BIMINI, The Bahamas – San José State men's basketball used a 48 point second half to make a comeback bid that ultimately fell short as the Spartans fell to Weber State, 85-77, Thursday in the Junkanoo Jam opening round.
It was a tale of two halves for SJSU (1-2). The Spartans were unable to find much success in the opening half and although they pulled down 13 offensive rebounds, they struggled from the floor and in transition as they ended the half shooting just 27 percent (10-for-37) from the field, while the Wildcats finished 17-for-31 (54.8 percent). Michael Steadman and Christian Anigwe combined for 14 points and 12 rebounds in the half.
The second half saw a drastic change as the Spartans converted on 54.5 percent (18-for-33) from the floor and outscored the Wildcats 48-40. Trailing by 17 with 7:30 to play, the Spartans went on 13-2 run to cut the lead to six at 78-72 with 2:51 left. However, that was as close as SJSU would get as Weber State (2-1) hit seven free throws over the final 2:38 to close the door on the comeback.
Anigwe, a freshman from Phoenix, Arizona, had a monster night off the bench as he recorded his first-career double-double with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 13 rebounds. Steadman finished with 12 points and seven rebounds while Brae Ivey poured on 11 points and a game-high seven assists. Craig LeCesne also dipped into double-figures for the second-straight game with 10 points before fouling out.
The Spartans out-rebounded Weber State 48-42 and pulled down 18 offensive boards. 30 of their 77 points came from off the bench led by Anigwe's 20, and they finished the game 28-for-70 (40 percent) from the floor.
The Wildcats' Jerrick Harding led all scorers with 31 points in 37 minutes of work. Weber State finished 30-for-62 from the field (48.4 percent), but was held to 41.9 percent (13-for-31) in the second half.
With the loss, SJSU drops to the loser's bracket of the Junkanoo Jam and will play CSU Bakersfield on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.