SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Richard Washington and Seneca Knight combined for 42 of the Spartans' 71 points, but it was not enough to hold off Cal Poly as San Jose State Men's Basketball fell to the Mustangs by a final of 73-71 on Sunday at the Mott Athletic Center.
Washington continued his hot start to the season by scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting with three 3-pointers. The Mountain West leading scorer increased his points per game average to 26.3. Knight also had an impressive afternoon with an 18-point, seven-rebound performance. The junior from Lafayette, Louisiana also came away with a game-high three steals.
The game started off just about as well as the Spartans (1-2) could hope for as they knocked down their first four attempts from the floor and jumped out to an early 10-2 lead. That lead was extended to 12 at 18-6 on a corner triple by Trey Smith.
Cal Poly (2-2) began to find some rhythm offensively as they slowly chipped away at the lead. The Mustangs finished the half on an 11-3 run to erase the deficit and make it a two-point game at 36-34 at the break. Knight was the Spartans' leading scorer with 12 points and five rebounds in the opening period.
In the second half, it was Cal Poly that had the good start as they quickly took a five-point advantage, however back-to-back 3-pointers by Washington and Knight took that lead right back at 44-43 with 15:26 remaining. The Mustangs then answered with back-to-back buckets of their own to regain control and held onto the lead until Knight converted on a tough jumper to tie the contest. Ralph Agee, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, floated in the go-ahead score on a shot that rolled in on a favorable bounce.
The lead changed four more times over the next five minutes before a Washington triple gave the Spartans their last lead of the evening at 67-66. Cal Poly punched back with a 7-0 run to gain control for good as they closed out the contest.
One of the big keys of the game was the Spartans' inability to convert at the free throw line as they converted just 63.6 percent of their 33 attempts. Conversely, Cal Poly was able to hit 80.8 percent of their chances.
The Spartan defense continued to defend the 3-point shot well as they held Cal Poly to a 4-for-13 night behind the arc. They also forced 17 Mustang turnovers in which they turned into 24 points. Cal Poly won the rebounding battle 43-38 and finished the night with a 44 percent scoring clip (25-of-57) against SJSU's 35 percent (22-of-62).
Alimamy Koroma (19 points) and Brantley Stevenson (17 points) led the way offensively for Cal Poly.
The Spartans return to action on Friday, Dec. 18 against Santa Clara. The game will be played at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.
