Titans Feeling and Playing Miserably in Loss to UCSB

Coaches and players alike were pale and weakened by flu when Cal State Fullerton took the floor for a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game against UC Santa Barbara Saturday night in Titan Gym. They left feeling much worse.

Santa Barbara took advantage of some miserable Fullerton shooting in the second half to record a 55-47, come-from-behind victory. It was the Gauchos’ first victory in Titan Gym since 1980-81, and first under Coach Jerry Pimm. It was Fullerton’s third loss in its last four outings, and it was enough to make Titan Coach George McQuarn more sick than he already was.

“One of the worst ballgames I’ve ever been involved with,” McQuarn said, coughing his way through a post-game meeting with reporters.

Brian Shaw had 14 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds and Brian Vaughns had 13 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Gauchos to what would have been considered a major upset a week ago. But that was before Fullerton’s ugly return to reality in last Monday’s 58-55 loss to Pacific. And before Titan fever struck.

The flu had left McQuarn without three of his players. Guard Alexander Hamilton was on the bench in street clothes. Forward Vincent Blow and center Oval Miller suited up but couldn’t play.

Those Titans who could play didn’t play well. Fullerton shot 58% from the field in the first half in taking a 26-22 lead. In the second half, they shot 22% and were easily overtaken. For the second straight game, the Titans committed more turnovers than their opponents. The reverse was true in Fullerton’s first 10 games this season, which had a great deal to do with its best start since the 1982-83 season.

The victory gives Santa Barbara a 1-1 mark in the PCAA and 6-5 overall record. Fullerton is 1-2 in conference play, 8-4 overall and in serious need of some antibiotics that work.

McQuarn said the Titans have a lot of work to do in practice, but the flu bug has prevented them from practicing as hard or often as he would like. “The only thing that’s gonna cure us is rest,” he said, “and we lose a lot by resting. So what do you do? It’s a Catch-22.”

Guard Richard Morton and forward Henry Turner are two of Fullerton’s healthier players, but their jumpshots appear ready for intensive care. Morton, coming off a 6-for-22 shooting performance in the loss to Pacific, was 6 of 20 against the Gauchos. Turner was 3 of 15. Together, they went 3 for 23 in the second half. Morton’s nine points represent a season low.

Fullerton held a 32-29 lead about seven minutes into the second half, but that was when the Titans’ shooting went cold. The slump enabled Santa Barbara to go on a 14-4 scoring spurt and take a 43-38 lead with 3:01 to play. The way the Titans were shooting, a five-point lead might as well have been 25.

“They just couldn’t get it to go down for about a four- or five-minute period,” Pimm said. “If they had, they might have come along and beaten us.”

Said Morton: “We’ve got to get back to playing like we played before. It’s a mental thing right now. We’re just not playing well as a team.”

Suddenly, a team that looked well on its way to bringing a 10-2 record and visions of an upset into a meeting with top-ranked Nevada Las Vegas on Jan. 19 finds itself in the middle of the PCAA pack, and fading fast.

McQuarn was hoping the Titans could get through this game and have a little time to get well for Thursday’s home game against UC Irvine. Now, he’s not sure the flu is his team’s only problem. “We’re not a very good basketball team right now,” he said. “We’re on a real low. I don’t know how much difference (a healthy team) would have made. But I know we’re not gonna beat anybody the rest of the year if we keep playing the way we played tonight.”