Heart over numbers: Spartans’ season ends in Las Vegas, but the foundation for more is clear

LAS VEGAS — In the end, the numbers finally caught up with San Jose State men’s basketball.

Not the ones on the scoreboard in their quarterfinal loss Thursday night: New Mexico 93, San Jose State 77, but the numbers that had quietly defined the Spartans’ season all along: a six-man rotation, injuries that never quite healed, and a payroll reality in the NIL era that left them fighting uphill every night.

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For long stretches at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Spartans did what they’ve done so often this year: they competed, scrapped and even threatened a New Mexico team built with far more depth and horsepower.

For one half, San Jose State’s belief kept the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinal from turning into what many expected, before reality arrived.

An early fight, just as the Spartans planned

The Spartans came into the game knowing two things: they couldn’t afford a slow start, and they would need yet another big night from guard Colby Garland, while hoping for consistent help around him.

The start wasn’t perfect. New Mexico jumped out early behind two quick three-pointers from Jake Hall and an interior presence from Tomislav Buljan, briefly pushing the Lobos ahead 8–0.

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But the Spartans responded with the same aggressive defensive energy that carried them through Wednesday’s opening-round upset of Boise State.

Garland began probing the defense, Jermaine Washington knocked down a three-point play, and Sadraque Nganga finished a give-and-go as the Spartans pieced together a 6-0 run to pull within one early.

From there, the first-half turned into a spirited exchange.

There were 12 lead changes, fast-break dunks, and even a ferocious alley-oop finish by Melvin Bell Jr. off a Garland steal. At one point, Nganga and Adrian Myers connected from deep as SJSU briefly grabbed momentum.

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Garland’s aggressive playmaking kept the Spartans within striking distance, and his coast-to-coast drive through four Lobos late in the half –…

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Publish date : 2026-03-13 07:26:00

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