By Jarra Gojolo — Staff Writer
After Thursday’s mauling by the Arizona Wildcats, a game like this was much needed.
Seneca Knight, Craig LeCesne and Zach Chappell combined for 42 points Sunday as San Jose State’s men’s basketball (2-2) cruised past Simpson University (1-4) 85-60.
Head coach Jean Prioleau said there’s room for the Chappell, who provided a spark off the bench, to grow as a player.
“We really need him to be a scoring guard, looking to shoot the three when it’s open, drive it if it’s there, if he can beat his guy, beat him,” Prioleau said. “But as you’re doing that you’re also seeing your reads. I thought he did a good job today.”
Chappell finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including two threes.
The Spartans led by as much as 27 in the second half, when Knight threw down a lob from Brae Ivey in transition.
Knight, another sophomore guard, led the Spartans with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He also tacked on five rebounds and four assists.
Knight says the transition game has been an area of focus for SJSU coming into this season.
“Last year we felt like it was moving too slow,” Knight said. “We’re just trying to get comfortable with more repetitions in game-like situations.”
SJSU shot a season-high from the field (55 percent) and from three (39 percent), after the game at Arizona where they shot 11 percent from three and 22 percent overall.
“We still had the shots available to us [against Arizona], we just didn’t make them,” Prioleau said. “We had some shots available to us tonight, and thank goodness that our guys have been working on their shooting. They have enough confidence to step up, and take the shot and make the shot.”
Freshman Harminder Dhaliwal and sophomore Trey Smith, both walk-ons, scored their first points of the season for SJSU. 14 out of their roster of 15 players logged minutes in Sunday’s contest.
“We’re gonna need them,” Chappell said about Dhaliwal and Smith. “Just as much as we need the starters, we need everybody locked in and into the game. To see them go in and score it’s good to cheer them just as they cheer for us. We like Harms.”
Prioleau has just as much praise for the pair of walk-ons.
“Harminder and Trey Smith, those guys are non-scholarship players,” he said. “Those guys pay for school, they come in every single day and they work extremely hard. What out scholarship guys don’t understand, is those guys are probably gonna leave outta school with debt, and they still believe in what we’re trying to do.”
Smith scored seven points, draining both of his attempts from behind the arc, while Richard Washington fed Dhaliwal for his only two points of the game.
“They might not play, they might not even play much in practice,” Prioleau said. “But because we practice and play all the time, it allows them to be able to step in and do something. That’s what you saw.”
Nathan Presnell scored 21 points for the Red Hawks, who are on a four-game losing streak after winning their season opener against New Hope Christian College. The Red Hawks play in the California Pacific Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The Spartans’ next game is at home against Grambling State (3-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday
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