Las Vegas Defeats Fullerton, Gains Tournament Final

Last year, Cal State Fullerton upset Fresno State in the semifinals of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament, then rolled over and played dead the next day as Nevada Las Vegas ran to a 79-61 win in the championship game.

This season, the Titans beat second-seeded UC Irvine Thursday in the first round . . . and Friday night they went comatose again as the 13th-ranked Rebels came away with an eased-up 75-65 victory at the Forum in front of 9,594.

Las Vegas (30-4) meets New Mexico State (18-11), a 75-61 winner over University of the Pacific in Friday’s other semifinal game, in the championship game at 2 p.m. today.

“In the middle of the season,” Rebel Coach Jerry Tarkanian said, “I said that Fullerton, when they got everyone healthy, would be the surprise team of the tournament. I’m just glad they didn’t surprise us tonight.”

Unfortunately for Fullerton, though, this one was as predictable as the Titans’ first two losses to UNLV this season.

When Fullerton (17-15) beat Irvine for the third time this year in the opening round, Titan Coach George McQuarn was in deja vu heaven. Friday night, however, he was feeling considerably lower.

“We didn’t play with the kind of emotion you need to have a chance against Las Vegas,” McQuarn said. “You have to find an edge to compensate for their personnel.”

Consider the Titans’ Kevin Henderson, for instance. The 6-foot 4-inch guard must be hoping the NBA scouts were paying more attention to the Irvine game than his final collegiate outing.

He hit 9 of 11 field goals and scored 24 points against UCI. Friday, he was 5 of 11 and finished with 11 points. Henderson scored 14 or more in every game before breaking his foot Dec. 22 and missing seven weeks. In his last four games, he was averaging 21.

McQuarn, who often seems more concerned with PHs (Played Hard) and DPHs (Didn’t Play Hard) than Ws and Ls, said, “Kevin didn’t have it here (pointing to his head) or there (putting his hand over his heart). We just weren’t mentally or emotionally ready.”

Henderson said the Titans thought they were prepared, though.

“We felt we had as good a chance of beating Vegas tonight as we possibly could,” Henderson said in barely audible tones. “But they took us out of our offense, and we just didn’t get it done.”

The Rebels, who set a school record with win No. 30, were getting it done all over the court, however.

With 2:49 remaining in the game, forward Anthony Jones was on his hands and knees, wiping up some sweat off the floor. It seemed appropriate. After all, he’d already done just about everything but run the scoreboard.

Jones, who is NBA-bound himself, hit 11 of his 16 field-goal attempts and scored a game-high 25 points.

“We tried to keep the ball away from him,” McQuarn said, “because once he gets his hands on the ball, he scores.”

Jones may be the most talented Rebel, but he’s hardly out there by himself. Guard Freddie Banks scored 20 points, including a pair of acrobatic, double-pump alley oop shots. And forward Armon Gilliam made 5 of 7 field goals, finishing with 14 points.

In fact, no UNLV player who took more than one shot was under 50% from the field. Jones, Banks and Gilliam were a combined 69% and the team shot 65%.

Fullerton hit a more-than-respectable 51% of its shots, and the Titans had four players in double figures. Sophomores Henry Turner (15 points) and Richard Morton (12) and junior Herman Webster (15), who figure to be the nucleus of the 1986-87 Titans, all played well.

But that’s not good enough to beat the Rebels these days.

There wasn’t much excitement for Fullerton fans--or anyone else who likes close games, for that matter--after the Titans took a 2-0 lead. The Rebels were up by 12 seven minutes later, and Fullerton made just one run. That came late in the first half when the Titans closed to within one twice, but UNLV woke up and outscored Fullerton, 10-4, in the next four minutes to gain a 38-29 halftime lead. The Titans never got closer than seven in the second half.

“We have some great offensive weapons and we had the right people taking the shots,” Tarkanian said.

He also said that he was worried about his team’s readiness considering the Rebels are a shoo-in for the NCAA tournament whether they win or lose in the conference’s postseason get-together.

“So much of this game is incentive,” he said. “It’s really nice to come in here and win. I just hope we can do it tomorrow . . . and next week, too.”