SAN DIEGO -- Jordan Schakel scored a game-high 24 points and San Diego State used an 18-3 run in the second half to ease away from San Jose State to roll to a 77-55 victory on Wednesday night in a Mountain West Conference game.
Terrell Gomez had 13 points and Lamont Butler added 11 for San Diego State (15-4, 9-3 Mountain West Conference), which earned its sixth consecutive victory by at least 22 points. Matt Mitchell, returning after missing the first game of the series, had seven points, a team-leading seven rebounds, and three assists.
Schakel scored the first bucket of the game, a three pointer, and after a steal and being fouled, he knocked down a pair of free throws to stake the Aztecs to an early 7-2 lead. However, the early success of the offense did not lead to an early blowout.
San Jose State tied the game at 7-7 with 15:50 to go and again at 14-14 and 17-17 with slightly more than nine minutes left in the half. Down the stretch, the Aztecs were able to pry open the lead to nine points, 33-24 before taking a 33-27 advantage into the intermission.
"(San Jose State) played very well in the first half," San Diego State men's head basketball coach Brian Dutcher said. "They jumped it up and kept us off balance. We could not find a rhythm offensively because they were mixing man (defense), calling a 1-3-1 zone, but really dropping into a 2-3 zone and just (kept doing things) to try to get us out of rhythm."
In the second half, the SDSU offense came alive. The team shot 42.5 percent (17-of-40), including hitting seven three-pointers, and out scored the Spartans 44-28 to earn the 77-55 victory, its sixth in a row and the longest winning streak this season for the Aztecs.
San Diego State owned the offensive glass 14-to-3, and used that advantage to outscore SJSU 17-0 in second change points. In addition the Aztecs dominated points in the paint 34-to-8.
Trey Smith scored a career-high 22 points and had eight rebounds for the Spartans (5-13, 3-11). Sebastian Mendoza added 14 points and seven rebounds. Ralph Agee had seven rebounds. Jalen Dalcourt, the Spartans' second leading scorer coming into the contest at 12 points per game, had only three points. He hit 14% from behind the arc (1 of 7).
Aztecs Finish Sweep Of SJSU With A 77-55 Win
