Fullerton Beats Middle Tennessee State in Wyoming

By the time Cal State Fullerton made it to Wyoming’s wide-open spaces, the Titans were a sick-and-tired team.

They were sick with all manner of ailments. And they were tired, and not only from their 13-hour trip from Fullerton.

They were also tired of losing, after ruining their 5-0 start with a 29-point loss to Colorado State and a 12-point loss to UCLA.

Coach John Sneed, still ailing from the remnants of flu, was worried.

“They say a team is a reflection of its coach,” Sneed said before the Titans played Middle Tennessee State in the first round of the Cowboy Shootout. “If they play like I feel, we’re in trouble.”

Instead, the Titans’ 77-69 victory over the Blue Raiders in the Casper Events Center Friday night proved just the tonic.

“For the moment, a win makes everyone on the team feel better,” Sneed said after the Titans dispatched Middle Tennessee State by taking a 15-2 lead at the outset, never trailing although the Blue Raiders made several runs.

Fullerton’s balance had seemed dangerously close to coming undone the night before, at a practice in which leading scorer Cedric Ceballos took an elbow to the eye that opened a cut requiring stitches.

At the same practice, reserve Ron Caldwell and Sneed had verbal exchanges that left Caldwell on the bench in street clothes Friday. And starting center John Sykes, who practiced sparingly, realized he wouldn’t be able to start because his eyes remain red, irritated by a reaction to eyedrops.

But Fullerton pulled it together against Middle Tennessee State, a team that has played in a postseason tournament in each of the past five years, but that is off to a 4-4 start with a young team this season.

“We had been in a rut,” Sneed said. “We’ve had three of four bad practices, whether it was the flu, injuries or internal things with a couple of players. There’s nothing like a win to get you hugging in the locker room again. It was a good win on the road, against a good team and a quality coach.”

Ceballos, who has made a habit of strong second-half performances, had three points at halftime, but finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds, 11 of them in the second half. Mark Hill scored 19 for Fullerton, and Wayne Williams added 13.

Titus Jackson scored 21 for the Blue Raiders, and Robert Taylor added 19. The Blue Raiders shot only 34% from the field.

Fullerton had struggled in its past two games, hitting only 34% of its shots.

But this time the Titans made 49% of their shots, which is about their season average.

Fullerton will play Wyoming in the tournament championship game tonight at 8 p.m. PST. The Cowboys (6-4) defeated Northeast Louisiana, 73-66, Friday night.