LOGAN, Utah – San Jose State men's basketball, presented by Provident Credit Union, was unable to find their rhythm in game two against Utah State, falling by a final of 85-52 on Wednesday inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Utah State jumped out to an early 13-3 lead, and saw the lead increase to 16 at 29-13 on a Rollie Worster 3-pointer with 7:21 to play in the half, but the Spartans locked down defensively to limit the Aggies to just three more field goals for the remainder of the half. SJSU allowed just one field goal for the Aggies' final seven attempts to the period.
On the offensive end, SJSU (1-4, 0-2) was held to just 26.7 percent from the field (8-of-30) but they knocked down seven of their 10 attempts from the charity stripe to keep themselves in contention. Freshman Sebastian Mendoza, making his first career start, led the Spartans with seven points.
Utah State (5-3, 2-0) opened the second half with a 20-1 run as they took advantage of a poor shooting start for the Spartans before Trey Smith knocked down a triple with 11:40 on the clock to cut the deficit to 62-30. SJSU finished the half with a 20.6 scoring clip against 42.9 percent for the Aggies.
Richard Washington was the Spartans' leading scorer with 11 points while Seneca Knight pulled down a team-best nine rebounds. Caleb Simmons was 2-for-3 from 3-point range while Omari Moore came away with a game-high three steals.
For the Aggies, it was Worster that led the way with 15 points while Brock Miller finished with 12 points. Neemias Queta stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
The Aggies controlled the glass with a 53-44 rebounding advantage and finished the night with a scoring clip of 42.9 percent (30-of-70). They were 8-for-24 from 3-point range and scored 19 points off of 17 Spartan turnovers.
San Jose State finished 15-of-64 (23.4 percent) from the field and came away with seven steals to the Aggies' six.
With their first Mountain West series under their belt, the Spartans will now make the move to Phoenix, Ariz. where they will practice and host home games in the immediate area beginning with Boise State on Dec. 31.
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!