Maybe New Mexico plays better in The Pit. Maybe Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow had off nights. Maybe Lobo Coach Craig Neal looks like a lawyer on television (that one, to mix sports metaphors, came out of left field).
But what is known is that San Jose State University took one of the three best Mountain West Conference teams right down to the wire tonight before coming up short 69-65 at Walt McPherson Court.
Bairstow finished with 15 points and five boards and Kirk posted nine and seven plus a trio of turnovers as their teammates seemed to neglect them throughout too much of the game. But then again, neither showed all that much back-to-the-basket game, at least tonight, or assertiveness. It was too often a settling for face the basket jump shots.
Jaleel Williams led the Spartans with a career high 24 points, jab-stepping his way to six three-point makes throughout the game. Rashad Muhammad didn't shoot all that well (and made some tough shots), finishing with 16 points. It actually was Isaac Thornton Night as the freshman totaled 11 rebounds, five points, four assists and a pair of steals in 22 minutes of court time.
Yes, the better team won but it didn't play all that well and SJSU deserves some credit for producing that performance.
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* If you didn't look all that closely Lobo Hugh Greenwood appeared like the ghost of Justin Graham.
* Call the Spartan players anything you wish but don't use the word bashful. Some of the three-pointers attempted -- hoisted might be a more apt term -- looked mighty forced but then Coach Dave Wojcik doesn't really have a brawny big man to toss the ball to in the paint and the plethora of freshman are still finding their way in developing separation on dribble-drives.
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