CS Fullerton Is Still Winless in Las Vegas, 77-61

They wouldn’t be the Cal State Fullerton Titans if they weren’t close for a while.

But neither would they seem themselves if they won a game on the road--particularly here at Nevada Las Vegas’ Thomas and Mack Center, where the Titans--and a lot of other teams--have never won.

After a 77-61 loss Thursday, the Titans are 0-5 here. The Rebels are 86-3 in the arena.

Fullerton, next to last in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn., made enough of a run to give the seventh-ranked Rebels a bit of a scare when it cut UNLV’s lead to seven points on a three-pointer by Richard Morton with about seven minutes to play. But Fullerton never got any closer.

UNLV then ran off a 13-0 streak for a 20-point lead with 1:52 remaining.

The Titans (6-15, 2-10) had the apparent misfortune of being the first team to play UNLV since the Rebels lost to UC Santa Barbara Saturday. It was only UNLV’s second loss of the season, both to the Gauchos.

UC Irvine was the team that faced the wrath of the Rebels after their first loss in January. UNLV came back from that 62-60 upset to beat Irvine, 103-68.

But for much of Thursday night’s game, UNLV’s play looked more like boredom than fury.

The Rebels led, 41-31, at halftime and stretched that lead to 19 points early in the second half but allowed Fullerton to get back in the game.

Fullerton had taken a 5-0 lead at the start of the game as UNLV missed its first three shots--all three-point attempts. But the Rebels outscored the Titans, 23-7, over the next seven minutes, taking a 23-12 lead.

UNLV stretched that lead to as many as 17 in the first half, thanks in part to a three-pointer by Gerald Paddio and a three-point play by Jarvis Basnight on an offensive rebound.

The Titans staged a rally around a most unlikely player--John Sykes, the back-up center who has played sparingly since starting two games early this season. Sykes found himself open underneath for two baskets, and added two free throws, starting Fullerton’s run.

Late in the game, Fullerton got a boost from its most seldom used player, Benson Williams, whose only appearance until Thursday was two minutes against UC Irvine last Saturday. Williams made two straight jumpers to help cut UNLV’s lead in the final 10 minutes.