Dec. 20, 2011

Final Stats

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Tyler Les tied a school record with eight three-pointers and scored a game-high tying 24 points but host San Jose State rode 24 points from guard James Kinney to help post a 79-59 nonconference men's basketball victory over UC Davis on Tuesday night at the Event Center.

Eddie Miller added eight points while sophomore Josh Ritchart had seven rebounds for the Aggies who fell to 1-10. San Jose State, which also received 13 points from guard Keith Shamburger, snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 4-7.

Les' eight treys tied a school record first set by Kevin Vazquez against Humboldt State in 1995, was matched by J.P. Bergez at Humboldt two years later and most recently was reached by Kyle Brucculeri versus Northern Colorado in 2006.

Les made 8 of 9 from beyond the arc, doubling his career-high of four three-pointers which he's achieved four times, including three times this year. He's been on a tear as of late, making 19 three-pointers over his last four games. Les also eclipsed his career-high of 16 points, established against Sacramento State this season.

"First of all, Tyler can really shot the ball but I credit his teammates," said Aggie head coach Jim Les. "I thought when we were patient, his movement against the zone, playing off the penetration of Paolo (Mancasola) and Tyrell (Corbin), Tyler was floating to spots. Give them credit because they found him, even some of the bigs.

"Tyler tried to give us a lift and shoot us back in the game but I also thought his teammates, when he did get hot, were unselfish and really looking for him," added Les.

Kinney provided much of the offense for San Jose State, scoring 19 points in the first half while making 5 of 7 from three-point territory overall and scoring 24 points for the game. He scored an early bucket for his first points and then ended the half by tallying the Spartans' final nine points.

UC Davis led 3-2 in the early minutes after a trey by Paolo Mancasola but San Jose State rattled off nine straight points - including four by forward Wil Carter - to take an 11-2 lead four minutes into the game. Kinney's basket extended the lead to 17-5 while Shamburger's three-pointer with 6 minutes, 39 seconds made it 30-12.

Les caught fire toward the end of the first half, making back-to-back treys to cut UC Davis' deficit to just 38-26 with 1:10 left and forcing a San Jose State timeout. However, Kinney countered with a three-pointer of his own to help the Spartans lead 41-26 at halftime.

Three-pointers by Les early in the second half twice cut San Jose State's lead to 14 points while another trey later made it 56-41 with 12:06 to go, but the Spartans scored eight of the next 10 points, capped by Kinney's three-pointer to forge a 64-43 advantage with 10:28 left. The Aggies weren't able to get closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

The Spartans made 10 of 21 from three-point territory and shot 52.6 percent from the field for the game. Chris Jones, D.J. Brown and Carter each added 11 points for San Jose State which also took advantage of 18 UC Davis turnovers by scoring 27 points.

Mancasola, Miller and J.T. Adenrele each had three assists for the Aggies who were also 12 of 20 from three-point, their fifth game with at least 10 treys this season. Ryan Howley added five rebounds.

UC Davis, which has lost seven straight games, will try to end the pre-conference portion of its season on a winning note when it visits Southern Utah on Thursday at 6 p.m. (PST). The Thunderbirds edged UC Davis76-75 in the season-opener at San Diego State's Basketball Traveler's Classic.