You can't defend home court without proper defense.

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team found out the frustrating way in a 73-61 loss to San Jose State.

A crowd of 4,319 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors drop to 9-8 overall and 1-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Spartans improved to 8-8 and 2-3.

After two lackluster losses on the road, the 'Bows had a full week to prepare for the Spartans. But those plans were thwarted when San Jose State out-scored Hawai'i 48-32 in the second half.

"We spent a lot of time this week working against the zone, and for us to not come out and attack it better, obviously I'm disappointed," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "But I'm more disappointed in the way we played defense."

The 'Bows dropped into eighth place in the nine-team WAC. The 'Bows have averaged 52.1 points per game in the three losses.

"I think they just wanted it more," Hawai'i junior Roderick Flemings said. "We turned the ball over ... they took advantage of it."

Flemings scored 18 points to lead the 'Bows, but he also committed six of the team's 19 turnovers.

Bill Amis added 14 points and five rebounds, although he was in foul trouble for most of the game.

Lasha Parghalava also scored 14, including 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Kareem Nitoto contributed 10 points and five assists.

The 'Bows led by as many as nine points in the first half, but struggled in the second half against San Jose State's two-three zone defense.

"We have to close the game," Amis said. "We went into halftime with the lead, and the second half was all them."

Nash added: "The trend is to play Hawai'i a few possessions of (man-to-man defense), then jump into your zone and stymie them out. We fell right into that trap again."

The 'Bows raced to a 12-3 lead to open the game, and stayed in front the entire first half.

San Jose State cut the Hawai'i lead to 22-21 with 3:01 remaining, but the 'Bows eventually took a 29-25 advantage at halftime.

"We were working the ball around well and getting good looks and knocking down shots," Amis said. "We were also getting stops on the defensive end. Then it seemed like we stopped getting stops, and that was what let them back in the game."

The game stayed close until the Spartans took control with a stunning 19-3 run midway through the second half.

Hawai'i was called for five fouls and a technical foul on Nash during the San Jose State surge. The Spartans responded by draining 9-of-10 shots from the free-throw line.

Nash said the first technical foul of his coaching career was deserved.

"He had every right to give me the technical and I accept it," Nash said. "I was questioning his authority."

At the start of the run, Hawai'i led 39-34. By the end of it, San Jose State had a 53-42 lead with 7:58 remaining.

The 'Bows never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

"I think we let it get to us a little bit at one time when the fouls weren't being called," Flemings said. "But I guess it was that kind of game."

The 'Bows fared well against the Spartans' zone defense in the first half, shooting 54.5 percent from the field. But in the second half, Hawai'i shot 35.7 percent from the field.

"We attacked it the same way, we just didn't make shots," Nash said.

Meanwhile, the Spartans were making shots. They went 10-of- 17 (58.8 percent) from the field in the second half, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range.

San Jose State finished the game with a .476 field goal percentage (compared to Hawai'i's .440). The Spartans were also an efficient 5-of-7 from 3-point range.

"(Hawai'i) went a little cold shooting in the second half there for a little while, and we were able to just crawl ahead and kind of hold on," San Jose State head coach George Nessman said.

Sophomore point guard Justin Graham led San Jose State with 19 points, including 13 in the second half. Most of his points came off one-on-one drives to the basket.

"I thought Justin was the difference in the second half," Nessman said. "They had a hard time guarding him off the dribble, and he was able to get by them to the rim."

Graham said: "They were up and pressuring everybody and I thought of it as an opportunity to go by my guy and try and make plays. Fortunately, I was able to make it to the rim."

The Spartans also got 13 points from senior forward Tim Pierce, who had missed the previous two games with an ankle injury.

"Timmy is vital to us," Nessman said. "He's been with us three years and he understands the system and he doesn't make mental errors out there. Getting Tim back was really important to tonight's game, and I thought it made a big difference."

The Spartans played without leading scorer Adrian Oliver for the third consecutive game. Oliver, who is averaging 16.7 points per game, was not in uniform due to a knee injury.

"It was definitely big to win without him," Graham said. "We hope he comes back nice and safe because we're going to need him."

San Jose State secured the win by going 11-of-16 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes. The Spartans finished the game 28-of-36 on free throws, while the 'Bows went 11-of-16.

Both teams finished with 27 rebounds.

It also ended a streak of 11 consecutive victories by Hawai'i over San Jose State — a streak dating to 2004.

Hawai'i's next game is scheduled for Thursday on the road against Nevada.