Feb. 22, 2017
San Jose, Calif.----- Forward Ryan Welage led the San José State University men's basketball team with 20 points, but the Spartans lost to Utah State, 81-75, in a Mountain West game.
The Spartans (14-12, 7-8 Mountain West) never led in the game as Utah State (12-15, 6-10 Mountain West) had four of its five starters in double-figure scoring. Guards Koby McEwen led all players with 23 points and guard Sam Merrill had a season-high 22. Forward Jalen Moore chipped in with 15 and center Norbert Janicek scored 14.
Utah State had one of its best shooting nights in its first conference road victory of the season. The Aggies made 54.9 percent of their field goal tries and were 19-of-20 from the free throw line.
San José State trailed by as many as 12 points, 31-19 with 7:43 in the first half, and 43-35 at halftime. The Spartans closed to within five points on four occasions in the second half.
Besides Welage's 20 for his seventh consecutive game in double-figures, San José State also had four players finish with 10 or more points. Forward Brandon Clarke scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Jaycee Hillsman scored 13 and guard Isaiah Nichols added 11 off the bench.
The Spartans were 12-of-21 from 3-point range, one shy of their season-high of 13, but only made 45.9 percent of their field goal tries in the game.
Utah State's 81 points were just the second time a team scored 80 or more points in conference play against the Spartans.
San José State concludes the week with a February 25 game at Boise State.
Newspaper Box Score
Utah State vs San José State2/22/17 7:00 PM at San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)At San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
UTAH STATE 81, SAN JOSE STATE 75UTAH STATE (12-15, 6-10)McEWEN, Koby 5-12 10-11 23; MERRILL, Sam 9-12 2-2 22; MOORE, Jalen 6-12 3-315; JANICEK, Norbert 7-11 0-0 14; TAYLOR, Quinn 1-1 2-2 5; RECTOR, Shane 0-12-2 2; BRITO, Diogo 0-0 0-0 0; BARNABA, Ngor 0-1 0-0 0; DARGENTON, Alexis0-1 0-0 0; PEARRE, Julion 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 19-20 81.
SAN JOSE STATE (14-12, 7-8)Welage, Ryan 8-15 2-2 20; Hillsman, Jaycee 4-9 2-2 13; Clarke, Brandon 6-100-0 12; Nichols, Isaiah 4-7 2-4 11; Brown, Terrell 2-8 1-2 7; Schwartz, Cody2-4 0-0 6; James, Jalen 1-2 0-0 3; Thornton, Isaac 1-2 0-0 3; MITCHELL,Brandon 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 7-10 75.
Utah State.................... 43 38 - 81San Jose State................ 35 40 - 75
3-point goals--Utah State 6-17 (McEWEN, Koby 3-6; MERRILL, Sam 2-5; TAYLOR,Quinn 1-1; BARNABA, Ngor 0-1; MOORE, Jalen 0-4), San Jose State 12-21(Hillsman, Jaycee 3-6; Brown, Terrell 2-5; Welage, Ryan 2-3; Schwartz, Cody2-4; Nichols, Isaiah 1-1; Thornton, Isaac 1-1; James, Jalen 1-1). Fouledout--Utah State-TAYLOR, Quinn, San Jose State-None. Rebounds--Utah State 31(MERRILL, Sam 6; MOORE, Jalen 6), San Jose State 26 (Clarke, Brandon 10).Assists--Utah State 17 (MERRILL, Sam 5; McEWEN, Koby 5), San Jose State 21(Thornton, Isaac 5; Clarke, Brandon 5). Total fouls--Utah State 14, San JoseState 16. Technical fouls--Utah State-None, San Jose State-None. A-2145