GAME NOTES: Desperate for any taste of success, the San Jose State Spartans settle in at the Event Center versus fellow Mountain West Conference member Fresno State on Wednesday night.

The Spartans actually have a couple of wins to their credit this season, but they've come against opponents outside the Division I ranks in Bethesda and St. Katherine. Since taking down the latter by a score of 74-63 more than month ago, SJSU has come up empty in six straight outings, the latest being an ugly 74-40 loss at UNLV over the weekend.

Despite being a game under .500 on the season overall, the Bulldogs entered the week tied with New Mexico for second place in the MWC standings, trailing only nationally-ranked Wyoming. The team is enjoying a season-best, three-game win streak and has won four of the last five outings overall, thanks to a 69-66 triumph over Nevada last Saturday.

These two in-state rivals have an extensive history with each other, and the Bulldogs own an 81-75 advantage, although the Spartans have an edge in games played on their home floor, 39-30. The most recent meeting went to FSU last March by a score of 69-56.

Fresno State shot only 9-of-30 (.300) from the floor in the second half against the Wolf Pack on Saturday at the Lawlor Events Center, but luckily the visitors also forced Nevada to miss all but one of nine attempts on the perimeter after the break, just enough to squeeze out the three-point win. Marvelle Harris erupted for a career-best 40 points, shooting 14-of-23 from the floor and 5-of-8 beyond the arc.

Harris, who set career highs in field goal attempts and field goals made versus Nevada, has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, reaching at least 25 points six times. With 18.5 ppg, Harris leads a Fresno State group that is generating just 65.4 ppg, but at the same time allowing only 64.9 ppg. Julien Lewis and Paul Watson pitch in with 12.1 and 11.1 ppg, respectively, although both are shooting less than 40 percent from the floor.

The Spartans went from converting just nine field goals in the first half against UNLV in Sin City to a mere five baskets in the second half, leaving them in a deep hole at the Thomas & Mack over the weekend. Jaleel Williams was the lone double-digit scorer for the visitors with 17 points, shooting 7-of-19 from the floor overall and a dismal 1-of-9 behind the 3-point line. Ivo Basor cleared 10 rebounds and scored six points in the losing effort.

Against Air Force on Jan. 7, Rashad Muhammad converted 10-of-18 from the floor and scored a season-high 26 points, but versus UNLV he came up woefully short with only three points on 0-of-11 shooting from the field. Muhammad, a starter in eight of the 13 games in which he has appeared, is the leading scorer overall with 12.5 ppg for a team that is producing a mere 54.6 ppg, shooting 37.2 percent from the field and 28.7 percent beyond the arc. If that were not bad enough, SJSU is also just 59.3 percent accurate at the free-throw line.

At some point this season the Spartans will have to find a bit of luck and land in the win column, but that time is not now, at least with the Bulldogs playing as well as they have in recent weeks.