San Jose State had a big game across town against Santa Clara
San Jose State’s goal was to snap a five-game losing skid
Contact/Follow @AnaKieu & @MWCwire
The real question was this, can San Jose State hold onto a lead?
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Spartans snapped a five-game losing skid with a 75-63 win over the Broncos at the Leavey Center Thursday night.
San Jose State got off to a strong start as Keith Fisher made two layups and Ryan Welage hit two three-pointers for a 10-0 lead at 15:45 of the first half.
Santa Clara ended SJSU’s 10-0 run at 14:32 on a pair of free throws by Henry Caruso. Brandon Mitchell then hit a jumper at 13:45 to halt Santa Clara’s nice little run. Caruso responded with another pair of free throws until SJSU went on a 7-0 run, thanks to Welage’s three and jumper along with Jaycee Hillsman’s layup.
Both teams continued to battle it out. KJ Feagin hit a three, Ashtin Chastain made two layups and then Caruso made a layup. SJSU went on two 4-0 runs and a 8-0 run, respectively. Santa Clara went on two runs of their own, 2-0 and 5-0, in that order.
SJSU carried a 39-18 lead over Santa Clara into halftime.
SJSU began the second half on a positive note as Isaiah Nichols made a jumper at 19:21. Santa Clara benefited from three’s by Feagin and Matt Hauser before SJSU went ahead 46-24 on Chastain’s layup and Welage’s three. Santa Clara then pulled within 18 (46-28) at 16:20, thanks to Caruso’s layup and Feagin’s jumper.
Neither team had any points in a span of 3:08 until Oumar Barry made a layup at 13:12. Just 24 seconds later, Matt Turner hit a three. However, Barry responded with a dunk along with a pair of free throws to put SJSU up 52-31 at 12:25.
Santa Clara made it rain with two three’s from Hauser and Feagin in a span of 35 seconds. The game shifted into back-and-forth mode as Barry made a layup, Hauser hit another three and Hillsman scored on a jumper.
Santa Clara cut the deficit to 14 (56-42) on a layup by Feagin with 9:01 left in regulation. SJSU went back to work as Barry shot a pair of free throws 29 seconds later.
Again, Santa Clara made it rain with three three’s—two by Feagin, one by Caruso. Caruso added a layup to pull the Broncos within five (58-53) with 5:31 left.
SJSU seemed very nervous about potentially blowing a lead. Fisher hit a couple of free throws to expand the Spartans’ lead by eight (61-53) with 4:41 left.
After suffering the effects of a flagrant foul, Welage returned to the court and hit a pair of free throws. Fisher followed with a layup to extend the Spartans’ lead to 13 (67-54) with 2:14 left.
Santa Clara scored four points to pull within nine (67-58) in a span of eight seconds. Hauser made a layup and Jarvis Pugh hit a pair of free throws.
Fisher and Hillsman’s free throws put the Spartans back on top 70-58. The Broncos, however, weren’t ready to back down just yet. Feagin hit a three to pull his team within nine (70-61). Welage hit a free throw, but Healy countered with a layup to pull within eight (71-63).
With just one minute remaining, Welage hit a pair of free throws to give the Spartans a 10-point lead (73-63). Jalen James also added a pair of free throws for a 75-63 lead.
As the clock winded down, SJSU beat Santa Clara 75-63 on the road. With the win, SJSU snapped a five-game losing skid.
Up Next
SJSU takes on Utah State at the Smith Spectrum on Wednesday, December 27 at 7 pm MST.
