Titans Ride Roller Coaster to Top Again, 94-71

Cal State Fullerton traveled back to the past, and in doing so, took a step toward a brighter future Thursday night. The Titans played like they did in December, which is exactly how they need to if they are going to have any fun in March.

Stirring memories of a time when they were nationally ranked and locally feared, the Titans scored their most lopsided Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. victory of the season, beating Utah State, 94-71, in front of 2,744.

It was Fullerton’s biggest margin of victory since an 88-65 rout of Loyola Marymount Dec. 23. The Titans’ scoring output was second only to the 100 points they scored in blowing out Southern Utah State--an NCAA Division II team--Dec. 8.

Junior guard Richard Morton led four Fullerton players in double figures with a game-high 26 points. Herman Webster added 18, and Henry Turner and Derek Jones both came off the injured list to score 16. Point guard Alexander Hamilton, beginning to emerge as the element needed to make Fullerton’s halfcourt offense effective, had a career-high 10 assists.

Titan Coach George McQuarn was elated but a little uncertain of precisely how the victory would affect the rather ugly logjam the PCAA standings have become.

“This puts us somewhere around fourth or fifth, I think,” McQuarn said. “Whatever the crazy numbers are.”

The crazy numbers are these: Fullerton improved its record to 7-8 in conference, 14-10 overall, and moved into a four-way tie for fourth place in the PCAA. Utah State (7-8, 14-13) entered the game in a four-way tie for second, and left it in a four-way tie for fourth.

Fullerton played its most complete game in nearly two months in flat-out flattening an Aggie team that had beaten the Titans, 96-95 in double overtime Jan. 22.

The Titans outrebounded Utah State, 34-22. They committed only five turnovers, and pressured the Aggies into committing 21. They shot 52% from the field, including 61% (19 of 31) in the second half.

Add it all up and the Titans got another look at a peak after a return trip to the valley. This victory follows two straight losses, which came after five straight wins, which were preceded by six straight losses. But if there was ever a time to reach a peak, McQuarn knows this is it. So do his players.

“We all know it’s getting close to tournament time,” Webster said. “It’s time to get busy.”

The Titans have three games left with which to assure themselves of a spot in the PCAA’s postseason tournament. The top eight teams in the conference will advance to the tournament, assuming someone at the PCAA office can figure out who those the top eight teams are when the regular season ends.

McQuarn has to like his team’s chances. He went into the game not knowing how Jones and Turner would respond after injuries. Jones hadn’t played since dislocating his shoulder last Thursday against Nevada Las Vegas. Turner suffered a badly sprained ankle in last Saturday’s overtime loss to UC Irvine and was playing with his ankle encased in a makeshift air cast. Together, they had 32 points and 10 rebounds. “We just played them as if they didn’t have injuries,” McQuarn said.