NCAA News Wire
San Diego State 74, San Jose State 56
After trailing struggling San Jose State at halftime, San Diego State responded behind 20 points from junior forward Winston Shepard to beat the Spartans 74-56 on Saturday night at the San Jose State Event Center in a Mountain West Conference game.
Aztecs senior forward J.J. O’Brien contributed 15 points and six rebounds.
San Diego State (22-6, 12-3 MWC) went on a 13-0 run at the start of the second half to take control after the upset-minded Spartans opened a four-point lead with19:42 left.
A layup by sophomore guard Rashad Muhammad gave San Jose State (2-14, 0-14) a 39-35 lead before San Diego State’s defense fueled a comeback.
Muhammad, younger brother of Minnesota Timberwolves player Shabazz Muhammad, scored a game-high 27 points. Freshman guard Daryl Gaynor II added 23. The rest of the Spartans scored only six points.
San Jose State went scoreless for 8:28 before Gaynor tipped in his missed shot with 11:14 remaining and San Diego State up 48-41. The Spartans never got closer.
Muhammad and Gaynor combined to make 17 of 33 shots from the field. The rest of the Spartans went 2 of 10.