SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sluggish starts to both halves against San Jose State deflated Weber State's six-game winning streak.
The Spartans handed the Wildcats a 62-46 loss in an out-of-conference Bracketbusters matchup Friday night at The Event Center.
Spartans guard Keith Shamburger had 21 points with fries and a shake on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc and Salt Lake Community College product Wil Carter added a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double.
Senior guard Justin Graham added 14 points as the Spartans cruised despite getting just nine points from senior guard Adrian Oliver, the third-leading scorer in the country.
Oliver missed time in the first half with an injury and in the second half with foul trouble, but SJSU (13-12, 3-9 WAC) didn't need big numbers from him Friday.
The Wildcats (15-10, 9-4 Big Sky) didn't have the same spark they've had during their recent successes, Weber State coach Randy Rahe said.
"We were low energy today. We were a step, maybe two steps slow all night long for whatever reason. We didn't play with the same edge that we've been playing with," Rahe said. "We've been very emotionally involved in our last league games, really focused and in to it. ... We didn't have it tonight."
Graham keyed a 13-2 first half charge that saw the Spartans push out to a 27-14 advantage. The 'Cats never came closer than eight points again, trailing wire-to-wire as San Jose State won for the fourth time in its last six games.
Junior forward Kyle Bullinger, the reigning Big Sky player of the week, scored 10 points and Trevor Morris added another 10 for WSU. Senior guard Lindsey Hughey added nine points, but the Wildcats struggled from the field, making only 34.7 percent.
Weber State, one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, hit only 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
"Everything we're talking about goes back to being fresh and having the energy and having the aggressiveness," WSU coach Randy Rahe said. "When your minds and bodies aren't where they need to be, then you're going to miss open shots. Everything is determined by that."
San Jose State opened the second half with a 12-2 run, including seven straight from Carter, and led by 19 points with 7:38 remaining.
Spartans coach George Nessman said Weber State is an elite 3-point shooting team, but he took a chance by staying with his defensive strength.
"They've been shooting it lights out and they just didn't (in this game)," he said. "We probably zoned them more than other teams have. It was a calculated risk -- they're such a great shooting team -- but we're a good zone team defensively. I don't know if anybody's zoned them that much this year. We got away with it."
San Jose State outrebounded Weber State 34-25 and both teams struggled with turnovers, turning the ball over 13 times apiece.
To continue the weekend's Bracketbusters theme, Wildcats fans can tune into tonight's national ESPN2 broadcast of Utah State at Saint Mary's for a preview of a late-season addition to Weber State's schedule. The Wildcats have agreed to a contract to play at Saint Mary's in Moraga, Calif., on Friday, March 11, two days after the end of the Big Sky Conference tournament.
Weber State sought an extra game in an effort to ensure that Weber State star Damian Lillard will receive a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA to restore his eligibility for his junior season after suffering a broken foot on Dec. 16 at Tulsa.
Collegiate rules allow for a medical waiver if an athlete has not played more than 30 percent of his team's games. Lillard, the returning Big Sky MVP, was lost for the year in WSU's ninth game, so an extra contest brings his percentage down to 30 percent (9 of 30). Advancing to a second or third conference tourney game would drop him even further below the 30 percent threshold.
For Saint Mary's, the game will provide a chance to tune up for a possible NCAA tournament appearance and to avoid getting rusty after the West Coast Conference tourney. The game time has not been finalized.
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