Titans Let One Slip Away Against Utah St. : College basketball: Opportunities are lost, one by one, and Fullerton again comes up a loser in Logan, 83-82, in overtime.

Cal State Fullerton’s players walked, straight-faced, off the court one by one Saturday.

They had a 13-point lead in the second half against Utah State, and they lost it. They had the ball and a two-point lead with two minutes left, and they lost that, too.

They had the ball with 19 seconds left and the score tied, but came away empty when Van Anderson missed the front end of a one-and-one with seven seconds left.

Fullerton let every last opportunity get away. The Titans had the game against Utah State in hand, but they lost it, 83-82, in overtime in front of 8,624 in the Spectrum. Kendall Youngblood won it by hitting a leaning jumper in the lane with six seconds left in overtime.

Wayne Williams tried a desperation 19-footer as time ran out, but drew only air.

The Titans’ undefeated record after five games is long gone, replaced by a 6-5 mark after a 1-5 stretch on the road, during which they have lost to Colorado State, UCLA, Wyoming, Nevada Las Vegas and Utah State.

Some of those games they weren’t likely to win--games against nationally ranked UCLA and UNLV. Granted, they weren’t supposed to lose them by 12 and 28 points, either. A 29-point loss to Colorado State was a bit easier to take after the Rams upset North Carolina.

But this one was harder to handle.

“Certain games I thought we had a much better chance of winning than others,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said. “This was one of them.”

The Aggies are traditionally tough in Logan, where Fullerton has not won since the 1981-82 season, but this year’s team was picked to finish eighth in the Big West Conference. It looked like a good time to be here.

For 35 minutes or so, it was for the Titans. Sneed called their first half their best of the year on the road.

With 8:46 left in regulation, Fullerton had its largest lead, 67-54. With six minutes left, the Titans still led, 73-62.

Then it unraveled.

“We’re very disappointed with this loss. We played well the first 37 or 38 minutes, but then we got tight,” said Mark Hill, who scored 31 points, but like the other Titans, struggled down the stretch.

With 31 seconds left in overtime, Hill drove and drew a foul. He made the first free throw, his 14th in a row. But he missed the second, one of only two misses in 16 tries. That one miss ended up being the margin of Fullerton’s defeat.

Utah State (8-6 overall, 2-1 in conference) cut into Fullerton’s 11-point lead by running off six points in a row.

After Cedric Ceballos hit one of two free throws, Sean Lake hit a three-pointer that brought the Aggies to within 74-71. Williams hit a driving layup, but Jeff Perris scored underneath and was fouled by Ceballos. The free throw made it 76-74 with 2:31 left.

Neither team scored again until 51 seconds remained, when Darrel White knocked down a 16-foot jumper to tie the score for the first time since 8-8.

Fullerton held the ball till 19 seconds remained, and took a timeout. Hill took a shot from outside with about nine seconds left, but missed. Anderson came up with the rebound and was fouled. He missed the free throw, his fourth miss in seven attempts. Ceballos rebounded, but was called for traveling as he tried to control the ball--a call that Fullerton disputed. Utah State missed a last-chance shot and Ceballos missed a length-of-the-court heave, sending the game to overtime.

The Titans had their chances in overtime, too. Hill missed the second of two free throws with 31 seconds left, leaving the score at 82-81. That set up Youngblood’s shot and Utah State’s victory, their eighth in 15 games.

Hill led Fullerton in scoring for the seventh time in the past eight games. Ceballos added 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Fullerton (6-5, 0-2) returns home for games against Fresno State and Pacific this week.

“We’ll be all right,” Hill said. “We’ll get together and get back on track pretty soon, and they we’ll be ready for the next road trip.”

Titan Notes

John Sykes, a center who had not started the past three games because of an eye infection, started Saturday and scored the Titans’ first four points. But he fouled out with 13 minutes left without scoring again. . . . Ron Caldwell, a reserve forward, was ill and did not dress for the game.