By Kavin Mistry:
It was not the start to the conference season San Jose State (7-5) was hoping for on Wednesday night
The Spartans were dominated by Nevada (12-2), losing 80-55.
Tonight’s game can be summed up with one stat: nine percent shooting from beyond the arc. SJSU attempted 21 three pointers and made only two.
Emotions ran high throughout the game as the upstart Spartans were given a reality check. SJSU had one of its worst shooting nights of the season and it showed from the opening tip off.
In the first half the Spartans had a tough time finding any offensive consistency, taking a lot of low percentage shots from beyond the arc.
SJSU finished the first half 0-9 from three and a cold 10-32 from the field. It was only Brandon Clarke who provided any spark for the Spartans offensively, scoring 14 points on 6-12 shooting.
The Wolfpack destroyed the Spartans in the paint. While struggling from the mid-range region, UNR used its speed to attack the basket with ease and put SJSU in foul trouble early.
At the end of the first half, the Spartans had six players with two fouls and the Wolfpack spend 11 of the first 20 minutes in the bonus which helped them build the lead.
A scary moment at the end of the first half threw both teams off their game. UNR’s Josh Hall went up for a layup and collided hard with SJSU’s Brandon Mitchell and fell hard on the floor. Nevada brought out the trainers and took Hall off on a stretcher.
The second half proved no different for the Spartans who kept attempting wild shots with very little success.
SJSU found zero consistency on offense and the defense was unable to help as foul trouble from the first half carried over into the second.
The Spartans finished the game with 26 team fouls and UNR spent 22 of the 40 minutes of the game in the bonus; much to the dismay of head coach Dave Wojcik, who was visibly frustrated throughout the game on the sideline.
Nevada guard Marcus Marshall torched the SJSU defense all night with 25 points and four three’s. Along with Marshall, three other Wolves finished in double-digits in scoring and the team shot 47.3 percent from the field.
While the Spartans struggled, both teams exchanged in multiple altercations throughout the second half which resulted in five technical fouls being handed out, two to SJSU’s Jalen James who was promptly thrown out of the game.
SJSU will have to find its offense before it takes on Colorado State next Wednesday in the Event Center.