There are nights in college basketball when the rim feels unforgiving, when every possession becomes a grind against doubt, injury, and history. And then there are nights like Tuesday inside Provident Credit Union Event Center; the kind that remind a program, a locker room, and a faithful few why belief never truly disappears.
San Jose State (7-18, 2-12 MW) didn’t just win. They exhaled.
Behind the brilliance of Colby Garland and a collective edge that has simmered through an eight-game losing streak,
the Spartans surged past Nevada (17-9, 9-6 MW), 87–71, snapping years of frustration against a Wolf Pack team that had owned the recent series and entered the night among the Mountain West’s most dangerous perimeter attacks.
Before tonight, the last time the Spartans defeated the Wolf Pack was in the opening round of the 2023 MW tourney.
From the opening minutes, the tone felt different.
Nevada stumbled early with turnovers and San Jose State punished every mistake. Sadraque Nganga buried back-to-back threes. Adrian Myers followed with a pair of his own. Melvin Bell Jr. joined the barrage. Five straight makes from beyond the arc ignited a 17–5 start that forced an early Nevada timeout and electrified a crowd starved for momentum.
By halftime, the numbers told the story of a team playing free.
The Spartans shot 53% from the field and 9-for-17 from three, building a 47–32 lead while controlling the game wire-to-wire. Myers poured in 14 first-half points; nearly double his season average, while Garland orchestrated everything, calmly stacking assists and timely buckets.
Yet nothing about this season suggested the second-half would be easy.
Nevada responded with urgency, pressing full court, attacking the paint, and trimming the margin with a decisive run that pulled the Wolf Pack within six midway through the half.
Foul trouble mounted for San Jose’s front line. Possessions tightened. The familiar tension of close games; the kind that had slipped away so often; crept back into the building.
That’s when Garland steadied everything.
A tough mid-range jumper.
Another deep three.
A poised assist when pressure swarmed.
Each answer pushed Nevada back just far enough.
Garland finished with 29 points and nine assists while playing all 40 minutes, the unmistakable engine of the Spartans’ most complete performance of the season.
Myers delivered a defining all-around night of 21 points and 13 rebounds, controlling the glass and stretching the defense.
Nganga added 15 points, and Bell continued his steady growth with 11 points and seven boards; all production that reflected a team finally aligning effort with execution on this particular evening.
Collectively, San Jose State shot a blistering 52 percent overall and matched it from three (15-for-29), season-defining efficiency against one of the conference’s deeper rosters.
They also won the rebounding battle 38–32 and never trailed for a single second — a rare display of control for a group that has spent much of the winter chasing games instead of commanding them.
And maybe that’s why this night mattered beyond the standings.
This roster has endured relentless injuries, missing key contributors for weeks while cycling through shortened rotations and narrow losses.
Still, the Spartans kept fighting.
Tuesday rewarded that persistence.
When Myers drilled another three to stretch the lead late…
When free throws sealed the margin…
When the final horn confirmed an 87–71 victory…
It wasn’t just a win in February.
It was release.
Proof.
Possibility.
For at least one night in San Jose, the climb felt worth it and the Spartans, at last, stood tall above the noise.
