Las Vegas Defeats Fullerton

The game Cal State Fullerton had been waiting for finally arrived Monday night.

Unfortunately for the Titans, it came at a time when they would rather be playing a team of Las Vegas showgirls than Nevada Las Vegas, and when their coach would rather be home wrapped in blankets than in a sweaty gym.

But the Titans were playing the Runnin’ Rebels, no longer top-ranked, no longer unbeaten, but still the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.’s premier team.

Fullerton made a game of it. The Titans even had a one-point lead with 8:41 left. But Las Vegas, with the help of a crushing technical foul against Fullerton, pulled away in the final five minutes to record a 73-65 victory in front of a capacity crowd of 4,234 in Titan Gym.

Freddie Banks had a game-high 22 points and Armon Gilliam added 18 to give the Rebels their fifth straight PCAA victory. Fullerton, which not long ago figured to have the best chance of any conference team of challenging the Rebels, is now the unlikely occupant of last place in the conference standings at 1-4. The loss was Fullerton’s fourth straight, and dropped the once-healthy Titans to 8-6 overall.

Las Vegas Coach Jerry Tarkanian, who saw his team lose its first game of the season Saturday at Oklahoma, said he had been fearing the game against the Titans for weeks.

“I told our kids yesterday, and I mean this sincerely, two weeks ago, I thought this was the toughest game on our schedule,” he said. “Fullerton’s had some illness, and they’re not the same team they were two weeks ago. But I think they’re one of the 20 best teams in the country. I’ve voted them that way every week.”

So Tarkanian was not surprised to find Fullerton threatening to catch his team late in the game. Neither was he disappointed when referee Dave Libbey called a technical foul on John Sneed, a Fullerton assistant coach, with 5:19 to play and the Titans appearing to gain momentum.

How the Titans got technical, and how much it hurt: Trailing, 64-60, and with the ball in their possession, the Titans called a timeout. Sneed, apparently upset over the lack of a foul call under the Las Vegas basket, voiced his displeasure as the teams went to their respective benches. As the Titans huddled around their coaching staff, Libbey, standing at midcourt, blew his whistle. He then walked over to the Fullerton huddle and worked his way into Sneed’s face to deliver the technical personally.

Banks hit the ensuing two free throws to extend Las Vegas’ lead to 66-60. The Rebels also got the ball and a quick basket from Gilliam that made it 68-60. It was a four-point turnaround from which the Titans never fully recovered.

“I thought it was very, very big,” said Fullerton Coach George McQuarn, who is recuperating from bronchial pneumonia. “I think that took something out of our kids. It was hard for them to come back after that.”

Fullerton center Herman Webster said the technical caught the Titans by surprise, then shock set in.

“We didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “When we found out, I looked into the other guys’ eyes and knew it was a big letdown.”

Fullerton kept the Rebels from running away early with a run of its own near the end of the half. Trailing, 36-27, with 3:40 left, the Titans scored eight straight points. Oval Miller scored on a dunk off an offensive rebound to make it 37-28. Henry Turner stole the ball and took it in for a reverse slam to make it 37-30, then inspired the crowd with a spinning 360-degree dunk. Alexander Hamilton, who finished with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting, made it 37-34 with a bank shot off a fast break.

But Las Vegas scored the last seven points led, 44-34, at halftime.

Fullerton took its first lead since the game’s opening moments with 8:41 to play when Webster hit a baseline jumper and free throw to make it 57-56. But the lead lasted less than a minute.

The Rebels got it back, and, with some technical assistance, refused to give it up.