Fullerton Falls to Utah St. in 2 Overtimes

George McQuarn’s doctor warned him that coming to this isolated mountain town Thursday night would only make him more miserable. But there he was in Utah State’s Spectrum, with temperatures outside in single digits.

It isn’t the kind of climate to visit when you’re suffering from bronchial pneumonia.

And after Thursday night’s 96-95, double-overtime loss to Utah State, the Cal State Fullerton coach can add insult to his illness. He may never go against doctors’ orders again.

The loss was Fullerton’s fifth straight and dropped the Titans (1-5, 8-7) further into the lowest reaches of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. standings. When it was over, McQuarn and his team walked into the bitter cold and boarded a bus to contemplate a bitter defeat.

“It could have been a very, very big win for us,” McQuarn said between coughs. “Instead, it’s a very disappointing loss.”

Utah State’s Jeff Anderson hit the front end of a one-and-one with seven seconds left in the second overtime period to provide the final margin after Utah State (3-4, 10-9) came back from a 95-92 deficit.

Oval Miller, who scored eight of Fullerton’s 10 points in the second overtime and finished with a career-high 18, gave the Titans a three-point lead with a tip-in with 38 seconds left. Seven seconds later, Utah State guard Reid Newey hit a three-point shot from the right perimeter to tie it at 95-95. It was Newey’s only field goal of the game, and the Aggies’ first field goal since Kevin Nixon sank a three-pointer with 6:10 left in regulation to give Utah State a 68-58 lead. The Aggies scored their next 17 points on free throws.

That this game even went into overtime was enough to make Utah State Coach Rod Tueller cringe. The Aggies had a 71-60 lead with 5:20 left in regulation.

Then, Fullerton made enough of a run to cut Utah State’s lead to 72-66 with 3:36 to play. Suddenly, and stunningly, the Titans were back in the game. McQuarn went to a 1-3-1 trap designed to create turnovers. It worked.

The trap led to three straight Aggie turnovers, the last of which led to an easy basket for Titan guard Eugene Jackson that cut Utah State’s lead to 72-70 with 2:53 to play.

The Titans finally tied it at 76-76 with 53 seconds to play when Derek Jones won a scramble for a loose ball near midcourt and went the distance for a layup. Newey hit both ends of a one-and-one with 36 seconds left to give the Aggies a 78-76 lead, but Alexander Hamilton tied it with a spinning drive to the basket with 20 seconds to play.

Utah State had an opportunity to win it in the first overtime when, with four seconds remaining, center Mike Johnson was fouled in the act of shooting. Johnson made the first free throw to tie it at 85-85 but, after a Fullerton timeout, missed the second.