San Jose State (1-2) trailed 36-27 at halftime after shooting 42.3 percent from the field.  The team did outscore UCR (2-2) in the second half 39-34.

Down 10 points in the second half at 45-35 with 13:29 remaining in the game, the Spartans slowly started chipping away at the lead before taking a one-point lead at 52-51 on a Justin Graham three-pointer with 7:20 remaining.  During the six minute stretch, San Jose State outscored UC Riverside 17-6 including eight points from Mac Peterson, five of which came from the free throw line.

San Jose State took its final lead of the game at 54-53 on two Graham free throws made at 6:02.  The Highlanders then went on a 10-3 run to take a 64-57 lead with 2:58 left on the clock.  The Spartans could get no closer than three points at 69-66 on two made free throws by Adrian Oliver with 10 seconds remaining.  The team had one final chance to get within a point at the end of the game as a Kyle Thomas' three-point attempt came off the rim long with seconds remaining, and the clock ran out on the Spartan comeback.

Three Spartans scored in double figures Sunday afternoon, led by Peterson's career high 17 points in 22 minutes of action.  He was 4-of-7 from the field including 4-for-6 from three-point range and was 5-of-6 from the free throw line.  Oliver added 17 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Graham scored 15 points, 12 in the second half, and dished out a team-best five assists in the loss.

"Mac had a nice game for us today," said San Jose State head coach George Nessman. "He is a leader on our team and had to fight for us today on the floor.  Mac gave us emotion on the court today."

Chris Oakes led the Spartans on the boards with seven rebounds and added six points, while C.J. Webster grabbed five boards to go with six points and three assists.

"We played hard today but not with enough emotion today in the first half," said Nessman.  "We played with more of the emotion in the second half which helped us make the comeback that we did and made us more competitive on the floor."

UC Riverside forced the Spartans to shoot from the outside, and San Jose State attempted 24 three-pointers in the game.  The team was just 8-of-24 from three-point range including 4-for-15 in the second half.

"They dared us to shoot from the perimeter and we did.  But we need to make more of those three-pointers to make our opposition change their defense," said Nessman.

The Spartans return home this Saturday, November 28 for an afternoon matchup against Pacific at 1 p.m., in The Event Center.  Live stats and free game video will be available on www.sjsuspartans.com.

UC RIVERSIDE 70, SAN JOSE STATE 66

SAN JOSE STATE (1-2)

Oliver, Adrian 6-16 3-4 17; Peterson, Mac 4-7 5-6 17; Graham, Justin 5-16 3-4 15; Oakes, Chris 3-3 0-1 6; Webster, C.J. 2-4 2-4 6; Thomas, Kyle 1-3 0-0 2; Jones, Chris 1-6 0-0 2; Owens, Robert 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 22-57 14-21 66.

UC RIVERSIDE (2-2)

Austin, Kyle 8-17 4-11 20; Dowdy, Brandon 5-8 2-4 14; Gurganious, Larry 4-5 3-7 11; Gordon, Dwight 3-7 2-2 8; Veteto, Konner 1-4 4-4 6; Hampton, Bryson 3-4 0-0 6; Meo, Rudy 1-3 0-0 3; Cunningham, Sean 1-3 0-0 2; LoBue, Jesse 0-0 0-0 0; McMullan, Lateef 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 15-28 70.

San Jose State................   27   39  -   66

UC Riverside..................   36   34  -   70

3-point goals--San Jose State 8-24 (Peterson, Mac 4-6; Graham, Justin 2-7; Oliver, Adrian 2-5; Thomas, Kyle 0-2; Jones, Chris 0-2; Owens, Robert 0-2), UC Riverside 3-9 (Dowdy, Brandon 2-2; Meo, Rudy 1-3; McMullan, Lateef 0-2; Austin, Kyle 0-2). Fouled out--San Jose State-Graham, Justin, UC Riverside-None. Rebounds--San Jose State 33 (Oakes, Chris 7), UC Riverside 39 (Austin, Kyle 14). Assists--San Jose State 14 (Graham, Justin 5), UC Riverside 16 (Cunningham, Sean 7). Total fouls--San Jose State 23, UC Riverside 18. Technical fouls--San Jose State-None, UC Riverside-Austin, Kyle. A-444.

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