Spartans dominate Wyoming at home

By Jillian Darnell OPINION EDITOR

After a 12-game losing streak against Wyoming, the San Jose State men’s basketball team defeated the Cowboys 84-64, winning their first game against the Cowboys since 2016.

Senior guard Omari Moore scored a game-high 29 points for the Spartans.

Other Spartans had big games as well. Senior forward Sage Tolbert III had 14 points. Sophomore point guard Alvaro Cardenas scored 13 points and dished out four assists.

“There were only a couple of ties which tells you a lot about the performance, to have five and almost six [players] in double figures,” said SJSU head coach Tim Miles. “To have that kind of balance is really important.”

Early in the first half Tolbert III caught an alley-oop pass and threw it down for a huge slam that gave the Spartans a jolt of energy.

“I knew the [dunk] was gonna work but I didn’t think it was gonna be defended,” Tolbert III said. When talking about what he said about the Wyoming defender, Tolbert III said he felt “sorry for him.”

Early in the first half, Wyoming went on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 16 a piece.

SJSU went on a run of its own and scored nine consecutive points at the 11:06 time mark to take back control of the game.

At the end of the first half, SJSU led 39-28.

The Spartans held the Cowboys to 40% from the field and 36% behind the threepointer line in the first half.

Wyoming would make a small comeback in the second half. Senior guard Hunter Maldanado rattled off 11 straight points to bring the Cowboys to within seven points of the SJSU lead.

The Spartans answered with a 23-12 run that put away the Cowboys for good.

Last season, SJSU lost by a combined margin of 18.5 points. Moore said he was happy to finally get a win over the Cowboys.

“Wyoming is a good program, they’ve been good my whole time here. So it’s my first time beating them,” Moore said. “So it’s great for the program, we’ve been able to really protect the house at our home court, we want to continue building on it.”

Cardenas heavily contributed to the Spartans’ win on Saturday. The point guard from Spain played all 40 minutes and was +20 when he was on the floor.

“Alvaro is a leader for our team, he was voted captain by his teammates,” Miles said. “He’s really a heart and soul kind of guy on this team. It’s great for me, he coaches our team half the time and harder than I do. He really does care. I expect to have an excellent performance every night.”

The Spartans have obtained the most wins in a season since joining the Mountain West conference with the win over Wyoming. The team only tied twice with the Cowboys throughout the game.

SJSU won the rebounding battle 29-27. Junior center Ibrahima Diallo made a total of 10 rebounds, five on offense, and five on defense.

The Spartans’ next game is scheduled to be on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California as the Spartans face Fresno State. SJSU defeated Fresno State earlier this season 74-64 on Jan. 10.