SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State men's basketball erased a 15-point second half deficit to force overtime against Fresno State, but ultimately fell to Bulldogs by a final of 84-78. The Spartans gave it everything they had in the loss, outscoring Fresno State 37-30 in the second half and closing regulation on a 23-8 run.
Trailing 59-44 with 8:43 left in regulation, the Spartans went on their big offensive tear, first scoring 12 unanswered to cut the deficit to three at 59-56 with 5:13 on the clock. Three free throws pushed the Fresno State lead back up to six, but SJSU rattled off six more points to tie the game for the first time since the tip. SJSU took the lead outright on a 3-ball by Kaison Hammonds, who made his first career start and finished with a career-high 19 points.
On the other end, Bulldog's Niven Hart made an outstanding conventional 3-point play to regain the lead, but Seneca Knight took the inbounds pass and drove down an open lane to finish with a thundering dunk that tied the game at 67-67. Fresno State had the ball last, but with just .03 on the clock was unable to get off a shot as they game went into overtime. It was the first overtime game for the Spartans of the season and first since falling to Air Force in 2019.
In overtime, Fresno State took a six point lead in the first three and a half minutes, but a 3-ball by Knight kept SJSU in it. The Bulldogs scored a four unanswered on the other end to regain the lead and despite a triple by Brae Ivey, they held onto that lead for a 84-78 win.
With the loss, SJSU drops to 7-18, 3-10 in league play. The Bulldogs improve to 9-16, 5-9. The Spartans finished the night shooting 32 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range with 12 triples. Fresno State shot the ball at a 39 percent clip.
The Spartans shot the ball at a 31 percent clip in the first half, but hit some buckets when it mattered in the closing minutes. Trailing 32-20 with 3:26 to go, Richard Washington took over the court with an eight-point spree sparked by an alley-oop dunk and capped by back-to-back triples. Ralph Agee hit a jumper in the paint to make it a 10-0 run that cut the deficit to two with just 1:15 to play. Fresno State responded by scoring the final five points to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room.
SJSU forced 15 turnovers with eight steals and shot the ball well at the free throw line (82 percent). Fresno State won the rebounding battle 58-44 and dished out 18 assists to the Spartans' 12.
Knight led the Spartans with 23 points, his third-straight game with at least 20 points and fourth of the last five games. He also pulled down 13 rebounds for the double-double, his second of the season. Washington chipped in 17 points.
Hart finished with a game-high 30 points to lead the way for the Bulldogs as one of five scorers in double figures. The Spartans return to action on Saturday at Air Force.