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.
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.
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.
Garland’s aggressive playmaking kept the Spartans within striking distance, and his coast-to-coast drive through four Lobos late in the half – finishing with an and-one – was emblematic of the night.
But New Mexico’s efficiency and manpower eventually steadied the game and wore down Garland.
The Lobos shot 50% in the first half while San Jose State cooled late, going 1-for-9 from the field over the final stretch before the break.
New Mexico carried a 43-36 lead into halftime, though the Spartans had made it clear they weren’t going quietly.
Depth and fatigue tell the story
The second-half began with the same intensity, but the cracks that had followed SJSU all season began to show.
Turnovers piled up. Foul trouble mounted. And the Lobos’ size inside started creating problems the Spartans simply didn’t have the personnel to counter.
The Lobo’s Tomislav Buljan dominated the interior, finishing with 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting and 14 rebounds, while Hall added 19 points and buried five three-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Spartans were asking the same core players to log heavy minutes yet again.
Garland finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Myers added 19 points, and Nganga chipped in 15 points in a collective effort that kept San Jose hanging around.
But as the second-half wore on, New Mexico’s depth took control.
The Lobos shot 58.5% for the game and dominated the paint 56–24, eventually stretching the lead beyond 20 points late in the half.
By the time the final minutes arrived, the Spartans’ legs were fading and the Lobos’ bench was already checking in.
Players refuse to use excuses
Even after a season filled with adversity, the Spartans’ leaders didn’t hide behind fatigue.
“It’s tough coming out competing every night,” said Garland. “But fatigue or not, we can’t make excuses for ourselves. We just didn’t get it done.”
Washington echoed the same accountability.
“They’re a great team,” said Washington. “We just started slow and tried to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
That mentality has been a defining trait for San Jose State all year: a group widely respected around the tournament for doing so much with so little.
Miles points to the modern reality
Head coach Tim Miles didn’t hide the larger truth facing the program.
The Spartans were simply outmanned in several ways: physically, financially and numerically.
“We played six guys,” Miles said afterward. “We’re undersized and we’re trying to play a physical team that’s got more size and strength than we do.”
But Miles’ most revealing comments weren’t about the game itself.
They were about the landscape of modern college basketball.
“With NIL and the portal,” Miles said, “It’s like unrestricted free agency every year.”
San Jose State, Miles noted, currently sits near the bottom of the conference in resources.
“We’re about 10th out of 11 in payroll,” said Miles. “It’s hard to compete unless we can get up into the top third of the league.”
The path forward
Despite the unknown if even this current roster will be around next season, there was a quiet optimism surrounding the Spartans inside the arena Thursday night.
Many around the Mountain West tournament already understood what this season represented: a team surviving injuries, depth issues and NIL realities while still fighting every night.
In a simplistic sense for Miles to take the next step with the program, several pieces must fall into place:
- Stronger NIL and revenue sharing support to retain and attract talent
- Facility improvements, including the planned Event Center upgrades
- Depth through recruiting and the transfer portal so the Spartans aren’t relying on six players in March
If those pieces align, the fight this roster showed all season could become something more.
Because Thursday night’s loss wasn’t just the end of a season.
It was a reminder that the Spartans’ grit is already there.
Now the program simply needs the resources to match it.
