Weber State Ends Titans’ Streak at Four

Those unpredictable Cal State Fullerton Titans were at it again Thursday night.

Just when it seemed the Titans had achieved a semblance of consistency, they did something to wreck it all.

Against Weber State in Titan Gym, Fullerton turned in a solid first half, went flat in the second and lost to the Wildcats, 88-77, in front of 1,222.

It was a particularly agonizing loss for the Titans, who had won four consecutive games going into the game and had turned in their strongest performance so far this season in an 81-68 victory over Northeastern on Tuesday.

Had Fullerton won Thursday, it would have been the first time since the 1985-86 season that it had won 5 in a row. For a time, it appeared as if it would be a cinch.

Fullerton led by 10 at halftime and seemed to have matters in hand. At least as well could be expected from the young, inexperienced team under first-year Coach John Sneed.

Forward Rico Washington, Weber State’s leading scorer, sat out 10 minutes of the half with foul trouble and, though he scored 13 points in the half, did little to slow the Titans.

“When Rico was out, I thought we had a chance to make a good run at them,” Sneed said.

Indeed, the Titans took a 31-18 lead with 7:51 left in the half.

Forward Cedric Ceballos keyed an 11-2 run. Ceballos made two 3-pointers and another jumper from just inside the 3-point line, and reserve guard Randal Moos added a 3-pointer.

The Titans had Weber State flustered and in trouble, but they just couldn’t put the Wildcats away.

Fullerton (5-2) had made 6 of 8 3-point shots in the first half and had shot 55% overall from the field. But the Titans made it difficult on themselves, making only 3 of 9 from the line.

They still led Weber State deep into the second half but showed signs of faltering.

Weber State (6-2) finally drew even at 70-70 on a 3-pointer by Mike Ostlund with 6:06 left.

Then things turned nightmarish for Fullerton. The Titans were outscored, 18-7, down the stretch and never offered much resistence.

Fullerton made only 9 of 33 attempts from the field in the second half, an abysmal 27%. The Titans shot 42% for the game. Weber State shot 51%.

Then there were all those missed free throws. Fullerton missed 16 of 28 from the line and made only 9 of 19 in the second half.

“It’s still an inexperienced team,” Sneed said. “I know we’ve had a few games under our belt. I thought we could have had it, but we let it slip away at the end. We lost our poise.

“It’s a learning experience. We’ve got to learn to regain our composure.”

It would have helped. Once Weber State caught the Titans, they seemed to lose all their momentum.

About the only thing Fullerton can count on is a strong game from Ceballos. Thursday night, he scored a season-high 32 points and had a team-leading 9 rebounds.

That was small consolation to Ceballos, though.

“We didn’t get a win,” he said. “You really can’t talk about it much if you don’t win.”

And late in the game, even Ceballos could do little to bail out the Titans.

Fullerton trailed, 75-72, after 2 free throws by Marlon Vaughn with 3:49 left, but that was as close as the Titans could get. Ostlund, who had 21 points, hit one of his 5 3-pointers to make it 78-72.

Ostlund was subbing for starting guard Timmy Gibbs, who injured an ankle in the Wildcats’ victory over Utah State Monday. Gibbs is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 15 points a game.

Ostlund and Washington, who led Weber State with 26 points, made for an effective inside-outside combination. Washington made 11 of 19 shots from the field, none of which were farther than 2 feet from the basket.

Derek Jones, who had 11 points, and Mark Hill, who had 10, were the only other Titans in double figures, another sign of the Titans’ inexperience and inconsistency.

“We fell behind and made our run just a little too late,” Sneed said. “We have to learn to play with a lead.”

Titan Notes

Fullerton plays host to the University of New Orleans on Tuesday in the third of six consecutive home games. . . . John Sykes, who had an injured ankle and was listed as questionable Thursday night, started and scored 2 points and had 6 rebounds in 25 minutes. . . . Guard Mark Hill had an off night after scoring 19, 18 and 18 in his last 3 games. He scored 10 on 3-of-9 shooting.