By Lindsey Boyd (@lindsboyd3 ):
San Jose State men’s basketball (3-14, 0-6 MW), managed to trim its turnovers to nine, but lost 78-71 to Air Force (7-10, 1-4 MW) Saturday afternoon.
Rebounding, which tends to be a high note for SJSU wasn’t Saturday afternoon as the Falcons crashed the glass a bit better, beating the spartans 37-33 in the category.
SJSU got a wake up call in the first five minutes of the game after the Falcons hammered out a quick 13-4 lead. Lavelle Scottie took advantage of the Spartan’s five missed defensive rebounds and went 3-of-4 from the three point line during that span.
“We didn’t do anything on the boards,” said head coach Jean Prioleau. “We let them get 14 offensive rebounds which basically did us in.
The Falcons played a physical game but center Ashtin Chastain stepped up to push back. He went 5-6 in free throws and brought down some major rebounds before fouling out with three minutes remaining.
“Air Force is a hard working team,” senior guard Jalen James. “They play like dogs at the end of the day.”
Air Force went on to have nine threes in the first half — a high number considering it averages 7.3 a game — and jumped out to an 18 point lead.
Prioleau spoke briefly about the game plan defensively after the game, saying the Academy made it difficult to crack down on one style of play.
“If you stay close to that guy, you might also open up driving lanes… so it’s a pick your poison type of deal,” Prioleau said of guarding players on the perimeter.
Picking the poison was deadly for the Spartans as it chose to play loose up top. The Falcons sunk down 13 shots behind the arc, but were held to 23-56 (41.1 percent) in field goals.
The Spartans rallied late in the first half, spreading the momentum gene into halftime. With the help of back-to-back threes from Welage, James and freshman forward Noah Baumann, SJSU shrunk Air Force’s lead to six at the break.
Within the first 3 minutes of the second half, Chastain’s four free throws and Baumann’s jumper inside the paint tied the game 42-42. A deep ball by Bauman extended it’s game high three-point lead, 45-42 but the Spartans couldn’t maintain it.
The Falcons ultimately put the nail in the coffin after going out on a 8-0 run late in the last three minutes to bring the score 69-59 with a minute remaining.
Prioleau’s poison has been picked clearly all season. He favors defense over offense and guarding field goals over threes. But the team has to keep in mind all of the other fundamentals going forward.
“Defend and rebound,” Prioleau said of his message to the team. “…you never know when it clicks. Maybe it is starting to click. I don’t know. But the message hasn’t changed.”
Looking forward, SJSU will play Nevada, the best team in the conference, at home Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.