Titans Shock UNLV in Overtime, 93-92 : Williams Hits Three-Pointer at Buzzer

Cal State Fullerton’s John Sneed had a job interview of sorts Thursday night--and it ended most unusually, with pandemonium in Titan Gym.

Sneed’s Fullerton team, the one picked to finish ninth in the Big West Conference, pulled off an upset of 19th-ranked Nevada Las Vegas on Wayne Williams’ 25-foot, three-pointer at the buzzer--a shot that gave the Titans a 93-92 overtime victory, only their third ever against UNLV.

Sneed, who was named acting coach when George McQuarn resigned Nov. 3, is trying to earn the job permanently, but Fullerton is openly accepting applications.

But this victory, coupled with an upset of UC Santa Barbara Saturday, is the best indication yet that those other applications may be in vain.

Afterward, Fullerton Athletic Director Ed Carroll stuck to his pledge not to make any comments about Sneed’s chances, but only beamed.

“A great win,” Carroll said. “A great win.”

Sneed naturally concurred.

“This is definitely the most exciting win ever in Titan Gym,” Sneed said. “With the overtime and dramatic finish--it was a great one. There is a no-quit attitude on our team and it really carried us through tonight.”

Fullerton had not beaten UNLV in its past 15 attempts, the last victory coming in February of 1983 when the Titans upset an undefeated and No. 1-ranked UNLV team, 86-78.

With Thursday’s victory, the Titans have 3 victories in 23 tries.

For UNLV, it was the second stunning upset in Orange County in a week. Last Saturday, UC Irvine upset the Rebels, 99-98. UNLV beat UC Santa Barbara on Monday before traveling to Fullerton, but has lost four of its past six games.

Fullerton allowed a 13-point lead in the first half to disappear, and trailed 43-39, at halftime.

It had taken a remarkable play by Fullerton even to force the overtime.

Fullerton trailed, 83-80, with 28 seconds left after Greg Anthony made one of two free throws.

After a timeout, Fullerton pushed the ball upcourt, and Mark Hill tried a three-pointer. He missed, but Fullerton rebounded. Cedric Ceballos tried a three, but he, too, missed. But once again Fullerton got the rebound, and in desperation, forward Derek Jones scooted out beyond the three-point line, a distance from which he had attempted only two shots all season. But Jones sank this one, tying it 83-83, with five seconds left.

Not only was it Jones’ first three-pointer of the year, it also was the first of his career.

“That’s the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced, inside or outside of basketball,” said Jones, who has returned for his senior season after being critically wounded in a drive-by shooting in 1987. “I had always dreamed of playing against UNLV, but to beat them, well, there’s nothing like it.”

After Jones’ shot, UNLV tried to push the ball upcourt, but Anthony tripped with a second remaining and was called for traveling. Ceballos threw up a desperation attempt at the buzzer, but it didn’t draw iron.

In the overtime, Fullerton fell behind by two several times, but took the lead, 90-89, on Hill’s baseline three-pointer with 55 seconds left.

UNLV went ahead, 91-90, with 39 seconds left when John Sykes was called for goaltending on David Butler’s shot.

Fullerton’s Hill missed the front end of a one-and-one with 26 seconds left.

But then Stacey Augmon missed the second of two free throws with 4 seconds left, and Fullerton rebounded. Williams pushed the ball upcourt and let fly.

It sank, and a sellout-to-the rafters crowd of 4,000 went wild.

Williams just Saturday had hit a 35-footer at the halftime buzzer against Santa Barbara, a shot that sparked that victory.

Now he has done it again.

“I expected Mark or Cedric to take the last shot,” Williams said. “During the timeout, Coach Sneed told us to push the ball and penetrate and then give the ball to Mark or Ced on the sides. I knew there wasn’t enough time, so I decided to take the shot. It was a very exciting shot for me.”

And a few thousand others.

It was turnabout from the Titans’ first game against UNLV this season, when Greg Anthony banked in a three-pointer with 3 seconds left for a 66-63 victory in the Rebels’ Thomas & Mack Center.

“What a way to lose, huh?” said UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian, whose team fell 15-6, 10-2 in the Big West. “We just wanted to keep them in front of us and not foul anybody. There was only four seconds and our goal was not to foul anybody. I don’t know how he got such a clear path.”

UNLV, shooting 62% from the line as a team, could have won it with just one more in the game. As it was, it made only 25 of 42, and missed the final, crucial one.

“Those free throws kill us every time,” Tarkanian said. “This is a tough one. . . . It’s hard to win big games when you miss your free throws like that. Gawd darn, the kid hit the three-pointer with a few seconds to go to tie it up and then they hit the three-pointer to win it. It was their night, I guess. Must have been meant to be for them, but not for us.”

Fullerton was led, as always, by the play of Ceballos and Hill, who finished with 26 points and 20 points, respectively, including five three-pointers by Hill.