San Jose State University
GAME NOTES - CSUF
Dedrique Taylor is in his ninth year at Cal St. Fullerton, time flies! Big West Tourney Champs in 2018.
Titans shot 31-59 (52.5%) from the field at Santa Clara.
Preseason Big West Newcomer of the Year - A.J. Anoskie (TR from Tennessee), had 16 pts. and 13 rebs. in his CSUF debut. Expect him to have a major impact tonight.
Vincent Lee got in a rhythm as well, scoring 18.
Dante Maddox Jr. had 17 off the bench on 7-for-11 shooting
GAME NOTES - SJSU
Alvaro Cardenas, frosh from Spain, is getting a lot of early buzz here.
Omari Moore figures to be the Alpha on this squad. Moore tallied a double-double in the exhibition win over Cal State East Bay with 23 points and 13 rebounds
Coach Miles goes for win #400 in his Spartan debut
Intriguing transfers ready to make a splash for SJSU: Trey Anderson (via South Carolina), Shon Robinson (via Ole Miss), Ibrahima Diallo (via Ohio State), Tibet Gorener (via Arizona)
The Spartans were picked 10th in the 2021-22 Mountain West Preseason Poll
Majok Kuath (Injury) will miss the 2021-22 Season.
1st Half RECAP
Spartans came after CSUF right off the opening tip-off, building a quick 10-2 lead. The lead never really got tight the entire half, which completely took Cal State Fullerton out of their interior game strategy. Having to play catch-up from the onset meant that the Titans took a handful of jump shots and could not establish a sense of control. CSUF, to their credit, did mostly stick to their guns by taking 22 two’s and just five three’s.
A new era of San Jose State basketball is underway.
As for the Spartans, eight triples were made. It was a very fluid offense with crisp ball movement and several shooters. Caleb Simmons led the way with 10 points, followed by Trey Smith and Shon Robinson - who each had nine. Robinson impressed me with his athleticism, and there’s a lot to like about the Frosh Alvaro Cardenas, who was silky smooth running the point in limited minutes and also hit a three.
Halftime: San Jose State, 45, CSUF 34.
2nd Half RECAP
The Spartans continued to pour it on early in the half. After trading baskets with CSUF, Tibet Gorener, Alvaro Cardenas, and Trey Anderson hit consecutive triples to widen the Spartan lead to 61-47. Not too long after that CSUF Head Coach Dedrique Taylor made a crucial adjustment to switch to a four-guard lineup. It paid off for the Titans in spades. Latrell Whitesell and Dante Maddox, Jr. sparked a furious comeback that would cut the Spartan lead down to 73-70 with four and change remaining.
The Titans completed the comeback after a tough driving layup three-point play by Whitesell tied things up at 76. San Jose State had led for over 37 minutes and played brilliantly for most of the game, yet still found themselves in a tie game. The final 2:36 gave us back-to-back-to-back offensive fouls! Both teams played tight and struggled to generate crunch-time offense. That would set the stage for one final possession.
Spartans had the rock and rotated the ball around to ultimately take the last shot. With approximately five seconds remaining, Trey Anderson launched a three to take the lead - but drew iron. The rebound caromed directly into the hands of Trey Smith. Smith then quickly went into a fade-away jumper from about 8-feet away and less than a second left on the game clock. The ball goes in! Spartans win their opener. Tim Miles wins his 400th game and gets completely drenched by the team. A splendid first game at San Jose State.
FINAL: San Jose State 78, Cal State Fullerton 76.
POSTGAME NOTES
A very excited Tim Miles in the Postgame Press Conference. Also, listen for my question on Alvaro Cardenas around the four-minute mark:
Shon Robinson scored a career-high 14 points, while Caleb Simmons added a career-best 11.
Smith finished the game with 14 points and went 3-for-5 from behind the arc
San José State shot 50 percent from behind the arc (14-for-28)
The Spartans connected on 10 or more 3-pointers in just four games last season.
Wrightsell Jr. led the team with 17 points off the bench on 4-for-7 shooting while shooting 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.
Dante Maddox Jr. contributed off the bench with nine points on 3-for-5 from the field.
Four out of five Titans starters scored in double figures led by E.J. Anosike who scored 14 points, shooting an impressive 6-for-8 on the night. Vincent Lee and Damari Milstead added 12 points while Tray Maddox Jr. scored 11.