Fullerton Finds a Haven on Road, Beats Pacific, 72-60

Just when it looked as if Cal State Fullerton might never win a game on the road, who should the Titans meet but Pacific.

The Tigers were trying to break an 18-game losing streak, the nation’s longest among Division I teams. Pacific was also hoping to get its first Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. victory of the season.

The Titans were 0-13 away from home, and this was their final road game of the season.

In the end, Pacific proved the lesser of the least, and Fullerton won, 72-60, Saturday night in front of 2,106 in Spanos Center.

Fullerton (9-16 overall, 5-11 in conference), which is ahead of only Pacific in the PCAA standings, was taking no chances.

When a substitute player committed a blocking foul with 41 seconds remaining and the Titans ahead by 10 points, Coach George McQuarn put the three starters back into the game.

The Titans, who won two straight games before losing to Fresno State Thursday, played down their only road victory.

“It feels good, but I’d feel better if we had beaten Fresno, too,” said Richard Morton, who scored 18 points. “We’re just looking at each game as a chance to climb in the PCAA standings to get ready for the tournament.”

The last time a Fullerton team went winless on the road was in 1980-81, McQuarn’s first season. But even that 4-23 team was 1-5 on neutral courts. Before Saturday, Fullerton had not won outside of Titan Gym.

The Tigers (5-21, 0-16) have two remaining PCAA games, both on the road, against San Jose State and Utah State.

The 19-game losing streak is a school record.

The Titans were led by Henry Turner, who scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, though he did not start the game because he overslept and missed practice the day of the game.

Fullerton trailed by as many as five in the first half but led, 25-22, at halftime. The Titans stretched that lead to 10 just four minutes into the second half, and led by as many as 14.

Vincent Blow, the Titans’ starting center, scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Eugene Jackson added 12 points.

Christian Gray scored 18 points for Pacific and Jon Barry added 11.

Titan Notes

Henry Turner did not start because of a rule that if a player misses practice, he does not start. Benson Williams, Turner’s roommate also missed the practice. The players missed the team bus, which left the hotel around noon. The phone in their hotel room was off the hook, Turner said, and they missed a wake-up call, as well as the bus. “They’re not real creative,” McQuarn said. “They didn’t come up with another way to get there.” . . . Bobby Adair, who last started 14 games ago, started in Turner’s place. Adair has not started since a two-game disciplinary suspension last month.