Feb. 21, 2017
ONE AND ONLY MEETING WITH UTAH STATE HAPPENS WEDNESDAYSan José State hosts Utah State at the Event Center on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. (PT). It is the only time the two teams will meet in the regular season, and it's the second-to-last home game for the Spartans. Tickets for Wednesday's game as next week's Senior Night game (3/1) are available at the Spartan Ticket Office. The SJSU vs. Utah State game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and KLIV 1590 AM with Justin Allegri's play-by-play call.Game #26San José State (14-11, 7-7 MW) vs. Utah State (11-15, 5-10 MW)Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 7:00 p.m. (PT)The Event Center (5,000)San Jose, Calif.Tickets: Spartan Ticket OfficeTV: Mountain West NetworkRadio: KLIV 159 0AM & KSJS 90.5 FMOFF THE TOPSan José State will try to end an 18-game losing streak to Utah State ... The Spartans are going for a 15th regular season win, something which the program has achieved just three times in the last 23 years ... The 7-7 Spartans on MW play have the most conference wins since the 1995-96 San José State team which won the Big West Tournament and went to March Madness ... Brandon Clarke is one of three players in the league averaging more than 20.0 points during MW play.SPARTANS RALLY FROM 13 DOWN TO BEAT AIR FORCESan José State came back to win its fourth game of the season after trailing by double-digits when it erased a 13-point deficit to beat Air Force 83-78 in overtime.SJSU trailed 41-28 at halftime and 63-54 with 7:13 left in the second half. The comeback was fueled by career scoring highs for Isaac Thornton (17) and Brandon Mitchell (12). All of their points came in the second half, and Brandon Clarke added 22 points and 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the year.MITCHELL AND THORNTON FUEL COME BACKIsaac Thornton and Brandon Mitchell combined for 29 points after halftime and provided the spark SJSU needed to comeback and beat Air Force. Both players converted traditional three-point plays down the stretch of the second half, and Mitchell drained the biggest 3-pointer of his career in overtime. The Falcons made consecutive baskets to start overtime while the Spartans missed their first four shots. Right when it looked like SJSU was out of it, Mitchell banged the three to make it 74-73 Air Force lead. Thornton came up with a steal on the next Air Force possession, leading to a Brandon Clarke dunk which gave the Spartans the lead for good.CLARKE BOUNCES BACKBrandon Clarke began last week with a rare performance than included a season-low four points on just 2-for-8 shooting in a loss to Fresno State. But three days later the Mountain West's most efficient shooter returned to form, nailing 9-of-12 from the field for a team-high 22 points. He also grabbed 13 rebounds to notch his eighth double-double of the year. It was the eighth 20-point game for Clarke during Mountain West play which ties for the league lead with New Mexico's Elijah Brown and Colorado State's Gian Clavell.SPARTANS GOING FOR 15TH WINSan José State is going for a 15th regular season win, something the program has accomplished just three times in the last 23 years. The 2010-11 Spartans were the most recent group to win 15 regular season games, and they advanced to the semifinal round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and later the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).MOST CONFERENCE WINS SINCE '95-96San José State's comeback victory over Air Force was the seventh Mountain West win of the year. It gives SJSU the most conference wins since the 1995-96 season when the team went 9-9 in Big West play. That same team went on to win the Big West Tournament and make SJSU's most recent of three NCAA Tournament appearances.SERIES HISTORY WITH UTAH STATESan José State has beaten Utah State just once in the last 11 years, and a win on Wednesday would snap an 18-game losing streak to the Aggies. The last Spartan win came at home on February 18, 2008 by a score of 70-67. Utah State owns a commanding 57-21 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to December of 1935.LAST SEASON VERSUS UTAH STATESan José State began conference play last year with an 80-71 home loss to Utah State. The nine-point loss was the closest contested game between the programs since a 66-60 win for the Aggies in 2013. The teams met again in late February and the Spartans lost that one on the road 88-70. Cody Schwartz who infamously played the first half of last year's game in Logan, averaged 12.0 points over the two meetings last season.