Ceballos Hopes to Rebound : Titans’ Top Scorer Blames ‘Bickering’ for 2-Point Effort

As Cal State Fullerton takes the court tonight against its toughest opponent so far this season, Cedric Ceballos will be trying to shake the lingering effects of the worst game of his career.

Ceballos, who had averaged 25 points a game until Tuesday, made only 1 of 12 shots against New Orleans Tuesday, finishing with 2 points in the Titans’ 66-65 loss in double overtime.

The next day, Ceballos said that his performance resulted from tension on the team over his shot selection.

“Other players are mad because they say I’m shooting too much,” Ceballos said. “I knew before the game it was going to affect me.”

Ceballos said that “bickering” about his shot selection began during a victory over Northeastern Dec. 20 and came to a head after a loss to Weber State Dec. 22, in which he scored 32 points, making 13 of 31 shots from the field.

“That’s the object of the game, scoring,” Ceballos said. “If I’m wrong, somebody else should step in. Nobody did. . . . I couldn’t play with people thinking I wasn’t for Cal State Fullerton, just for myself.”

Coach John Sneed and several players said there was no dissension over Ceballos’ shooting.

“He’s a shooter,” said John Sykes, the Titans’ starting center. “That’s his role.”

But apparently there is some tension between Ceballos and freshman point guard Wayne Williams, roommates who so admired each other earlier this season that they occasionally dressed identically.

“I have nothing to say about his shooting as long as they’re good shots, but there are a lot of top-notch shooters on this team,” Williams said.

Sneed downplayed the situation, saying any tension was nothing unusual after a couple of losses.

“There’s nothing going on,” Sneed said.

Sneed has repeatedly supported Ceballos’ shooting this season, saying he is a scorer much as Leon Wood, Richard Morton and Henry Turner were for the Titans, and that he has the go-ahead to shoot.

Sneed said he does not think the Titans will be affected against St. Mary’s tonight.

“They were fine today (Thursday),” Sneed said. “We had a very positive practice.”

Ceballos said he was ready to put the game behind him.

“I felt I played good in practice. Against St. Mary’s, it probably won’t affect me.”