Career-Best Night From Washington Carries Spartans To VictoryCareer-Best Night From Washington Carries Spartans To Victory
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Career-Best Night From Washington Carries Spartans To Victory

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – San Jose State senior guard Richard Washington had a night to remember as he led the Spartans to victory in their 2020-21 season opener with career-best 38 points and 12 rebounds. The Spartans defeated Fresno Pacific by a final of 87-79, and have now won their last four season-openers under head coach Jean Prioleau.
 
Washington's 38 points are tied for the third-most in program history (Adrian Oliver on Jan. 21, 2010 vs. Louisiana Tech). The double-double was also the first of his Spartan career.
 
As a whole, it was a tale of two halves for the Spartans. Playing for the first time ever in Kaiser Permanente Arena, the first half saw the blue and gold score 53 points at 53.8 percent efficiency. Washington was the driving catalyst with 24 points in the opening period.
 
The Spartans (1-0) opened the contest with a 10-2 run with Washington dealing the bulk of the damage with nine points. After trading a couple baskets with the Sunbirds, SJSU then rattled off an 18-0 run to take an early grip on the contest. The spree was sparked by a trio of 3-pointers and was capped by a Seneca Knight layup with 9:51 to go in the period for the 23-point advantage.
 
After a quick four-point swing for the Sunbirds (0-1), SJSU rattled off seven unanswered of their own to take their largest lead of the game of 26 with 7:07 remaining. Washington then scored 11 of the team's final 13 points in the half to take a 20-point lead into the locker room at 52-32.

 

The second half saw a much different tale as Fresno Pacific came out of the break with purpose and took advantage of San Jose State's cold start. After chipping the lead down to 17 with 16:02 left, the Sunbirds rattled off a 17-1 run to erase the deficit and take a 60-59 lead with under 11 minutes to play. The Spartans were 0-for-8 shooting during the drought until Omari Moore scored on back-to-back possessions to regain the lead.
 
A couple of uncontested buckets from Fresno Pacific's Aamonde Coleman gave the Sunbirds the lead once again, but the Spartans answered nicely with a 9-2 spree of their own with Washington once again taking the lead with eight of those points. Once the lead was regained, SJSU did not lose it again for the rest of the contest.
 
Despite late buckets by Spencer Heimerdinger inside the final three minutes to get the lead down to four, Moore put the team on his back by closing out the final 2:14 on game time with seven points and give the Spartans the lead needed to hold on for the win.
 
The Spartans finished the night 32-of-66 (48.0 percent) and knocked down 10 triples. SJSU won the rebounding battle 48-41 while Fresno Pacific took advantage of 16 Spartan turnovers for 22 points.
 
Moore finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for his first-career double-double, and also dished out a team-high five assists. Teamed with Washington, they became the first Spartan duo to record a double-double in the same game since Dec. 18, 2018, when Michael Steadman and Oumar Barry achieved the feat at Stanford.
 
Knight and Trey Smith each finished with eight points while Ralph Agee contributed six points and four rebounds from off the bench. Freshman Chase Courtney was 2-for-3 for four points in his collegiate debut.
 
For the Sunbirds, it was Coleman that led the way with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Adrian Antunez chipped in 17 points and dished out a game-high six assists.
 
With a game finally under their belt, the Spartans now turn their attention to Saint Mary's. It will be a quick turnaround as SJSU is set to face off with the Gaels on Friday in Moraga for a 7:00 p.m. PT tip.


 


SPARTAN ATHLETICS FUND FAN CUTOUTS:
Spartan Nation, don't miss your chance to be represented in the stands at the Provident Credit Union Event Center this season. If interested in a cardboard cutout, follow this link to register!