For Fullerton, It’s Now ‘Loss’ Vegas : Titans’ Coach Long Ago Conceded PCAA Race to UNLV

Some of his counterparts get indignant when Coach George McQuarn of Cal State Fullerton says that the only race in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. is the one for second place.

But Nevada Las Vegas is several lengths ahead of the pack in the PCAA, has been for some time, and probably will be for some time to come. So McQuarn will not be particularly distressed if the Titans lose to UNLV tonight in Thomas and Mack Center at Las Vegas. He said earlier in the season that his team’s goal was to win 10 of its last 11 games. And guess which one he didn’t plan on winning?

“If we were playing UNLV at Titan Gym, my entire attitude would be different,” McQuarn said. “I just don’t want to put so much emphasis on that game that it affects the way we play the last five games of the season.”

Still, the Titans enter this game in considerably better condition than they were in the last time the teams met. Fullerton, 13-8 and 6-6 in the PCAA, went into that game with a three-game losing streak and in serious need of a flu vaccine. They lost, 73-65, but kept it close and even led by one point with 8 minutes 41 seconds to play. This time, the Titans are taking a five-game winning streak into their meeting with the nation’s top-ranked team.

The numbers continue to mount for Las Vegas: the Runnin’ Rebels (24-1, 12-0) can clinch their fifth straight PCAA regular season title tonight if they win and Cal State Long Beach loses at the University of the Pacific. Las Vegas has surpassed the 100-point mark 11 times in 25 games, and is averaging 95.7 points per game.