SAN DIEGO, Calif. –Play good defense. Limit turnovers. Make the open looks. The Spartans knew what they had to do in order to give themselves a chance against undefeated San Diego State and they executed that plan well enough to hold a late lead inside Viejas Arena. SJSU led 57-56 with just five seconds on the clock, but a 3-point basket by the Aztecs with just 0.9 remaining ended the hopes for an upset.
Despite the loss, San Jose State (3-7, 0-2) has no reason to hang their heads as they showed signs of improvement in nearly every department. The defense continued to play well and shut down the potent Aztec offense as they held them to just 32 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest percentage San Diego State has shot this season.
In the majority of games this season, the Spartans have put themselves in position to make enough plays to be successful, but turnovers and poor shooting has held them back. That wasn't the case today. SJSU committed just 11 turnovers and shot just shy of 39 percent from the floor. More importantly, the scored when it counted as they used a 14-2 run over the final few minutes to not only erase a double-digit lead but to take the lead outright with 1:49 to play on a Brae Ivey triple.
The run ended after Matt Mitchell knocked down a pair of free throws with :41 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Seneca Knight drew a foul, but missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw attempt to give the ball back to the Aztecs down one. KJ Feagin put up an errant 3-point attempt with 10 seconds remaining, but the rebound was corralled and a held ball was awarded with possession to San Diego State with five seconds to go. On the inbound pass Malachi Flynn, who was 2-for-12 at that point in the contest, made a contested 3-pointer with just 0.9 remaining to clinch the game.
Neither team started the game off well offensively as they shot a combined 7-for-24. The Spartans found some rhythm in the final six minutes to close the half with a 30 percent clip. Down 13 with 3:47 to go in the period, freshman Omari Moore got three the hard way as he converted the conventional 3-point play to break a three-minute scoring drought. Ralph Agee then cut the deficit to single digits with a triple to spark a 6-0 run that the Spartans used to make it a five point game at 30-25 at the half.
Things really began heating up in the second half as SJSU shot the ball at a 46 percent clip (13-28) and knocked down six treys (6-of-12) after hitting just two in the first half. Ivey, Knight and Christian Anigwe had multiple 3's to help the Spartans stick around in the period. After a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes, SDSU held a 45-38 lead at the 9:29 mark when Ivey knocked down a triple to cut the deficit back to four. The Aztecs regained a nine-point lead with just under five minutes to play when the Spartans knocked down back-to-back treys from Knight and Anigwe to make it a one-possession game, silencing the crowd of 11,925.
The Aztecs scored a field goal on their next possession but Knight knocked down another highly-contested 3 to make it a 2-point game. Ivey buried a trey of his own to give SJSU their first lead of the night with 1:49 to play. The lead got to as much as three before San Diego State regained the lead in the final seconds.
SJSU finished the afternoon 38 percent shooting clip and was 7-for-11 at the free throw line. Knight was the games' leading scorer with 15 points. Ivey chipped in 13 points while Moore, who continues to improve in all areas, scored nine. Agee scored 12 and pulled down 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Spartans.
Matt Mitchell (13), Nathan Mensah (12) and Jordan Schakel (11) led the way for the Aztecs as they improved to 10-0 on the season.
The Spartans return to action Saturday, December 14, against Stanford inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center.