If San Jose State needed a response game after a loss against UC Irvine, they at least provided one with authority in the first half.
The Spartans essentially played their best half of the season, overwhelming San Diego with an avalanche of pace, pressure and shooting advantage to win 86-69.
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The Spartans shot 66% in the first half and led 52-34 at halftime. Guards Colby Garland and Jermaine Washington combined for 28 points before halftime, and Yaphet Moundi solidified the interior with strong touches and elite positioning.
The Spartans hit an early 15-0 opening punch. Washington opened the game with a long two-pointer in the first few minutes of the game, followed by a three-pointer to get the game going. Shortly after, forward Sadraque NgaNga scored on a dunk and Moundi continued the Spartans’ run with a free throw.
Against San Jose’s pressure defense, the Matadors didn’t score their first goal until nearly five minutes.
“I think we set the tone early. Our defense was really good and our offense was really solid; getting off to such a great start,” head coach Tim Myers said.
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Adrian Myers, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound forward, scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had a compelling inside-out game off the bench.
Whenever the dollar moves, Myers squashes it. Myers even admitted that he almost benched Myers after two turnovers, but while Myers had to wait, the sophomore player caught fire: “He hit a 3-pointer, and then he hit another one, and I said, ‘I can’t take him out now.'”
By halftime, three Spartans in SJSU’s seven-man rotation were scoring in double figures. At the end of the game, four Spartans players scored in double figures.
But the second half was a different story for the Spartans.
USD started 2-for-9 from the field, but once they found a rhythm, the Matadors’ full-court press and half-court trap made the game deadlocked for the Spartans. Ultimately forcing SJSU into a total of 18 turnovers.
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What was once a clinic becomes a chore, but more often than not it doesn’t, and that’s the ugliness or beauty of basketball.
Miles explained the shift bluntly: “They started scoring. They put some pressure on us, we got into some foul trouble, and our lineup was a little awkward considering we were missing guards.”
After leading by 28 points at one point, the Bulldogs cut the lead to 15 points multiple times, especially when SJSU hit the scoring wall in the second half as it scored just 18 points.
Even Garland, who had a solid 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists all night, saw a trap a mile away and had to call a timeout eight minutes into the game.
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Even though Myers and his team knew the pressure on USD was coming, it still made the Spartans uncomfortable.
But Myers brings a momentum killer to the Matadors. A 3-pointer from the SJS bench extended the lead to 67-46 with 12:05 left, temporarily halting the Matadors’ rise.
However, Mundy was slow to block it. The young forward made a block at one end and then made a tough coast-to-coast drive to extend the lead to 18 points with less than three minutes left. Mundy finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and was worth more than $1 on every possession.
Get through the ugliness
Although San Jose still won handily, the vibe in the locker room was honest every mile: “It’s always good to win games. But we also tell ourselves, ‘We need to do better at this, this, this. ‘”
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Garland responded that the rotation is still evolving, especially given injuries: “We’re clicking at times but still figuring things out; just trying to see which five guys can play the hardest.”
But at least the recent mission is accomplished.
The Spartans bounced back to get a big win with four players scoring in double figures, the defense dominated early and when the turmoil hit, the stars came out strong.
Not a perfect victory. As Myers described it, “It was an uglier second half for the Spartans,” but perhaps it was still a necessary one in the learning and gelling process.
After struggling with their shots the past few games, the Spartans absolutely needed a shot tonight, and they got it.
