Fullerton Has to Work Overtime to Defeat San Jose This Time

It was the sort of roar usually reserved in the Big West Conference for days when Nevada Las Vegas is on the ropes, but this time it came at the expense of Cal State Fullerton.

When Tom Desiano hit a 12-foot jumper with 55 seconds left in San Jose State’s game against the Titans Saturday, it set the fans thumping in Civic Auditorium.

Desiano’s shot gave the Spartans a one-point lead, their first of the game, and it put victory into the minds of most of the crowd of 1,874.

San Jose State, the team made up mostly of football players, a team manager and assorted other walk-ons since 10 players began boycotting in protest of Coach Bill Berry last month, had lost its past 12 games, seven since the walkout.

This was the closest yet, but Fullerton pulled out a 70-69 overtime victory.

Johnny Johnson, who as a Spartan tailback led the Big West Conference in rushing, hit the first of two free throws with 8 seconds left in regulation to tie the score. But he missed the second, and the game went to overtime after Fullerton was unable to score in the final seconds.

San Jose (5-19 overall, 1-14 in the conference) had a 69-67 lead as the overtime period ran down, but Fullerton’s John Sykes rebounded Cedric Ceballos’ miss in the final seconds and went up for a two-handed reverse dunk. An official called a foul on the play. Sykes, who had made four of 11 free throws in the past two games, sank one with a second remaining, saving the Titans the humiliation of becoming the first team to lose to San Jose State’s makeshift bunch.

Fullerton had a complaint at the end of regulation when there was no call after Johnson made contact with Ceballos after blocking his shot in the final seconds.

San Jose State may have had a complaint at the end of overtime.

“I didn’t think I got fouled,” Sykes said. “I didn’t really feel it.”

Never mind that this San Jose State II team has improved so much that some suggest it is a rival to San Jose State I. Never mind that Fullerton was only a 3 1/2-point favorite according to one published line.

A loss would have meant jubilation for San Jose, humiliation for Fullerton.

“Games like this, you wish nobody lost,” said Berry, whom the boycotting players accused of extreme verbal abuse. “Under the situation, under the circumstances, I may be doubly disappointed that we couldn’t get over the hump just for the kids. I certainly could have used the boost too.”

Fullerton, which has had its own troubles with the resignation of Coach George McQuarn shortly before the season started and the departure of several players, could sympathize--to a point.

“I feel sympathy toward them because of their situation,” said Derek Jones, who along with Ceballos had 19 points to lead the Titans. Mark Hill added 16. “But I want to go out and win just like they do. Those other teams were trying to beat us as badly as possible. . . . It was a strange feeling. San Jose is in a kind of situation like we were in at the beginning of the season.

“No one wants to be the first to lose to them. No one wants to make the mistake that costs us the game.”

Fullerton, which beat San Jose State, 82-60, in the hastily assembled team’s debut last month, could only praise the Spartans.

“Berry has done an excellent job coaching these kids,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said.

Jones said the team had improved “maybe 100%.”

Craig McPherson led San Jose with 20 points, and Dwain Daniels added 17.

“They had a day to practice before,” Jones said. “There’s not much you can teach in a day. They’ve had a month now. They’re a team I think should be watched out for in the conference tournament. They could get somebody.”

With the victory, the Titans (12-11, 7-7) equaled their win total of last season, when they went 12-17.

Fullerton had to hang on to win despite shooting 56% in the game, its highest percentage so far this season. The Titans took a 27-13 lead at the outset, making 12 of their first 13 shots, with the only miss because of offensive basket interference.

San Jose trailed by only three at halftime, but was down by 10 with 12 minutes to play.

“You just need a break, somebody to make a big play,” Berry said. “I’ll be darned if we didn’t defend the heck out of Ceballos at the end, and he shot a short airball. Then, gosh darn, Sykes came up with it, put it in and of course the official called the foul so we didn’t get into another overtime.

“Had we gotten that last airball rebound, the ball would have been ours. We’d get fouled, maybe, and make our free throws, maybe. . . . There are a million things you can say, ‘What if, what if,’ Berry said. “I’ll be doing that tonight. I just hope (the players) don’t.”