Titans Run Into UOP, Reality, 58-55

Cal State Fullerton boarded a bus here late Monday night for a seven-hour bus ride into darkness. It would be a quiet trip, one used to contemplate lessons not learned, and a painful return to reality.

After an unreal start to the 1986-87 season, the Titans returned to earth with a resounding thud Monday night in the University of the Pacific’s Spanos Center. Senior center Brent Counts had a career-high 26 points, including four free throws in the final 23 seconds, to lead Pacific to a 58-55 Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. upset of a Fullerton team that had spent most of December opening the eyes of West Coast college basketball.

Against UOP, the Titans played as if they were in a daze. The letdown that Coach George McQuarn said he had feared happened. Boy, did it happen.

The Titans lost twice to UOP last season, with essentially the same players they had on the floor Monday night. McQuarn tried to remind his players of this, but nothing he said seemed to work. Fullerton was sleepwalking, and didn’t wake up until it was much too late. It was the Titans’ third straight loss to Pacific, and drops them to 1-1 in PCAA play, 8-3 overall. Pacific, nearly everybody’s pick to finish near the bottom of the PCAA standings, is 2-0, 6-5.

As lethargic as the Titans played, they actually had a chance to tie the game with less than 30 seconds to play. Henry Turner put in an offensive rebound to cut Pacific’s lead to 54-53 with 39 seconds to play. On the Tigers’ ensuing possession, Titan forward Vincent Blow grabbed a loose ball under the UOP basket, appearing to give Fullerton the chance to work for the tying basket. But Blow hurried a poor outlet pass to Morton near midcourt, and the ball was intercepted by Counts. Morton fouled Counts immediately, and the son of former Laker center Mel Counts made both ends of a one-and-one to give Pacific a 56-53 lead with 23 seconds to play. Counts added two more free throws with 13 seconds left to complete Fullerton’s upsetting night.

McQuarn said afterward that he didn’t think his players were emotionally ready to play, and told them as much in a lengthy postgame tongue-lashing that was audible from well beyond the door of Fullerton’s dressing room.

“Our loss is attributed to not being mentally ready for this ballgame,” he said. “Sometimes, the kids have to get themselves ready to play.”

Junior forward Derek Jones was one of few Titans who wasn’t around last season to be part of two losses to a UOP team that didn’t figure to have the talent to match up with Fullerton. Jones said McQuarn kept reminding his players of those losses, but nothing he said seemed to work.

“There was just not intensity out there,” Jones said. “Coach told us right before we went on the floor he could see in our eyes that we weren’t ready to play.

“All five guys were out there waiting for someone else to take charge, and no one did.”

Junior guard Richard Morton certainly didn’t. Morton, who made 7 of 11 shots in Saturday’s 65-47 victory over Fresno State, was 6 of 22 against the Tigers. With his shooting touch AWOL, the Titans struggled to find scoring. They struggled, period.

For the first time all season, Fullerton committed more turnovers than its opponent. The Titans had 20 to Pacific’s 13. They shot 37% (12 of 32) from the field in the second half, and couldn’t create easy points with defense.

“Every time we made a run at them, we didn’t do what we needed to do to catch them,” McQuarn said. “And every time they needed a bucket, they got one.”

Pacific Coach Tom O’Neill was asked afterward what kind of strange power the Tigers have over the Titans that has helped them to win the last three meetings, particularly in light of the fact that before that Fullerton had won 10 straight against the Tigers. “Shoot, what did they have on us all those years?” O’Neill said.

“I think they were a little tired and drained from an emotional game in Frenso,” he said. “I think that may have been a factor.”

McQuarn was at a loss to explain it. All he knew was that his team had returned to reality face-first.

“December’s behind us,” he said. “We’re 1-1 in January. And it’s going to be a long bus ride home.”