The San José State men’s basketball team was defeated by Colorado State University 85-73 on Saturday, Feb. 28.
With the loss, the Spartans fell to 8-21 overall and 3-15 in Mountain West Conference play.
Despite coming up short, the Spartans were threatening an upset over the Rams, who came into this game winners of six consecutive games.
With 12 minutes left to play, SJSU junior guard Colby Garland threw a lob pass to SJSU freshman guard Melvin Bell Jr. on a fastbreak. The bench erupted as Bell leapt in the air before slamming the ball into the basket, giving the Spartans a 55-54 lead.
Colorado State rallied to take the lead back and held onto it, sealing the win.
SJSU Coach Tim Miles said the defense let them down.
“We hung around,” Miles said. “Then when we dried up, we couldn’t get enough stops to get on top.”
Colorado State junior guard Brandon Rechsteiner was a major factor for the Rams’ win, shooting 6-of-9 from 3-point range and finishing with 20 points.
Miles emphasized that defending the perimeter was a major focus heading into the matchup.
“They’re one of the best shooting teams in the country,” Miles said. “You’ve got to get to their 3-point shooters and that was what was disappointing about Rechsteiner getting away from us.”
Miles praised his team for its ball movement and hustle plays, as the Spartans had 10 assists on 14 field goals in the first half.
“We want to be able to score off assists and that was big,” Miles said. “That dried up a bit in the second half.”
SJSU junior forward Marcus Overstreet provided energy for the team, coming up with a huge block late in the first half that allowed the Spartans to hit two consecutive 3-pointers and go into halftime down five points.
Miles credited Overstreet for bringing a spark when the team needed it most.
“(Overstreet) provided a lot of hustle and energy,” Miles said. “He did a lot of good things for us.”
Garland had another outstanding game, shooting 10-of-17 and finishing with 28 points, his eighth-consecutive game with 20 or more points.
SJSU also took care of the ball, committing only six turnovers while the Rams had 11, which translated into 16 points off Colorado State turnovers.
The week prior to the game, Garland was named the Mountain West player of the week, the first Spartan to earn the honor since Omari Moore in 2023.
Garland averaged 25.5 points per game over the recorded week and led SJSU to wins in two of its last three games before facing the Rams.
Garland is averaging 19.5 points per game this season, which ranks second in the Mountain West and is among the top 50 in the country.
The Spartans will go on the road to face rival Fresno State University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Save Mart Center before coming back home to play its final regular-season game against the University of Wyoming on March 7.
The Mountain West conference tournament tips off on March 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As a lower seed, SJSU will have to play in the first round of the conference tournament, with exact matchups yet to be determined.
