San Jose State’s Sanders Savors 84-59 Victory Over Fullerton

Ben Sanders called it “sort of payback time.”

After helping San Jose State overwhelm Cal State Fullerton, 84-59, Sunday at San Jose, Sanders took particular delight in the Spartans’ fifth consecutive victory.

It’s no wonder.

“Fullerton didn’t recruit me--with me just down the road,” said Sanders, who played last season at Fullerton College after two years at Nevada Las Vegas. “I didn’t think they really wanted me.”

Sanders got his revenge with a career-high 20 points. A 6-foot-4 junior who played at Westchester High, Sanders scored the last seven points in the first half, then rang up five more in a 13-0 San Jose State run at the start of the second half. All told, Sanders had 14 points and two steals in a span of 5 minutes 35 seconds when San Jose State (7-4) took control of the game.

“That run at the start of the second half was the separation point,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “The difference in the game was their quickness and their strength inside.”

The Spartans, who controlled the boards, 39-26, received a game-high 22 points from forward Shaun Murray and 15 from center Will Trawick. Fullerton (6-4) had a combined 22 points from its starting front line, which was missing center Matt Caldwell, who was serving an automatic one-game suspension because of an ejection from Tuesday night’s game. Guard Mark Murphy led the Titans with 13.

The Titans made 26 turnovers, including five during San Jose State’s run at the start of the second half.