By Bryan Metcalf, SacStateSports.com staff writer
Neither Jackson Carbajal’s career-high 24 points nor Dylan Garrity’s third career double-double was enough for the Sacramento State Hornets in their Sears ESPN BracketBuster against San Jose State.
The Spartans, who scrimmaged the Hornets before the season began, came back from a 12-point deficit to win 79-67 Saturday night in Sacramento.
“I thought we did a good job containing their penetration in the first half,” head coach Brian Katz said. “The second half they got in the lane.”
Katz said playing against San Jose State’s (9-17, 1-9 WAC) Wil Carter created a dilemma for the Hornets (9-17, 4-10 Big Sky) because his players aren’t as big and athletic as those in the Spartans’ conference.
Sacramento State was forced to double team Carter in the low post, which left the perimeter open and allowed San Jose State’s guard to drive the lane.
The Spartans scored seven of the game’s first nine points.
Sacramento State responded with a seven-minute, 15-0 run to take the lead.
Carbajal extended the gap to 11 twice; first with a three at 9:34 and again with a foul shot on a three-point play at 8:20.
The Spartans chipped away in short spurts and closed the gap to 37-31 at the half.
Carbajal led all scorers at the break with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Garrity had seven assists.
“We thought that’s how he would play this year,” Katz said. “He missed from the first minute of the first game until the first league game, so it took some time.”
The Hornets opened the second half with a 9-3 run to extend the lead to 12 with 16:05 remaining. All three points for San Jose State were free throws.
The game changed dramatically after that, however, as the Spartans came alive with a 16-2 run to retake the lead 50-48 with under 11 minutes left.
Sacramento State fought back to tie the game at 59, but a 10-0 run over a two minute span gave San Jose State the lead with 5:48 left.
The Spartans answered every Hornet basket down the stretch to secure the victory. A layup by James Kinney with 26 seconds left put the exclamation point on the night.
San Jose State shot 68.2 percent (15-22) from the field – including 6-for-7 from three – in the second half after opening the game just 3-for-12 in the first eight minutes.
Kinney and Wil Carter scored a team-high 19 for San Jose State, with 11 of Carter’s points coming in the second half.
Carter also recorded a game-high eight rebounds while Kinney picked up seven.
Garrity finished with 10 points and a game-high 12 assists. Joe Eberhard also had 10 points for Sacramento State.
John Dickson added 15 points off the bench for the Hornets.
“I felt like we needed a little punch coming off the bench,” Katz said.
Dickson said that he feels comfortable with his role, especially because of the chemistry that has developed among the starters.
Sacramento State now has two games remaining as they try to chase down the final spot in the Big Sky tournament.
“I like to put the pressure on the guys to figure that out,” Katz said. “If you don’t win it doesn’t matter.”
Dickson said the team has to get back to practice and find ways to improve and finish the season strong.
“There’s always places you can improve,” Dickson said.
Bryan Metcalf is a staff writer for SacStateSports.com. He can be reached at m.bryan.metcalf@gmail.com.
