San Jose-Justin Graham banked in a shot with 11 seconds remaining, and C.J. Webster hit two free throws with one second remaining to seal the win as San Jose State defeated Pacific, 59-55, Saturday afternoon at The Event Center.

Graham got a pass from Adrian Oliver and took about a 12-foot jumper as he squared up to the basket and banked home the shot with 11 seconds remaining for San Jose State (2-2).  Pacific (4-1) had two more cracks at the tying the game in the final three seconds but could not put it away.  Webster, a 70 percent free throw shooter this year, made both attempts of the one-and-one to give San Jose State the four-point win.

The Spartan defense also contributed to the win as the team held the Tigers scoreless for the final 3:54 of the game.  Pacific took a five-point lead at 55-50 on a made Terrell Smith three-pointer.  The Tigers went 0-for-5 from the field the rest of the game.

"I think our defense really won us the game today," said San Jose State head coach George Nessman.  "They really stepped it up today, especially in the last 10 minutes.  We put some stops on them and were disciplined today.  I think we took them out of some of their offensive sets and made them uncomfortable on the floor.  We worked on our defense this week and corrected some mistakes from our games last weekend."

Spartan Robert Owens came off the bench and led all scorers with a career-best 22 points.  He was 8-of-12 from the field including 6-for-8 from three-point range.  Owens was instrumental in keeping San Jose State in the game in both halves.

With the Spartans down 10 in the first half, Owens scored six of the team's eight points to draw the team within two at 28-26 with one minute remaining in the half.  Pacific held just a four-point lead at halftime, 30-26.

In the second half, Pacific gradually got back out to a nine-point lead at 44-35 with 12:45 remaining in the game.  Owens again took over for the Spartans over the next two minutes, making a layup and two three pointers to get San Jose State within one point at 44-43 with 10:39 left.   

The Spartans took a brief lead at 45-44 as Chris Oakes followed up his own miss with a made basket at 9:29 on the clock.  The two teams tied the game three more times before Pacific took the five-point lead and San Jose State responded with the final nine points of the game.

Two other Spartans scored in double figures in the win.  Webster recorded his 10^th career double-double with 12 points and a team-best 14 rebounds.  He also added three assists and two steals in 36 minutes of action.  Oliver added 10 points and dished out four assists.

The victory over Pacific was the first for San Jose State since the 2000-01 season.  The Tigers entered the game with six wins in the series, but the Spartans won for the first time since December 16, 2000.  San Jose State also stopped the Tigers' four-game winning streak to start the season.

"We needed this win for our psyche after our roadtrip last week.  We played nicely with the #14 team in the country and had a hard-fought loss at UC Riverside.  We didn't play bad, but a lot of times with young people, you are only as good as your last game."

San Jose State returns home this Monday for a non-conference match-up with Saint Mary's.  Tip time is set for 7 p.m. at The Event Center.  Tickets are still available for the game by calling the Spartan Ticket Office at (408) 924-SJTX.  Live stats and video will be available on www.sjsuspartans.com.

SAN JOSE STATE 59, PACIFIC 55

PACIFIC (4-1)
Nunnally, Michael 8-12 0-1 16; Neufville, Lavar 6-10 2-2 15; Smith, Terrell 3-8 0-0 7; Ford, Joe 1-3 2-2 4; Huddleston, Allen 2-5 0-1 4; Willard, Sam 2-9 0-0 4; Eveland, Pat 1-2 0-0 3; Young, Demetrece 1-1 0-0 2; Williams, Nyika 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 4-6 55.

SAN JOSE STATE (2-2)
Owens, Robert 8-12 0-0 22; Webster, C.J. 5-12 2-4 12; Oliver, Adrian 4-12 1-2 10; Graham, Justin 3-15 0-0 6; Oakes, Chris 3-4 0-0 6; Peterson, Mac 1-1 0-0 2; Thomas, Kyle 0-1 1-2 1; Jones, Chris 0-1 0-0 0; Moor, Aalim 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 4-8 59.

Pacific.......................   30   25  -   55
San Jose State................   26   33  -   59

3-point goals--Pacific 3-7 (Smith, Terrell 1-2; Neufville, Lavar 1-1; Eveland, Pat 1-2; Huddleston, Allen 0-2), San Jose State 7-13 (Owens, Robert 6-8; Oliver, Adrian 1-2; Graham, Justin 0-2; Thomas, Kyle 0-1). Fouled out--Pacific-None, San Jose State-None. Rebounds--Pacific 27 (Willard, Sam 9), San Jose State 33 (Webster, C.J. 14). Assists--Pacific 11 (Ford, Joe 4), San Jose State 13 (Oliver, Adrian 4; Graham, Justin 4). Total fouls--Pacific
12, San Jose State 11. Technical fouls--Pacific-None, San Jose State-None. A-1123.

#                        #                        #