San Jose State Finishes Off Pacific, 76-60

Denis Willens, University of the Pacific coach, said his basketball team “just got on the wrong kind of roller-coaster” this season.

The Tigers’ ride thudded to an end Wednesday night, but the longest losing streak in National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division I lives on as Pacific fell to San Jose State, 76-60, in the opening round of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament at the Forum.

Pacific (5-24 overall) became the only school in PCAA history to lose all 18 conference games this season. The Tigers have lost 22 in a row overall.

The Tigers didn’t go down easily, though. They led throughout much of the first half and had a 31-28 advantage at halftime. But San Jose (14-14, 8-10) rallied behind the play of Ricky Berry. Berry, who threw in a 55-footer just before the buzzer ending the first half, kept the momentum going, scoring 24 points after intermission. He finished with a career-high 36 points.

Berry hit a three-pointer with 12:44 remaining in the second half to tie the game, 43-43. Then he scored on a sweeping drive, a fallaway 12-foot jumper from the baseline and a free throw in the next three minutes as the Spartans took a 52-47 lead.

Pacific’s Domingo Rosario, who had been averaging 15 points a game, didn’t score in the first half and had just three free throws before finally hitting a field goal with 4:14 left in the game.

The Spartans will play Utah State (18-9, 13-5) at 4 p.m. today.