San Jose State Starts Fast, Races Past UC Irvine, 93-71

In his first five years at San Jose State, Coach Bill Berry built his program around a tenacious defense and a deliberate offense. When you played the Spartans, you figured to score about 50 points and still have a chance to win.

Thursday night at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, the Spartans looked more like the Denver Nuggets than a ball-control college team as they raced to a 93-71 rout of UC Irvine in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. opener. It was the second-highest point total ever for a Berry-coached San Jose State team.

The Spartans (6-4) shot 78% in the first 15 minutes of play--blowing past the slower Anteaters for a host of fast-break layups--and opened up a 53-36 advantage by halftime. UCI (5-7) never got closer than that 17-point deficit.

“You know me and my conservative ways,” Berry said. “I bit my tongue more than few times, but by and large, I was pleased. Our shot selection was very good until we started playing the score.”

Said UCI Coach Bill Mulligan: “They shot 67% in the first half and we shot 39%. Their guards killed our guards and (Spartan center Matt) Fleming played very, very well. They got all those layups, some off the break and some out of their offense.

“They are just playing real well right now.”

Indeed. The Spartans have won five in a row and Berry, who still found a number of things to scream at his players about during the game, had to search to point out some negatives afterward.

“We didn’t rebound all that well (the Spartans outrebounded UCI, 22-21),” he said, “and we lost some intensity when we got way up.”

Irvine’s Johnny Rogers, who ran his free-throw string to 26 in a row by sinking seven straight Thursday, led all scorers with 23 points. He had nine of the Anteaters’ first 11 points as UCI moved out to an 11-6 lead. But the Spartans outscored Irvine, 10-2, after that and never looked back.

San Jose State had five players in double figures and only reserve Ontario Johnson (5 of 11 from the field with 12 points) shot under 60% from the floor. Guard Ward Farris was 10 of 15 (20 points), forward Stony Evans was 8 of 10 (19 points), center Fleming was 6 of 9 (17 points) and forward Reggie Owens was 4 of 7 (11 points).

Both coaches said the Spartan backcourt was the difference, on both ends of the court. Four Irvine guards totaled five points.