rd) and steals per game (7.7, 2nd).
FIRST MEETING WITH SOUTHERN UTAHThe Spartans and Thunderbirds will meet for the first time on Wednesday night in the Event Center. The Big Sky members come into the game having lost six in a row and eight of nine. Southern Utah fell to Seattle U 89-75 on Monday night, and the visit to The Event Center will be the second of a five-game road trip. It is the nonconference finale for both teams.THE WORD ON SUUThe Thunderbirds were picked to finish 12th out of 12 in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches and Media polls. The team is paced by 6-foot-3 junior guard Randy Onwuasor who averages 22.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Despite a 3-for-20 shooting night in the most recent game at Seattle U (12/19), Onwuasor still almost came away with a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.QUICK LOOK AHEADSan José State begins Mountain West play on December 28 on the road at Nevada. The Wolf Pack are currently on top of the Mountain West standings with a 9-2 record. It will be the first trip to Reno for the Spartans since February of 2015.