PCAA Basketball Tournament : Fullerton’s Win Streak Reaches 4 as Fresno St. Bows

Modest as it may be, the winning streak that Cal State Fullerton has mounted is its longest of the season--and, of course, its last.

The Titans didn’t manage to put together three consecutive wins until the final game of the regular season.

Now, after a 73-59 victory over Fresno State in the first round of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament Wednesday night at the Forum, the Titans have won four straight games.

Fullerton plays again tonight in the second round, this time facing top-seeded Nevada Las Vegas.

Fullerton (12-16), which lost to Fresno State just two weeks ago in one of the Titans’ worst performances of the season, had little trouble against the Bulldogs Wednesday night.

Fullerton pulled out to a 16-point lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first half and led by as many as 18.

Fresno State (9-19) cut the lead to 9 with two minutes to play, but Fullerton made 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch.

“I’m very pleased . . . very, very pleased,” Titan Coach George McQuarn said.

Although Fullerton defeated Fresno State in overtime, 64-57 in the teams’ first meeting this season, the Titans played poorly in a 57-54 loss two weeks ago.

Fullerton shot a season-low 32.7% in that game, and Fresno shot 47.8%.

This time, it was different. Fresno State made only 39% of its shots, and Fullerton made 53%.

It had been rare this season for Fullerton’s two scoring threats--Richard Morton and Henry Turner--to have good games on the same night.

Morton and Turner each scored 26 points against Fresno State. Van Anderson added 10.

Turner and Morton attributed their strong play together in part to the emergence of several other Titans as potential scorers.

“The rest of the players are coming around, so they can’t (use a special defense) on Morton so much anymore,” Turner said.

Morton said: “Instead of us being a two-man team, we’ve become a five-man team. That’s what me and Henry need to play well together.”

That “five-man team” concept is not far from the truth and is something that concerns McQuarn.

Morton, Turner and Eugene Jackson each played 39 or more minutes Wednesday night. Two substitutes played a total of 14 minutes between them, and the only other player to get in the game played less than a minute.

“I’m really concerned at this moment about fatigue,” McQuarn said. “But we can only play five or six kids if we expect to be efficient or effective.”