STANFORD, Calif. – The San Jose State men's basketball team played one of their best games of the season as they shot 45.6 percent from the field, but ultimately fell to non-conference foe Stanford, 78-73, Tuesday at the Maples Pavilion.
Oumar Barry and Michael Steadman each recorded a double-double becoming the first Spartan duo to achieve the feat since Ryan Welage and Brandon Clarke against Washington State on Nov. 27, 2016. Barry finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Steadman had a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. Craig LeCesne (16), Brae Ivey (11) and Noah Baumann (11) all dished in double-figure scoring efforts in the loss.
SJSU (3-7) held a 3-point lead at 40-37 with 17:04 in the second half before Stanford took the lead for good after back-to-back 3-point buckets by Oscar Da Silva, who finished 6-of-11 from 3-point range for 23 points, at the 12:15 mark. The Spartans battled back and kept the game at one possession until Stanford pulled ahead for an 11-point lead with 4:26 to go.
The Spartans still had fight in them and cut into the deficit and drew as close as three points at 76-73 with :21 seconds left. Stanford (6-4) closed the game out on a made free throw and a put-back in the final seconds.
SJSU started strong in the opening half as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led by as many as nine at the 9:31 mark as Barry buried a jumper from the paint. SJSU held onto the lead for all but just two seconds as Stanford scored a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to take a 34-33 lead into the half. The Spartans finished the half shooting 42.9 percent from the field, their best first half shooting performance since converting 58.3 percent against Central Michigan on Nov. 18.
KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 25 points. Stanford finished 13-of-34 from 3-point range (38.2) while SJSU finished just 30.8 percent (4-of-13). Missed free throws and late turnovers proved costly for the Spartans as they tried to close out the game. They shot a season-low 68 percent (17-25) and finished with 16 turnovers.
SJSU won the rebounding battle 38-29 and outshot the Cardinal 48.3 percent to 45.2 percent in the second half. The Spartans also dominated the paint outscoring Stanford 40-24.
The Spartans will head to the second leg of their three-game Bay Area road trip on Friday as they take on Cal in Berkeley at 7 p.m. PT.
