By Casey Geier
The Spartans tied the game late in the fourth, but struggles shooting the ball hurt San Jose State down the stretch, falling to the Aggies 82-78 on the road.
Winners of their last three road games, the Spartans (10-17, MW 7-8) came into the game ranked number one in the conference averaging 8 three pointers made a game. They did not look like the top team in that regard early against the Aggies, (15-12, MW 8-8), only making a pair of threes in the first shooting 30 percent.
The Aggies then went on a an 18-5 run to start the quarter opening up the game and their lead. This was mainly due to the USU demolishing the SJSU on the offensive glass, as San Jose moved into a 2-3 zone to start the second quarter. The Spartans allowed far too many offensive rebounds after switching to zone.
SJSU’s offense picked up as the the defense forced the Aggies into tough shots, allowing the Spartans to get out in transition and end the first half down 49-33.
In a return to her home state, Dezz Ramos was the main contributor for the Spartans all game, finishing with 37 points. She used her speed to drive to the basket as well as her court vision to dish out 5 assists. She and Paris Baird, who scored 14 points on 4-7 from three, were about the only Spartans having it offensively.
The Spartans remained largely out of the game for the majority of the third quarter, but cut the game to 10 before going on an 8-0 run to begin the fourth quarter. SJSU then tied the game up at 65 a piece with six minutes left. They weren’t able to continue that momentum, and the Aggies again pushed ahead as the time expired.
For San Jose State, the loss moves them to seventh in the Mountain West with just three games remaining in the regular season.The Spartans will play Boise State this Saturday in the Event Center at 2 p.m.