Flat Titans Fall to San Jose State : Basketball: Fullerton struggles from the start and lose to the inspired Spartans, 86-77.

San Jose State began Saturday night’s game against Cal State Fullerton with 13 consecutive Big West Conference losses and only one victory all season.

But with time running out, the Spartans had to look at the game as perhaps their best chance to finally win one in the conference.

They played like it.

San Jose State scored more first-half points than it has all year, building its biggest halftime lead, 41-27, en route to an 86-77 victory over the Titans. It was the most points scored by the Spartans this season.

The loss left Fullerton (7-16) tied for eighth place in the Big West with UC Irvine, each with 5-10 conference records.

“The kids see 0-13, and the fact that we beat them on the road, and I guess they feel it’s automatic,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said. “And even when you try to prepare against that kind of overconfidence, kids have minds of their own.”

The Spartans’ only other victory in 22 games was against Division II Alaska Anchorage.

San Jose State junior guard Brad Quinet scored a season-high 34 points. The total tied the sixth-highest single-game total by a Spartan player. Quinet made 10 of 17 from the field and 12 of 13 free throws.

As a team, San Jose State made 32 of 40 free throws to 16 of 28 for the Titans. “That’s a huge difference,” Hawking said, “but we didn’t execute very well.”

Fullerton had two more field goals than San Jose State. The Titans hit 27 of 60 (45%) from the floor compared to 25 of 52 (48.1%) for the Spartans.

But the Titans didn’t have anyone approach Quinet’s performance. Freshman guard Chris Dade had 17 points, and center Winston Peterson had 15, but Peterson made only five of 13 shots from the floor. Forward Dave Harrison had 14 points and Chuck Overton added 11.

Fullerton sophomore guard Chris St. Clair did not play the final nine minutes after he went down hard on his left knee driving for the basket. He finished with nine points. St. Clair was walking on the knee after the game, but Hawking said he will have further tests before the extent of the injury is known.

“I’m sure losing him was a real blow to their team,” San Jose State Coach Stan Morrison said. “He’s a real competitor and I have a lot of respect for him.”

Morrison was pleased to see his team bounce back after being humiliated by UC Irvine, 79-49, Thursday night. “We didn’t say a word to our players in practice about the Irvine game, but we played very hard this time and we deserved to win the game,” Morrison said. “We defended tenaciously.”

Morrison also praised the defensive performance of center Mike Brotherton. “It definitely was one of his best games of the year on defense,” Morrison said.

San Jose State started strong against a listless Titan team, running up a 17-7 cushion midway through the first half.

The Titans turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and were outrebounded, 23-12. They had only four turnovers in the second half, but the damage had been done. San Jose State finished with a 39-35 rebounding advantage for the game.

Fullerton scored the first seven points of the second half, but never threatened The Titans cut the deficit to 71-65 with about three minutes left, but Quinet hit a three-point shot to turn back the last serious challenge.