SAN JOSE, Calif. - After defeating the Falcons at home earlier this season, the San José State men's basketball team will tip at Air Force at 11 AM on Saturday looking for a season sweep.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (7-18, 3-10 MW)
PPG: 70.3 | FG%: 39.3 | 3FG%: 29.8 | FT%: 71.6
Notes: Sophomore Seneca Knight has taken his play to a new level in Mountain West play. The guard is averaging 19.6 points per game in league games while shooting 42.6% from the floor, 33.3% from three and 77.6% at the line. Knight's conference-only scoring output is the third-best in the MW this year, trailing only Nevada's Jalen Harris (25.9 ppg) and UNLV's Bryce Hamilton (21.8 ppg). Overall this season, Knight is averaging 16.1 points per game while shooting 40.0% on field goals, 28.3% on threes and 74.5% on free throws.
AIR FORCE FALCONS (9-16, 3-10 MW)
PPG: 73.5 | FG%: 45.5 | 3FG%: 37.5 | FT%: 74.6
Series: SJSU trails Air Force, 7-10 (3-6 at AFA)
Last: SJSU won, 90-81, on Jan. 25 in San José
Notes: Air Force enters Saturday's game on a seven game losing streak. The Falcons fell at Boise State on Tuesday, 74-57. In Air Force's January loss to the Spartans, the free throw line was the difference. Both teams made 29 field goals. Both teams made 13 three-pointers. But the Spartans had a 19-10 edge in made free throws, led by an 11-of-12 effort from Brae Ivey. Lavelle Scottie leads the Falcons in scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV - None
Stream - MW Digital Network at sjsuspartans.com/watch
Radio - Justin Allegri on the call through TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app. Search TuneIn for "San Jose St. Basketball".
LAST TIME AGAINST AIR FORCE
- The Spartans defeated Air Force, 90-81, on Jan. 25.
- SJSU had five players score in double figures. Starters Seneca Knight (20) and Brae Ivey (17) were joined by reserves Richard Washington (12), Eduardo Lane (11) and Zach Chappell (10).
- SJSU went 19-of-24 at the free throw line in the win.
- SJSU outrebounded the Falcons 39 to 37.
- Air Force's Lavelle Scottie had a game-high 25 points.
ON THE RISE
- After posting just one conference win in each of the last two seasons, the Spartans have started the climb this year.
- SJSU has three league wins with five Mountain West games remaining on the schedule.
- SJSU's best league record since joining the MW for the 2013-14 season, was a 7-11 mark in 2016-17. The Spartans won just two of their first eight league games that year but went 5-5 down the stretch.
SPARTANS GROUND AIR FORCE
- Led by five scorers in double figures, San José State defeated Air Force, 90-81, on Jan. 25 at the Event Center.
- The Spartans tallied a season-high 12 steals and matched a season-best with 13 made three-pointers.
- Omari Moore and Seneca Knight each came up just short of double-doubles. Moore posted nine points and a season-high 10 assists while Knight had 20 points and nine rebounds.
KNIGHT'S BIG NIGHT BEATS NEVADA
- Sophomore guard Seneca Knight scored a then-career-high 28 points as the Spartans defeated Nevada, 70-68, on Jan. 8.
- Knight drew a game-high eight fouls and went 8-of-12 at the free throw line. He was 8-of-17 shooting with four threes.
- The Spartans outscored the Wolf Pack, 24-12, at the free throw line which helped them overcome a poor shooting game. SJSU was just 8-of-33 from three-point range.
- The Spartans won their second league game of the season after going 2-34 in MW play over the previous two seasons.
- The win was SJSU's third straight at home, its longest home winning streak in three years.
SPARTANS ROAR BACK TO BEAT NEW MEXICO
- Junior Richard Washington hit a game-winning three-pointer, his seventh of the game, with eight seconds left to give SJSU its second-straight win over New Mexico, 88-85.
- New Mexico led by as much as 14 points in the first half while the Spartans led by as much as 18 in the second.
- Washington posted a career-high 25 points and a career-high seven three-pointers. He had made just six three-pointers over the previous 10 games.
- SJSU had runs of 14-0, 10-0 and 12-2 in the game while New Mexico had runs of 17-2 and 11-0.
- The victory was the highest NET/RPI win of head coach Jean Prioleau's career. New Mexico entered the game at No. 59 in the NCAA's NET rankings and dropped to 86.
SAN JOSE STATE POUNDS PEPPERDINE
- The Spartans snapped an eight-game losing streak with an 83-68 win over Pepperdine on Dec. 28.
- The Spartans turned the ball over a season-low seven times.
- Senior guard Brae Ivey tallied a career-high 23 points and hit a career-best five three-pointers.
- Sophomore guard Seneca Knight posted his first collegiate double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
SPARTANS COME UP JUST SHORT AT SANTA CLARA
- Down by as much as 17 points in the second half, the Spartans rallied back but the comeback fell short in an 89-85 loss at Santa Clara on Dec. 18.
- San José State scored 58 points in the second half after scoring just 26 in the first half.
- The Spartans had five players score in double figures for the first time since a win over Life Pacific on Nov. 7, 2018.
- Guard Zach Chappell tallied a career-high 20 points off the bench and dished out a team-high six assists.
- In his first career start, forward Ralph Agee posted 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- SJSU outrebounded Santa Clara, 36-25.
HEARTBREAK AT SAN DIEGO STATE
- The Spartans suffered a heartbreaking loss at San Diego State on Dec. 8. Up by a point with five seconds remaining, the Spartans saw SDSU point guard Malachi Flynn hit a deep three-pointer at the buzzer for the win.
- Forward Ralph Agee posted his first double-double for the Spartans with 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
- The Spartans held SDSU to just 31.7 percent shooting.
- SJSU matched a season-low with 11 turnovers.
SPARTANS STYMIE GRAMBLING STATE
- Grambling State entered the game on Nov. 20 with the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 114 points over its first three games.
- The Spartans held the Tigers 38 points under their average in an 83-76 win at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
- Grambling State was 1-of-10 shooting on three-pointers.
BALANCED EFFORT IN WIN VS. SIMPSON
- The Spartans had 13 different players score in an 85-60 win over Simpson on Nov. 17.
- Guard Zach Chappell came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
- Guard Seneca Knight was 6-of-8 shooting for 15 points.
- Forward Ralph Agee posted 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
- Freshman walk-on Harminder Dhaliwal made his collegiate debut and had two points and two rebounds in six minutes.
SPARTANS STUN HOFSTRA IN SEASON-OPENER
- San José State opened the 2019-20 season with a bang, defeating Hofstra on the road, 79-71, on Nov. 6.
- Hofstra won 27 games last year, SJSU lost 27 games.
- In his Spartan debut, JC transfer and former Wake Forest guard, Richard Washington, posted a team-high 23 points off the bench on 8-of-13 shooting. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the final four minutes, including a stretch of three straight three-pointers to put the game away.
- It was SJSU's first win in a road opener since 2010-11 when the Spartans topped Eastern Washington, 67-60.
- The Spartans snapped a 21-game road losing streak dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.
- SJSU won on the East Coast for the first time since 2001-02, when the Spartans defeated Fairleigh Dickinson at the BCA Tournament hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
