Sports
Only a year removed from finishing last in the Mountain West with a dismal 0-18 record in conference play, the Spartans have found themselves right back at the bottom.
San Jose State has the worst record in the conference at 8-18 and just coming off a brutal 78-56 loss to San Diego State who clinched a share of the conference title.
The Spartans have lost their last four games, which they either had to come back or held a substantial lead, but found themselves flustered and desperate for points at crunch time.
“We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball,” head coach Dave Wojcik said. “Everybody knows that guards win games, it doesn’t matter what level you are at…you have to be able to handle the basketball and pressure.”
It is easy to point fingers and blame one element of the game as to why the Spartans have trouble closing out games, but it seems when the pressure is on, the team takes a step back.
“I always tell my guys, it's usually the most aggressive team that wins,” Wojcik said.
The players and coaches are visibly frustrated over these losses, knowing they had the game in their grasp, but just could not hold on.
“We lost our energy and it kind of fell apart,” freshman forward Cody Schwartz said. “Then you saw the result of that.”
Last Wednesday against the University of Nevada, the Spartans had an 11 point lead in the second half, but failed to keep or extend it and ultimately led to the Wolf Pack winning by six.
“We got tentative, we got back on our heels, as opposed to being more aggressive and having more poise,” Wojcik said. “I sort of compare it to the deer in headlights, the old expression, we just froze and you can’t do that against a good team.”
On Sunday against San Diego State, senior forward Frank Rogers threw down an emphatic dunk with 15:33 left in the second half to tie the game at 36; however, the Aztecs went on a 26-6 run and the Spartans were left in the dust.
“Their press on us really did hurt us,” freshman guard Brandon Clarke said. “We were throwing it away and it really helped them score on us easily.”
Clarke said it is hard to keep the team rhythm going when they start getting careless with the ball in the second half. San Jose State has a tough time this season dealing with the press defense and it has lead to countless turnovers, slowing down the Spartans offense considerably.
“It's been our Achilles’ heel,” Wojcik said. “I’m not going to shy away from it.”
Beyond all the frustration is a glimmer of hope for the future of the men’s basketball team. Schwartz and fellow freshman forward Ryan Welage led all Mountain West freshmen with 49 3-point field goals made this season.
The Spartans were second in the conference in assists per game (14.9 average) coming into Sunday’s game with 137 total on the season.
According to the Mountain West, the Spartans average of 14.9 assists per game is their best output in school history since the 1984-85 season (16.2).
San Jose State will look to salvage what’s left of their season in their final three games beginning Saturday at Utah State.
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