Jan. 4, 2017
San Jose, Calif.----- San José State forward Brandon Clarke led all players with 24 points, but four Colorado State starters scored in double figures as the Rams defeated the Spartans, 76-71, in a Mountain West men's basketball game.
Starting guards Prentiss Nixon and J.D. Paige each scored 18 for Colorado State (10-6, 2-1 Mountain West). Forward Emmanuel Omogbo scored 13, pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and made two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining to secure the win for the Rams.
San José State (7-6, 0-2 Mountain West) had two chances to tie the game in the final minute, but forward Cody Schwartz missed a 3-point field goal try with 47 seconds to go and forward Ryan Welage did the same with just under five seconds remaining. The Spartans converted just 9-of-26 3-point field goal attempts and shot 41.8 percent from the field in the game.
Reserve guard E.J. Boyce was San José State's most reliable 3-point shooter scoring all 12 of his points from downtown on 4-of-7 shooting. Jalen James was the Spartans' other double-figure scorer with 10 points.
Colorado State raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first 4:28 of the game, but an 18-2 run over the next 6:50 by San José State erased the deficit, and gave the Spartans the lead. Cody Schwartz connected from downtown to give SJSU their first lead, 16-15, with 10:47 in the first half. The lead would change hands seven more times throughout the game.
San José State led once in the second half, 35-34 with 18:24 to go, and managed a tie, 46-46 with 13:15 to go on a Clarke rebound tip-in. Clarke was 10-of-12 from the field, but did not score again after the 7:23 mark on a dunk.
Meanwhile Colorado State's Gian Clevell began to heat up in the final 20 minutes, scoring 10 of his 15 points with some clutch jumpers during that span. A three by Schwartz with 6:32 to play brought SJSU within three, 64-61, but Clavell was right there to answer with a leaner from outside the lane.
Clavell was there again with a layup that gave the Rams a 72-68 advantage with 3:13 to go.
A high-arching 3-pointer by Boyce splashed in with 1:43 remaining to make it 72-71, but that would be all for the Spartans. Paige connected on a jumper in the paint with 1:08 left to make it 74-71 before Omogbo iced it with two free throws.
San José State put up a season-low eight free throw attempts, making six of them, while CSU connected on 18-24 from the line. Despite the Mountain West's second-leading shot blocker's presence in Clarke, SJSU was outscored 40-26 in the paint.
The Spartans return to action Saturday, January 7, hosting Fresno State for a 2:00 p.m. tip in The Event Center.
Newspaper Box Score
Colorado State vs San Jose State
1/4/17 7:00 PM at San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
At San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
COLORADO STATE 76, SAN JOSE STATE 71
COLORADO STATE (10-6,2-1 MW)
PAIGE,J.D. 7-9 2-2 18; NIXON,Prentiss 5-10 8-8 18; CLAVELL,Gian 6-12 1-2 15;
OMOGBO,Emmanuel 5-13 3-4 13; BUTLER,Devocio 2-2 0-0 4; KOELLIKER,Braden 1-6
2-3 4; CARVACHO,Nico 1-2 0-2 2; BONNER,Anthony 0-1 2-2 2; BOB,Che 0-0 0-0 0;
JACKSON,Kimani 0-3 0-1 0. Totals 27-58 18-24 76.
SAN JOSE STATE (7-6, 0-2 MW)
Clarke, Brandon 10-12 4-6 24; Boyce, E.J. 4-7 0-0 12; James, Jalen 4-13 0-0
10; Welage, Ryan 3-10 0-0 7; Schwartz, Cody 2-9 0-0 6; Mitchell, Brandon 1-1
2-2 4; WILLIAMS, JR. GARY 2-8 0-0 4; Nichols, Isaiah 1-4 0-0 2; CHASTAIN,
Ashtin 1-2 0-0 2; Hillsman, Jaycee 0-0 0-0 0; Thornton, Isaac 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 28-67 6-8 71.
Colorado State................ 34 42 - 76
San Jose State................ 31 40 - 71
3-point goals--Colorado State 4-9 (PAIGE,J.D. 2-2; CLAVELL,Gian 2-5;
KOELLIKER,Braden 0-1; NIXON,Prentiss 0-1), San Jose State 9-26 (Boyce, E.J.
4-7; Schwartz, Cody 2-8; James, Jalen 2-4; Welage, Ryan 1-4; Thornton, Isaac
0-1; Nichols, Isaiah 0-1; WILLIAMS, JR. GARY 0-1). Fouled out--Colorado
State-None, San Jose State-None. Rebounds--Colorado State 37
(OMOGBO,Emmanuel 11), San Jose State 33 (Clarke, Brandon 9).
Assists--Colorado State 8 (NIXON,Prentiss 4), San Jose State 14 (JAMES,
Jalen 4). Total fouls--Colorado State 10, San Jose State 20. Technical
fouls--Colorado State-None, San Jose State-None. A-1523