‘Whenever you have kids go back home it goes one of two ways’

It was not exactly the homecoming Rashad Muhammad and Darryl Gaynor II had hoped for in their return to Las Vegas.

Except for maybe the chicken.

Muhammad, San Jose State’s leading scorer and a Bishop Gorman alum, went 0 for 11 from the field and scored just three points as the Spartans fell 74-40 at Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday night.

Former Durango High School star Gaynor wasn’t much better.

He went 2-for-16 from the field and finished with just five points.

“I just think whenever you have kids go back home it goes one of two ways. Either they play out of their minds or they don’t play very well,” San Jose State coach Dave Wojcik said. “Tonight I think those guys pressed trying to impress their friends and family.

“I think that’s what happened with Rashad tonight a little bit. In two years, I haven’t seen him miss that many free throws. As I told him, every dog has his day. We just have to get ready to go to work and get ready for the next game.”

Muhammad was fouled while attempting two 3-pointers, but the 83 percent free-throw shooter went just 3 of 6 at the line.

“When you go home, you usually play really well or you play terrible. I didn’t have one of my best games. That’s just how it went today,” Muhammad said “I felt good coming in. I was shooting really well the last two days at practice. I just couldn’t put anything in the basket when it came down to game time. It happens. We’ve got another one Wednesday so I’ve just got to try to put this in the back of my head and get on to the next one.”

It’s been difficult for Muhammad and his teammates to remain optimistic this season. The Spartans are now 2-14 and the only two wins came against Saint Katherine and Bethesda University.

The year has been particularly trying on Muhammad, who was one of several players to serve a team-issued three-game suspension.

“It’s been a pretty challenging season, but I’ve just been trying to stay positive, keep my head up and continue to encourage my teammates to stick together,” Muhammad said. “It’s definitely difficult when your record is 2-14. Guys want to start going their separate ways, but at the end of the day you’ve got to stick together through the hard times.”

UNLV has had issues of its own. The Rebels wanted to make sure San Jose State wasn’t able to gain confidence on Saturday and that began with containing Muhammad and Gaynor.

“Knowing those guys are from Vegas, we knew those guys were going to try to do some work,” UNLV guard Rashad Vaughn said. “We just had to make sure to stop that.”

Muhammad and Gaynor never could find a rhythm.

Still, it wasn’t a total loss for Muhammad. He said there was one thing he got to do while back in town that made he enjoyed.

“I got to go to my favorite fast food restaurant, Raising Cane’s, so I really appreciated that,” Muhammad said.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.