San Jose State (5-10, 0-4 MW) came into Tuesday night knowing the margin for error was already thin. By the time the final horn sounded at Provident Credit Union Event Center, it was clear just how fragile
that margin had become.
Fresno State (7-8, 1-3 MW) handed the Spartans a 70–55 loss in a Mountain West contest that never truly swung back into San Jose State’s control. It was a game defined less by tactics and more by tone, which was flat, disjointed, and ultimately draining for a Spartan group already stretched thin.
From the opening tip, the Bulldogs set the tempo.
Fresno shot 52 percent in the first-half and built a double-digit lead before San Jose State could establish any offensive rhythm, while the Spartans sputtered to just 10-for-31 shooting (32%) before the break.
Fresno State led 37–24 at halftime and controlled the paint and the energy in the building.
“It was a disappointing night,” said head coach Tim Miles. “Even after a couple of good practices, we came out flat with very low energy, and you can just see from the get-go.”
That flatness showed early.
Fresno opened on a red-hot run; moving the ball crisply and forcing San Jose into various defensive breakdowns and shot-clock violations.
Bulldogs Cameron Faas and Deshawn Gory did early damage, while the Bulldogs capitalized on Spartan turnovers for easy offense.
Fresno finished with 20 points off turnovers and 42 points in the paint, a telling combination against a defense that never fully settled.
The night took a more concerning turn when point guard Colby Garland went down hard late in the first-half after an inadvertant elbow to the head from his teammate. Garland did not return.
Garland, the Spartans’ floor general and team captain, finished with just two points in 10 minutes, leaving San Jose State without its primary organizer for the remainder of the game.
Miles acknowledged both the immediate and lingering impact of that moment.
“We’re already down on bodies,” Miles said. “Then you get Ben back, but you lose Colby and that puts a lot of stress on your offense.”
To the Spartans’ credit, there was a pulse after halftime.
San Jose State shot 46 percent in the second-half and briefly made things interesting with a 12–0 run midway through the period.
Jermaine Washington knocked down back-to-back threes, forced a steal, and ignited a breakaway that pulled the Spartans within nine at 51–42. Freshman Melvin Bell Jr. was also a bright spot throughout, pouring in a career-high 16 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting night; attacking the glass and showing poise as a true freshman.
But every time San Jose State threatened, Fresno answered.
Zaon Collins repeatedly found lanes for uncontested finishes, while David Douglas Jr. buried a momentum-killing three out of a timeout to stretch the lead back to double digits. The Bulldogs’ largest lead ballooned to 21 as the Spartans struggled for stops.
Miles pointed not just to execution, but to something more fundamental.
“I didn’t see a fighting spirit out of us tonight,” said Miles. “That’s the most disappointing part.”
The return of Ben Roseborough provided brief stability, but conditioning and continuity remain works in progress. Roseborough, playing his first game in nearly a month, made an immediate impact, yet Miles admitted the lineup is still far from settled.
Now 0–4 in conference play, the Spartans leave Tuesday with more questions than answers; chief among them: the status of Garland, whose absence could loom large in the weeks ahead.
“We’ll adjust,” Miles said. “I don’t know yet how long Colby will be out.”
For San Jose State, the Mountain West grind offers no pause button. Energy, identity, and health are all on the line and after Tuesday, all three feel increasingly intertwined.
