LAS VEGAS – San Jose State men's basketball sophomore forward Seneca Knight had a night to remember as he became the first Spartan in two years to score 30 points in SJSU's 98-87 loss at UNLV on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
A Lafayette, Louisiana product, Knight finished the evening with 30 points on 7-of-16 shooting with four triples to lead all scorers in the losing effort. He balanced the scoring with 18 points in the first half and 12 in the second.
This was Knight's third-straight game scoring at least 20 points, becoming the first Spartan since Ryan Welage in 2018 to achieve the feat, and his 15th game scoring in double figures this season. His 30 points are the first time a Spartan has reached 30 points since Welage scored 37 against Wyoming on January 27, 2018.
The Spartans (6-13, 2-5) had a poor start from the field shooting just 34.6 percent in the opening half. That number climbed nicely in the second half as the clip was increased to 48.6 percent on 18-of-37 shooting. Unfortunately, UNLV (10-9, 5-1) shot the ball even better in the second half at a 60 percent clip (21-of-35).
Coming out of halftime down 28-26, SJSU was unable to do much to slow down the Rebel offense as the 3-ball began to fall. After hitting just one trey in the opening 20 minutes, UNLV knocked down seven in the second half as they padded a large lead that the Spartans were unable to overcome despite knocking down nine second-half triples of their own.
UNLV led by as much as 20 at 90-70 with 4:47 to play, but the Spartans showed some grit as they refused to roll over and chipped the lead down to 10 with two minutes remaining. Kaison Hammonds came off the bench late and scored 10 points with two triples in those final moments.
Hammonds was one of four Spartans to reach double figures led by Knight's 30. Richard Washington chipped in 12 with four triples and Christian Anigwe scored 10 to go with a team-best six rebounds.
SJSU finished the night with a 16-9 assist-to-turnover ratio with Brae Ivey dishing out six of those assists. UNLV tallied 23 assists of their own but coughed the ball up 16 times.
At the beginning of the contest, UNLV used an early 15-3 run to take a 19-9 lead before Zach Chappell sparked a quick five-point burst for the Spartans. Chappell stole the ball at midcourt and laid it in on the other end. The ensuing possession saw the Spartans take advantage of another Rebel turnover as Seneca Knight knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to 19-14.
With 5:57 on the clock in the first the lead was chipped down to four after a Knight layup and Ralph Agee putback off the high glass. UNLV pushed the lead back to seven, but the Spartans rallied again to make it a 28-26 deficit with 4:00 remaining. Washington made it a one-point game with 2:00 left on a corner trey, but UNLV closed the half on a mini 6-1 run to take a 38-32 lead into the locker room.
SJSU finished the night shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from 3-point range. UNLV hit 55.4 percent of their shots including 40 percent from beyond the arc.
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday, January 21, at New Mexico in Albuquerque.