Washington Finds Out Titans for Real, 75-55

They came from the great Northwest, bringing with them seven feet of the best the Pacific 10 had to offer last season. They were pioneers of sorts, venturing into what had been unknown territory to Pac-10 teams.

And, after rather rudely being shown the door, the Huskies of Washington left wondering which travel agent booked them on their trip to Titan Gym Friday night. Cal State Fullerton beat them, 75-55, in front of 3,279 mostly screaming spectators, striking a blow for the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. and providing another answer to the question: Are these guys for real?

Yes, it appears they are. The victory was Fullerton’s sixth straight after opening the season with a loss at Texas Tech. Their last four wins have come against teams that played in postseason tournaments last March.

Junior guard Richard Morton had a game-high 23 points and Fullerton held off a Washington surge in the second half to record a victory many would have thought improbable three weeks ago. Washington center Chris Welp, the Pac-10’s player of the year last season, had 19 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 3:45 to play.

Fullerton Coach George McQuarn preferred not to discuss what the victory meant in terms of comparisons between the Pac-10 and the PCAA. “I’ll leave that to you guys,” he told reporters. But McQuarn would say that the Titans have exceeded his expectations.

“We’re just happy to be in the position we’re in right now,” McQuarn said. “I didn’t think we’d be 6-1 at this point, but we’ll take it. And we’ll be humble about it.”

Well, maybe not entirely. Morton was a little more willing to speak his mind on what the victory meant to the Titans in terms of notoriety.

“I think Washington is one of the better Pac-10 schools,” he said. “Us beating them by a large margin should give us a lot of recognition around the country.”

Washington Coach Andy Russo, who didn’t seem particularly enthused with the Huskies’ travel arrangements, had only praise for Fullerton’s play.

“I thought they played outstanding,” he said. “They’re a very good team and they’re well-coached. It’s no surprise to me that we didn’t win here tonight. I was kind of hoping for a different fate, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

It appeared for a few moments in the second half that the Huskies might have a better fate. With Fullerton in heavy foul trouble, Washington cut a 15-point halftime deficit to 46-38 with 12:33 to play and the momentum beginning to shift. But the Titans proceeded to outscore Washington, 16-7, over the next eight minutes to take a 62-45 lead and send a tamed group of Huskies back north.

The Titan spurt came despite some miserable free throw shooting down the stretch. Fullerton missed 5 of 6 free throws in a span of about one minute. But the Titans apparently figured that the easiest way to put the ball through the hoop was by dunking it. Herman Webster stole the ball near midcourt and took it in for a slam that gave Fullerton a 60-45 lead with 4:19 to play. Thirteen seconds later, Henry Turner took a long pass and completed a spinning, 360-degree, double-pump slam that got the intended reaction from the crowd and all but killed Washington’s faint comeback hopes.

The Titans set the tone for the game with aggressive defense in the first half. Welp picked up his second foul before picking up his first point. Shortly after Turner made two free throws to give the Titans an 8-2 lead, Welp was whistled for his second foul at the 15:59 mark. He played the rest of the half without picking up No. 3, though, and left the floor with seven points.

Turner left the game with three fouls after being called for charging at the 13:06 mark. Webster picked up his third foul about three minutes later, leaving Fullerton in a rather precarious position against the taller Huskies.

Morton avoided early foul trouble, however, and carried the Titans to a 38-23 halftime lead. He hit a three-point shot to put the Titans up by 10 with 5:46 left in the half. He had a 15-foot jump shot bounce off the top of the backboard and go in to make it 33-19, then hit another 15-footer on Fullerton’s next trip down court. Each time Washington seemed to have Fullerton well defended, Morton frustrated them with strong perimeter shooting. He had 13 points in the first half, hitting 6 of 10 shots from the floor.