Titans Win, But Their Pride Is Bruised a Bit

As proud as Cal State Fullerton is of its undefeated record--and that’s no small amount--the Titans have been nearly as delighted with their average margin of victory.

Four opponents had gone down by an average of 24.5 points a game before Saturday.

Not one had gotten closer than 15 points.

Cal State Northridge couldn’t do any damage to Fullerton’s record Saturday night in Titan Gym, and frankly, the Titans weren’t too concerned.

“I knew we’d have to play terrible for them to win,” said Wayne Williams, the Titans’ point guard.

But Northridge did trim the Titans’ pride--and did a number on that margin of victory--as Fullerton won, 81-70, in front of 2,600.

Fullerton led by as many as 14 in the first half--and then let Northridge cut the lead to four by halftime.

The Titans went up by 14 again in the second half--and let Northridge get as close as eight points in the final two minutes.

The Titans might have had a much tougher time of it if not for Mark Hill, who made eight three-pointers, breaking his own school record of seven set last season. Hill made five of five in his 20-point first half, and finished the game with 29 points, including eight of 12 from three-point range.

But even Hill couldn’t find solace in anything but the victory.

“We didn’t play well,” Hill said. “I’m upset about that. I didn’t play well. No one played well.”

Had the ball bounced differently in the final minutes, the Matadors still might have found themselves in it. Fullerton went to the line six times in the final two minutes and made only three shots. But they repeatedly came up with offensive rebounds, staving off the Matadors.

Fullerton Coach John Sneed took advantage of the opportunity to chastise his players, and to remind them about what is next--a game against Boyd Grant’s 5-2 Colorado State team Monday night. The team is scheduled to leave at 6:45 a.m. today for Fort Collins, Colo.

“I told them they’d better get to bed early and dress warmly,” Sneed said.

That game and a game against UCLA Saturday are what Fullerton has been waiting for, games that will give them some idea of where they stand as a team. “These next few road trips will really be a challenge,” Sneed said. “Our kids are looking forward to them.”

Williams, Fullerton point guard, agreed.

“We really overlooked Northridge, looking forward to playing these other teams.”

The 11-point victory, though, left him disappointed.

“I knew we were winning games by an average of 24 points,” he said. “I wanted to beat them by 24, too.”

But Northridge (3-5) battled back repeatedly, largely behind Derrick Gathers, who scored 22 points. Eugene Humphrey and Jemarl Baker each added 16.

“They’re the most talented team we’ve played all year,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “I’m proud of the way our guys played. They didn’t back down. They were very tenacious.”

Sneed saw his team match Fullerton’s 5-0 start of the 1983-84 season, when Leon Wood was a senior. That team won 13 of its first 15, and finished with a 17-13 record.

But like his players, Sneed was disappointed in the game itself.

“I kind of felt it coming,” Sneed said. “We had a bad week of practice.”

With starter Agee Ward out with strep throat and transfer Ron Caldwell eligible for the first game, Fullerton used a lot of unusual combinations, Sneed said.

“I still expected us to play better,” he said.

Cedric Ceballos, who has been the leading scorer in the Big West Conference, averaging 27.5 points a game, struggled in the first half and finished with 22 points, a season low.

Ceballos scored only eight points in the first half. A trend is emerging: He has scored no more than nine and as few as four in the first half of his past four games.

Fullerton’s entire team started this one slowly, trailing by as many as three twice. With 11 minutes left in the first half, Fullerton led by only one point, 16-15.

Northridge, which had been playing man defense, switched to a zone, and Fullerton’s Hill quickly destroyed it. His first three-pointer gave Fullerton a 19-15 lead with 9:51 left. He hit another to make it 22-15. Northridge’s Gathers cut into Fullerton’s run with a steal and a layup, but Hill came back for a third consecutive three-pointer.

Northridge’s Bill Mazurie countered with a three-pointer, but then Hill hit one more, and the Titans led, 28-20.

In less than two minutes, Hill had made four three-pointers without missing and without another Titan taking a shot, Northridge took a timeout.

Fullerton, pushing the ball upcourt, quickly stretched the lead to 14 points. Ceballos finished off a fastbreak with a dunk. Dareck Crane, who came off the bench to spell Hill, pulled up off the break for a short bank shot and then for a 16-foot jumper, and the Titans led, 34-20 with a little more than five minutes left.

But the lead didn’t hold. Northridge scored 14 of the next 18 points, cutting the lead to 38-34 with 1:18 left off a steal and easy layup by Gathers in the backcourt.

Hill, back in the game after a rest, hit another three-pointer to make it 41-34, but Jemarl Baker retaliated with a three-pointer for Northridge, cutting the lead to 41-37 at halftime.

Hill made three more three-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half, and Fullerton pulled to a 54-46 lead. Ceballos helped make it a runaway again with a couple of left-handed dunks off the break, completing a three-point play on one of them.

In the end, Fullerton had its victory, but not its favorite margin thereof.

“We just didn’t come out and play well,” Hill said. “We’ve just got to play harder.”