San Jose State sinks Rainbow Warriors, 83-60
Advertiser Staff
San Jose State — and Adrian Oliver — got its revenge on the University of Hawai‘i men's basketball team today.
The Spartans defeated the Rainbow Warriors, 83-60, in a Western Athletic Conference game at The Event Center in San Jose, Calif.
Oliver scored 33 points as the Spartans avenged a 68-67 loss at Hawai‘i on Jan. 17. Oliver missed a crucial free throw in the closing seconds of that loss.
The 'Bows dropped to 9-12 overall and 2-6 in the WAC with their third consecutive loss. Hawai'i is in seventh place in the nine-team WAC, one game ahead of last-place Boise State.
The Spartans improved to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in the WAC with their third consecutive victory.
Roderick Flemings scored 19 points to lead the 'Bows. Jeremy Lay added 12 points and four assists, and Brandon Adams contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
For the second consecutive game, Hawai‘i struggled with their outside shooting. The 'Bows went 1 of 10 from 3-point range against the Spartans, and are 2 for 23 from long-range in the last two losses.
The 'Bows also struggled at the free-throw line, going 9 of 21 (.429 percentage).
In contrast, the Spartans went 7 of 16 from 3-point range and 16 of 23 on free throws.
Hawai‘i had a 7-6 lead early in the game, but it was all Spartans after that.
San Jose State took control with a 16-6 run that gave it a 22-13 lead. Oliver sparked the surge with 10 points. He scored 17 in the first half to lead the Spartans to a 41-32 lead at intermission.
Hawai‘i never got any closer than nine in the second half. The Spartans broke it open with a 10-2 run that increased the lead to 59-40.
Hawai‘i played its fourth consecutive game without junior guard Dwain Williams, who was in California last weekend for the funeral of his cousin. He is expected to miss at least one more game. He averages 14.0 points per game and is considered the team's best 3-point shooter.
The 'Bows will stay on the road for another WAC game on Saturday. They will play at Nevada in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU at 5 p.m. (Hawai'i time).
