Titans’ Streak Grinds to a Halt

This was not Boyd Grant basketball as you remember it.

Boyd Grant basketball in his days at Fresno State was deliberate basketball. It was a matchup zone defense and an almost tediously patient offense. It was a score in the 50s and--often enough--a Fresno State victory.

Cal State Fullerton took its undefeated team into Colorado State’s Moby Arena Monday and ran into a different breed of Grant team.

This team didn’t live by the matchup zone. It was a team that wanted to run and did in an 84-55 victory that spoiled Fullerton’s bid for its best start since the Titans became a Division I team.

The loss also was an unsettling start to a stretch in which the Titans will play six road games in a row, and nine of 11 away from home. It also spoiled Fullerton’s hopes of going into Saturday’s game against UCLA undefeated.

Instead they left here disconsolate. Fullerton hadn’t lost so badly since the 1987 season, when Nevada Las Vegas beat the Titans by 34 points.

“There wasn’t anything going right for us,” point guard Wayne Williams said. “It really just brought us down to earth. We were 5-0 and thought we couldn’t be beat. We’re pretty determined not to ever lose like that again.”

Nobody had played Fullerton closer than 11 points this season. But the end of the Titans’ early-season win streak came quickly. Colorado State led, 10-0, before the game was three minutes old.

“They just ran a clinic on us on both ends of the court,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said. “We got outplayed in every aspect of the game. I give credit to Colorado State. They played fantastic.”

Mike Mitchell, who played at Mater Dei High School and Fresno State before coming to Colorado State to play his final season under Grant, didn’t miss a shot in the first half. He made seven of seven from the field, including a three-pointer, and made his only free throw.

Jamie Hines, a quick, smooth-moving guard, didn’t miss a shot either, making all four he took. Mark Meredith, another guard, hit five of seven three-pointers.

And at halftime, Colorado State held a 44-30 lead. The Rams had hit 68% of their shots, including 70% from three-point range.

Colorado State (6-2) was coming off a loss to Montana in which it scored only 47 points. The Rams scored almost that many in the first half against Fullerton.

Grant, who had watched his team shoot in 36% against Montana, was flabbergasted.

“I really can’t even explain it. I really can’t,” he said.

Fullerton’s Cedric Ceballos, who had been averaging 26 points a game, was held to 14, his lowest total of the season. Guard Mark Hill led Fullerton with 14, but had only two in the second half. Dareck Crane added eight for the Titans (5-1).

Mitchell finished with 23 for Colorado State, and Meredith added 20.

Who would have thought that the Rams would run like they did on Fullerton, a team that wants to run itself?

Who would have thought that the Rams could start three guards and still outrebound the Titans, squelching Fullerton’s attempts to run?

Who would have thought that neither Hill nor Ceballos would break 20 points when they were averaging 48 points between them?

And who would have thought that one team would score in the 50s and the other in the 80s, and that Fullerton wasn’t the winner?

“If we’re not in the 60s or 70s against them, it’s not a good night,” Sneed said. “If anyone holds us in the 50s, I don’t think we have a very good chance of playing with them.”

The Titans hadn’t played any games this season that weren’t runaways, and after Monday night, they still haven’t. The starters were on the bench at the end of this one, too, but for a different reason.

It was over. Way over.

“Not one of our guys played up to their potential tonight,” Sneed said. “That’s the first time this year we’ve had to play behind. It’s hard to play catch-up on the road, and harder to play catch-up against a team that’s not making many mistakes. That makes for a long night.”

Which it was. Colorado State beat Fullerton inside and outside, with sharp passing and good ball movement. One minute, Mitchell was scoring on an easy layin inside. The next, the Rams kicked the ball back out for a three-pointer.

And they did a number on the Titans’ offense too. Fullerton was shooting 49% before the game, but shot just 38% Monday night.

Hill scored 12 points in the first half, keeping the Titans remotely close with four three-pointers. But in the second half, the Rams put the squeeze on him with a box-and-one, and Fullerton never found any one to pick up the slack.

It was that sort of night. A three-on-two Titan fast break didn’t end with a Ceballos dunk, but a steal by Hines, who passed it downcourt for a dunk by Eric Friehauf that gave Colorado State a 68-43 lead.

It was the sort of night when Fullerton could go as cold as the frigid temperatures outside, failing to score for more than five minutes at one point in the second half.

It was the sort of night Fullerton would just as soon forget.

Titan Notes

Agee Ward, who missed a game against Cal State Northridge Saturday with strep throat, started against Colorado State but was only somewhat effective. He played 17 minutes and scored four points. . .Cal State Fullerton is 0 for 2 in Fort Collins this year. The football team lost to the Rams, 42-14, last season.