Cal State Fullerton Notebook : Titan Women Have Numbers, Not Wins

The quirkiest statistic of the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team: The Titans are outscoring their opponents, 69.1-63.4, yet don’t have a winning record. They are 5-5 overall, and 0-1 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.

They’ll have an opportunity to change that today against UC Irvine at 5 p.m. in Titan Gym in the first game of a doubleheader with the men’s teams.

Irvine, coming off an upset of 16th-ranked Nevada Las Vegas Monday night, swept Fullerton last season. Before that, Fullerton had won seven straight, dating to 1981.

The Titans have been led all season by Amy Torczon, a 6-foot center/forward who leads the team in scoring (15.4-point average) and rebounds (11.5).

Gena Miller, a 6-3 freshman center, has been improving lately and is expected to play a good bit both against Irvine today and UC Santa Barbara Saturday. Miller scored a career-high 10 points in Fullerton’s loss to Pacific Saturday, but in the final minute she committed a turnover and missed a shot that could have won the game. Miller has 16 blocked shots in 9 games.

Irvine (3-7, 1-1) has been led by Natalie Crawford, averaging 18.6 points a game. She had 23 points against UNLV, and her 19 rebounds were the second highest total in Irvine history. Cheri Graham had 22 rebounds against Nevada Reno in the 1983-84 season.

No action has been announced concerning the scuffle between Brown Coach Mike Cingiser and a Fullerton fan, Bill Harvey, during a game in Titan Gym last week. Harvey said Wednesday that he would not attend the Titan game against UC Irvine at Fullerton tonight.

Cal State Fullerton university police have completed their investigation, Capt. Dan Byrnes said Wednesday, and will take the information to the Orange County district attorney’s office today. The district attorney, in turn, will make a decision whether to file any charges.

Harvey indicated on police reports that he was seeking assault charges against Cingiser, who approached Harvey in Titan Gym while play was in progress. A moment later, Cingiser, Harvey, the Brown team and a number of fans were involved in a brawl. Harvey and his brother, Roger, were taken from the gym by security officers. Cingiser was assessed a technical foul.

University officials, including Athletic Director Ed Carroll and President Jewel Plummer Cobb, have met repeatedly this week to discuss the incident and possible action, including changes in security policy. An announcement of any decisions is expected today.

Harvey, 34, a Fullerton graduate and a teacher at McFadden Intermediate School who has been a vocal regular on the sidelines at Titan Gym for 13 years, said Wednesday that “the decision is to stay away at this time.” Harvey attended the Titan game at Cal State Long Beach Saturday.

Harvey said he decided not to attend tonight’s game in part because he has had no contact from the university.

“If (the university) is interested in assisting me in maintaining my status as an active fan and will give me the freedom I’ve had in the past, with the necessary protection a fan deserves, then certainly I’ll be there.”

John Parry, Brown athletic director, said this week there would be “no public disciplinary action” toward Cingiser but that he had issued a “private reprimand.”

Titan Notes The Titan football team has signed four junior college football players to national letters of intent to attend Fullerton in February.

Two of the four--Tom Gang of Modesto Junior College and Laita Leatutufu of San Francisco City College--are offensive linemen, the position at which the Titans suffered their heaviest losses this season. Fullerton lost three veteran offensive linemen in Ed Gillies, Greg Hammond and Phil Benson.

The other players who have signed--Mike Barnes, a cornerback from Sacramento City College, and Damon Moore, an outside linebacker from Cerritos College--also play positions at which the Titans lost veterans.

“We have immediate needs in all three areas,” said Gene Murphy, Titan coach, whose team went 6-6 this past season.

Murphy said he expects to sign several more junior college players before the Jan. 15 deadline. High school players can sign letters of intent beginning Feb. 10.

Fullerton lost 21 seniors from its 1987 team.