Titans’ Winning Streak Ends Where Victories Have Been Hard to Get

The stirring three-game streak that had turned Cal State Fullerton fans absolutely giddy the past couple weeks came to a frozen standstill here Thursday.

Wayne Williams, the freshman point guard who had sparked the Titans to victory after victory, left the court without one of his trademark three-at-the-buzzer shots.

Matter of fact, he left the court without any three-pointers, missing six tries. And for the first time since Feb. 2, the Titans left the court without a victory, losing to Utah State, 90-80, in front of 8,340.

This town has been a difficult place for Fullerton to play over the years, and for a few other teams as well.

But the Titans took the court at The Spectrum Thursday and started satisfactorily enough, with a nice turnaround basket by Derek Jones on the opening possession.

That was about it.

Utah State, pushing the ball up court against a lax and mistake-prone Titan defense, scored the next 17 points, taking a 15-point lead less than 7 minutes into the game and never particularly sweated it.

That put Fullerton’s losing streak in Logan at seven games. The Titans have not won here since 1982.

“We buried ourselves,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said.

With that, Fullerton’s three-game run with victories over UC Santa Barbara, Nevada Las Vegas and UC Irvine was done.

Mark Hill, whose career-high 33 points was the only Fullerton effort worth commending, broke Fullerton’s cold spell, knocking down a three-pointer. That was the first of nine points in a row for Hill, who got the Titans back in the neighborhood. They managed to cut it to five points at 25-20, but Utah State scored the next seven points.

Utah State led by 11 at the half, and Fullerton didn’t get within 10 points in the second half, until only 11 seconds remained, when Hill’s school-record seventh three-pointer made it 88-80.

Utah State, playing a fast-breaking, sharp-passing game, made 62% of its shots, hitting 38 of 61.

That was accomplished with an assist from the Titans, who allowed 27 layups.

“We were just not getting back on defense,” Sneed said. “I think they put us in shock by getting us down like that. . . . But it wasn’t just our transition defense, it was definitely our halfcourt defense, too.”

Utah State (10-13 overall, 8-6 in conference play) enjoyed an evening of ease. Every player on the roster scored in the first half, and five players finished in double figures, led by Reid Newey’s 15 and Nathan Grant’s 14.

“We pushed the ball up the floor and made some excellent decisions,” Utah State Coach Kohn Smith said. “We had a great inside-outside attack.”

Fullerton fell to 11-11, 6-7.

“This was a big game,” Smith said. “The last three or four games, Fullerton has been as good as any team in the league. Now, we’re two games up on them. That’s good for us.”

Utah State had one major misfortune in the game, when freshman guard Albert Chappell injured his knee in the late going. A preliminary examination indicated that he has torn a ligament and will be out for the season.

Hill was clearly the leader for the Titans, making 12 of 21 shots, including seven of 11 three-pointers. Many of those three-pointers came as he tried to rally the Titans. He added two free throws in three attempts.

“My teammates got me the ball in certain situations and that’s why I was able to score so much,” Hill said. Other Fullerton players had less success.

Cedric Ceballos, who has been the Big West Conference’s leading scorer, finished with 16 points on eight-of-17 shooting. Coupled with an 11-point game against Irvine, it marked the second game in a row he has been under his 21-point average.

“I guess I’m in a slump,” Ceballos said.

Williams, coming off a career-high 20-point performance against Irvine in which he was four-for-four from three-point range, hit only three of 13 shots, and finished with eight points.

All in all, it was the Aggies’ night.

“This has always been a tough place to play and it was no different this year,” Sneed said. “They played with so much pop and snap tonight. They made crisp passes and set solid screens. They were as aggressive as I’ve seen them play this year. Unfortunately, it was against us.”

Said Hill: “It really hurt us to lose, but we can’t let this game spoil the season for us.”

Titan Notes

John Sneed’s only company on the bench other than the players was trainer Jerry Lloyd. Assistant Coach Donny Daniels did not make the trip, but instead scouted high school players with an eye toward next year. . . . Fullerton’s seven consecutive losses in Logan include a 96-95 double-overtime loss in 1987 and an 82-76 overtime loss in 1986. The closest the Titans have come to a victory since 1982 was last season, when they lost, 75-72.