San Jose State spoils season opener

Friday, November 14

Frost Arena

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

San Jose State (Calif.)

11/14/2008 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

South Dakota State opened the 2008-09 season on Friday hoping to avenge an overtime loss to San Jose State last season, but the Spartans squashed those hopes with a 70-62 win over the Jackrabbits in front of 2,424 fans at Frost Arena.

Garrett Callahan led four Jackrabbits in double figures with 19 points, Clint Sargent added 14, while Kai Williams and Anthony Cordova each pitched in with 13 points in the loss. Cordova also led all players with a career-high 15 rebounds for the team's only double-double.

San Jose State's Tim Pierce led all players with 23 points, while Chris Oakes scored 12 and Justin Graham 11 points in the win.

The Spartans shot 47 percent (26-of-55) for the game and got 12 points off the bench, while the Jacks shot 34 percent (14-of-70) from the floor and got no points from the bench.

SDSU did win the turnover battle 12-14 and out-rebounded SJSU 46-39, including a 19-10 edge on the offensive glass.

San Jose State opened the game on a 10-0 run and looked like they would put the game away early, but the Jacks kept chipping away at the lead, and eventually tied things up at 15-15 with 9:42 left in the first half.

The Spartans would stretch the lead back up to five points at 31-26 at the end of the first half, but a Callahan three-pointer and a Williams jumper tied the game at 31-31 just two minutes into the second half.

Down just one-point at 38-37 with 16:22 left in the game, the Spartans went on an 11-0 run to boost its lead to 12 points at 49-37 with 14:01 to go in the game.

Another Callahan three ended the run and the Jacks fought back to get within one point again at 49-48 with 10:18 to play.

The Jacks would make it a one-possession game again at 55-53 with an even 7:00 minutes on the clock, but they would get no closer, as SJSU steadily pulled away down the stretch to secure the 70-62 win.

The Jacks get a short break before they return to action on Sunday, when they look for their first win of the season against Mayville State (N.D.). Tip-off from Frost Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.