Needing a win to put a stop to their two-game losing streak, the Lobos headed out to San Jose and took down an overmatched SJSU team. Although the win didn’t come against an impressive opponent, the team showed that it had made some strides in its week off that could help it as we get deeper into conference play.

Game Recap

This game had a weird feel to it from the beginning. Maybe it was because the starting lineup was so different with Cullen out with a concussion and Elijah still facing discipline, maybe it was because the game had to be streamed, maybe it was the opponent, or maybe it was because the game was played in a practically empty arena. Whatever it was, it was a little difficult getting really excited for this matchup. These games can be hard to approach sometimes, for us as the fans and, I imagine, for the team, as the Lobos basically had nothing to gain but everything to lose in this one.

And at first, I was a little afraid that the Lobos were having a hard time getting up for this one too. After a little bit of a sluggish start, the Lobos found themselves trailing at the first media timeout 10-7 and it was looking like this game was going to end up being way tighter than it needed to be. The Lobos responded well, though, going on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes and taking control of the game. However, every time it looked like the Lobos were going to be able to pull away and bury the Spartans, SJSU crept back into the game. Part of it was because the Lobos, already thin with injuries, ended up with four players picking up two fouls each and part of it was that our old friend, turnovers, decided to show up again, as the Lobos lost the ball 10 times in the half. Thanks to a late three pointer from Elijah, the Lobos went into the half up 37-32, but it was hard to feel totally comfortable with how the game was going.

The second half, however, went exactly as we had hoped, with the Lobos taking compete control of the game. Right after the first media timeout of the half, Tim Williams made a layup to put the Lobos up 11. The score never got within double digits again, ballooning to as much as 26. Although there were definitely some great individual performances, it really felt like a team effort, with 11 of the 16 made baskets in the half coming off assists and everyone on the court contributing one way or another. When the final buzzer sounded, they came away with an 83-64 win. All in all, even accounting for the opponent, this was a nice win that the team should be able to build off of as they start getting into the meat of their conference schedule.

Players of the Game

1. Elijah Brown (36 points on the season): As he has been several games this year, Elijah was clearly the best player on the court. He tied his career high with 33 points and did it with a super-efficient 10-15 from the floor, including 4-5 from three and 9-9 from the free throw line. He also grabbed 6 boards for good measure. The best part of his performance is that he played within himself and didn’t really seem to try to force much. He has on occasion tried to do everything by himself, which he has the ability to do sometimes, but isn’t where he’s at his best. Against the Spartans, he stayed within the offense and still got his. Really, the Spartans just didn’t have an answer for him.
2. Tim Williams (35 points on the season): When a team doesn’t have much in the way of a good post defender, such as SJSU, Tim Williams seems to be more than willing to take advantage of the situation. He picked up a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds while overpowering the Spartan posts. What’s even crazier about his performance is that I felt like he left a little on the table. There are a lot of teams in this conference that he can take advantage of like this, so these kinds of lines might start being more of an expectation than a surprise.
3. Dane Kuiper (1 point on the season): Welcome to the Players of the Game section, Mr. Kuiper! Playing twice as many minutes as he had played in any other game this season, Dane made the most of it. He scored 11 points on 3-4 shooting, making the first two threes of his young career, and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He also looked more comfortable out there than he has all season, which hopefully is a sign that he’s going to start being that strong wing off the bench that we all know he can be. If nothing else, he’s certainly earned himself some more playing time for the next couple of games.

Scattered Thoughts

• Getting his first start of the season thanks to Cullen being out with a concussion, I thought that Jordan Hunter handled himself really well. He had sort of a quiet line, scoring 5 points with 2 assists and 2 turnovers in his 18 minutes (and one of those turnovers was a lapse with 7 seconds to go when they were just running out the clock), but he ran the offense well and, in my opinion, made the case for himself to be the sole backup point guard. In my mind, the biggest separator between him and Tim Jacobs is his ability to score, as teams can’t just sag off of him like they do with Jacobs. If he can keep showing that he can handle running things for, say, 10-15 minutes a game, that would keep Cullen fresher, which should help him play better, I would think, and help further his own development.
• Geoff Grammer had a good piece today about Elijah owning up to his mistakes and his realization of what it means to be a leader on this team. I’m sure that the other three guys are facing some sort of discipline as well, but because of his status on the team, Elijah’s has been by far the most visible and most talked about. That’s certainly a lesson in itself, that although there are perks to being the man on the team, it also opens himself up to a lot more visibility, both from the fans and from his own teammates, and scrutiny. For a while, whenever Coach Neal has referenced the need for leadership in the team, my eyes turned to Elijah, as he seems like he has the right combination of ability and personality to take charge of the team. If he now realizes the weight that carries, I think that it will only lead to good things for both the team and for him.
• Sam Logwood had a tough game against the Spartans, which continues his up-and-down season. Looking at things, I’ve noticed that when he’s having a tough time on offense, he tends to get himself into foul trouble as well. Now, I think that’s kind of a chicken-and-egg situation, as I don’t know if he gets frustrated with fouls so his offense suffers or if when he can’t get it going on offense he gets more reckless on defense, but this suggests to me that some of his struggles are coming because he gets too much into his head (another sign of that would be his 51.3% free throw shooting, down from last year’s 72.7%). He is still a very talented player on both ends of the court, so if he can keep from getting down on himself when he makes a mistake, I think he’ll have some nice performances down the stretch. As the self-appointed driver of the Sam Logwood Bandwagon, I would love to see that happen.

Up Next

The Lobos return to the friendly confines of the Pit this Wednesday when they’ll face the Air Force Falcons. Although Air Force has struggled so far in conference play, their style of play won’t allow this game to be a gimmie, especially with the Lobos having so many players who haven’t defended Princeton offense before. Still, this gives the Lobos a good opportunity to head into a tough stretch of games with a small win streak and a little momentum.