Cal State Fullerton Takes Another Tumble : Basketball: San Jose State beats the Titans, 60-58, who fall to fifth place in the Big West conference.

Don’t pout, Cal State Fullerton Coach Brad Holland told the Titans at their shoot-around Saturday afternoon.

As game plans go, it wasn’t that technical. Sure, there were other things involved as Fullerton prepared for San Jose State, but that one was crucial.

Pacific had dropped the Titans into fourth place in the Big West in an emotional game Thursday, and Holland didn’t want that ruining another Titan evening.

But on Saturday night, San Jose State effectively attached a rock to the feet of the sinking Titans, 60-58, in front of 2,497 in The Event Center here.

And the time to pout is getting closer.

The Titans (14-10, 9-7) plummeted into fifth place in the Big West, losing for the fifth time in their past eight games. The Pacific loss staggered them, the San Jose loss dazed them.

Not that Fullerton was having a difficult time getting over Pacific, but . . .

“It was hard losing that game and coming in here,” point guard Aaron Sunderland said. “We were supposed to win this game automatically.”

It was an attitude San Jose State recognized quickly.

Said Spartan Daryl Scott: “I figured that since we were in the lower part of the division, they would come in here lackadaisical and not thinking that we would come out competitive.

“As you can see, we did. We didn’t back down from anybody.”

Instead, Fullerton blinked first.

“Two poor performances in a row for us,” Holland said disgustedly. “We had some people who weren’t ready to play. I have no answers as to how people aren’t prepared with what’s at stake.

“This was by far our worst road trip of the year. It’s very untimely to be playing like that at such a pivotal point in the season.

“The only thing left to do is finish strong.”

The only hitch in that theory is that Fullerton’s final two regular season games are against the Big West’s two best teams--New Mexico State and Nevada Las Vegas.

The optimism with which Fullerton Athletic Director Bill Shumard turned in that National Invitational Tournament questionnaire two weeks ago is rapidly fading. Sunderland already was talking to his teammates late Saturday night about a players-only meeting Monday.

“We’re going to get things straightened out,” Sunderland said. “Talk about where we stand, our record, coming back together as a family. Playing hard and depending on one another.”

It was obvious that this night would be a struggle from the very beginning. The Titans went scoreless for the first 3:35, digging a 7-0 hole, and Holland yanked three starters--Sunderland, off guard Don Leary and forward Bruce Bowen--less than four minutes into the game.

In trotted reserves Sharif Metoyer, Dijon Bernard and Greg Vernon, and they remained in the game for the next 2 1/2 minutes.

“Those three weren’t ready to play, so why play them?” Holland said. “I probably should have played the other three more than I did, but sometimes you go with who brought you.”

Fullerton trailed at halftime, 28-27, and led only three times--once in the first half and twice in the second. The Titans were down by as many as seven, 47-40, before scrambling back to within two, 58-56, on two Sunderland free throws with 2:02 left.

But Bowen missed a seven-foot jumper with about 1:20 to play and Leary missed an off-balance three-point attempt with six seconds left, and the Titans were doomed.

Javier Zavala hit two free throws with three seconds left for San Jose State (7-16, 4-11) to push its lead to 60-56, and Bowen made a harmless jumper at the buzzer to finish the scoring.

Leary’s three-pointer with six seconds left, which would have given Fullerton the lead and could have changed the outcome, wasn’t even close.

“That ended up backfiring in our face,” Holland said. “Instead of pump faking and letting the guy fly by him, he shot with the guy in his face.”

Bowen and Leary had 12 points apiece for Fullerton. Leary’s four three-pointers give him 77 for the season, surpassing the Titan school record of 75 set by Mark Hill (1988-89) and Joe Small (1990-91). Sean Williams also blocked five shots, giving him 61 for the season, surpassing Derek Jones’ 56 set in 1988-89.

Guard Lossie Mitchell led San Jose State--which had lost five in a row--with 11 points and Scott added 10.

As the Fullerton season continues its detour, there are a couple of trouble spots:

--The Titans were out-rebounded for the 10th time in the past 12 games, 40-24.

--The Titans held San Jose State to only 40.4% from the field, and Fullerton held its previous three opponents to under 40%. What do the Titans have to show for it? A 2-2 record.

“The problem for us was that they wanted this game a whole lot more than we did,” Holland said.

And were the seeds for that planted in that Pacific game?

“Sometimes a game like that takes something out of you, but that’s no reason not to answer the bell,” Holland said. “You only get to put on that uniform 30 times a year. It’s ridiculous not to be ready to play.”