CS Fullerton Gains Final by Defeating TCU, 56-48

Never mind that Cal State Fullerton had just won two games by a total of 79 points. In college basketball, sometimes it’s the company you keep that matters.

And, until Friday night’s game against Texas Christian in the opening round of the BYU Tournament, the Titans had been seen in some mediocre company.

So, it’s possible that Fullerton made a statement with its 56-48 victory over the highly regarded Horned Frogs in BYU’s Marriott Center.

Fullerton victories over Cal State Bakersfield and Southern Utah State didn’t impress anyone. But an eight-point win over a TCU team that many predict will win the Southwest Conference might.

Junior forward Henry Turner scored a game-high 18 points, and junior guard Richard Morton added 17 to give the Titans their third straight win and a spot in tonight’s championship game against BYU, which beat Arizona State, 91-85, in Friday’s second game.

In their last outing, the Horned Frogs had handed Tulsa its first loss of the season but Friday was another matter. TCU Coach Jim Killingsworth, after watching his team shoot a season-low 33% from the floor, said the 6,541 in attendance should have been offered refunds.

“I don’t know why they stayed,” Killingsworth said. “I was thinking about leaving myself.

“The problem is, they (the Titans) didn’t play a lot better than we did. I wish I could say they played great. They played smart, but they didn’t play a whole lot better.”

The Titans certainly had a much better start. Fullerton never trailed. Turner scored the game’s first six points, including a crowd-pleasing, spinning dunk he set up by stealing a TCU pass near midcourt. Morton hit a three-pointer from the top of they key to give the Titans a 9-2 lead.

When the Titans had the ball, they seemed intent on holding it until they had the ideal shot, or until the shot clock told them to shoot. TCU spent most of the game in a zone defense designed to prevent shots near the basket.

“They let us be patient,” Titan Coach George McQuarn said. “They set back in (the zone), so we exploited it. It gave us a chance to rest on the offensive end so we could work hard on defense.”