The first five minutes of the game saw the Spartans very competitive with defensive intensity and scoring to temporarily overwhelm the Rebels. But after a UNLV timeout to break the Spartan’s momentum, things weren’t the same. Except for a few back and forth scoring run deficits on both sides, the Rebel’s lead was only five at halftime.
San Jose’s second half was a series of “jabs and punches”, but never any threatening knockouts that came close to a lead. With about 7 minutes left, the Rebels, Jordan Johnson, Brandon McCoy and Shakur Juiston, pressed and pushed on defense and transition offense to pull away to cruising altitude for a relatively easy win.