PCAA Roundup : CS Fullerton Rallies but Lets Utah St. Slip Away, 74-68

Greg Grant became the all-time scoring leader in Utah State history Thursday night, but he reached only half his season average and was sitting on the bench when the Aggies rallied from a three-point deficit in the last two minutes to beat Cal State Fullerton, 74-68, before 1,642 fans at Titan Gym.

Grant scored 13 points before fouling out with 3:55 remaining. He has 2,003 career points and is just 62 short of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. record set by Ron Cornelius of University of Pacific.

He broke the Utah State record of 2,001 held by the late Wayne Estes.

Rod Tueller, the Utah State coach, recorded his 100th career victory.

With the win, the Aggies (9-12 overall, 5-7 in the PCAA) jumped past the Titans (12-13, 5-8) into third place. Utah State won its first PCAA road game after dropping its first five this season.

Before the game, Fullerton Coach George McQuarn suspended forward Tee Williamson for the rest of the season for disciplinary reasons.

Williamson, a junior transfer from Arizona State, was shooting 35% and averaging 2 points and 3 rebounds.

Williamson might not be missed, but Fullerton is still wondering where Kevin Henderson went. Henderson, making his first start since breaking his foot Dec. 22, was once one of the conference’s best defenders and still might be a high NBA draft pick.

But Utah State’s Kevin Nixon went through Henderson for 27 points, making 7 of 9 shots and 13 of 13 free throws.

“We simply lost,” Henderson said. “Do I have to answer any more questions?”

The Titans rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to take a 68-65 lead with 2:14 left but turned the ball over twice and missed two free throws in the stretch.

Fullerton and three other teams--Utah State, UC Santa Barbara and UOP-- all have five conference victories and are battling for the last three spots in the PCAA tournament.