Courtesy: San Jose State Athletics Adrian Oliver (front, second from left) put on a Spartan game jersey for the first time with unprecedented results.
San Jose, Calif.-----Adrian Oliver showed one player can make a big difference. In his San Jose State men’s basketball debut, the 6-foot-4 sophomore poured in a career-high 27 points leading the Spartans to an 89-78 non-conference victory over Northern Colorado at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
Oliver was 11-of-18 from the field including 2-of-3 from 3-point range and found time to hand out two assists and block a game-high three shots on the defensive end for the Spartans (4-3) who now have their first two-game winning streak of the season.
“I gave myself about a ‘D’ on that performance. I didn’t play well by my standards. It’s tough. I haven’t played in over a year. Hopefully, Monday (against USF), I can get back to here I want to be. The team won, so that’s all that matters,” said Oliver, who logged 37 minutes.
“Once I got on the court, everything seemed so fast around me. My wind was not where I want it to be. That comes with playing as well.
“Coach Nessman told me not to put pressure on myself. Get your shots in the offense. You don’t have to do it all yourself.”
The transfer from the University of Washington shared the spotlight with forward Tim Pierce and guard Justin Graham. Pierce broke the school career record for most 3-point baskets early in the first half en route to a career-high 26 points. Graham was credited with a personal single-game best of 13 assists.
San Jose State’s 89 points were the most scored by the Spartans since George Nessman took over in 2005 and the team’s 66.7 percent field goal shooting was the highest since a 65.4 percent performance in the 1993-94 season-opening win over Gonzaga.
“Our players recognize what Adrian is capable of doing. He (Oliver) apologized after the game to me. He said, ‘Coach, I wasn’t as solid as I need to be. I made too many mistakes.’ That tells you where his mind is in terms of the type of player he wants to be,” remarked Nessman. “People need to remember he’s only a sophomore and he hasn’t played in a calendar year.”
Oliver missed his first two field goal tries, a two and then a 3-pointer, and didn’t score his first basket until the 11:59 mark of the half. Most of San Jose State’s offense early on was the 3-point shooting of Pierce who made his first three – the last of which put the Spartans ahead for good, 24-22, midway through the opening period.
Pierce and Oliver combined for 23 of San Jose State’s 44 points for the Spartans’ seven-point half-time and kept finding the range from nearly anywhere in the offensive zone. San Jose State led by as many as 17 points twice in the second half. Northern Colorado trimmed its deficit once to 71-64 with 4:41 remaining, but seven straight points by Oliver gave the Spartans plenty of breathing room.
“Timmy is really in rhythm right now. He’s making a lot of shots in practice,” added Nessman about Pierce who has scored 49 points the last two games.
Devon Beitzel led Northern Colorado in scoring with a career high 27 of his own making 12-of-14 from the field. Forward Jabril Banks, the Bears’ leading scorer, got in early foul trouble and found time to contribute 11 points. The Bears had a fine shooting game, too, making 55.4 percent of their field goal tries.
“Our defense was awful. We gave up 76 percent field goal shooting in the second half. San Jose State played very well, but we’ve been bad all year on defense,” said Northern Colorado coach Tad Boyle, whose team played its third game in five days and has two more games in Las Vegas in the next three nights.
“Oliver was terrific. He’s a difference maker for this team. We knew Pierce was a good scorer. Graham created shots for his teammates with his passing. Oliver, he can create his own shot. Since there was no tape on him (Oliver), we didn’t know what to expect.”
Courtesy: San Jose State Athletics
