Gauchos Roar Back, Beat Titans : College basketball: Fullerton has 10-point lead with 2:21 left, then Santa Barbara rallies to win in overtime, 72-64.

Cedric Ceballos had played one of the finest games of his career Monday night, and Cal State Fullerton had a 10-point lead over UC Santa Barbara with 2:21 left.

But it wasn’t safe in the Thunderdome, as the Gauchos prefer their Campus Events Center be known.

Eric McArthur, Carrick DeHart and Idris Jones saw to that, helping Santa Barbara storm back to force an overtime and send Fullerton to a 72-64 defeat.

Ceballos finished with 33 points, but only one basket in the final seven minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime. His last chance to save a Fullerton victory in regulation came with seven seconds left, when he drove the lane and was fouled by DeHart. But he missed the front end of a one-and-one, just as teammate Wayne Williams had twice before him in the final two minutes, leaving the score tied, 62-62, at the end of regulation.

Santa Barbara came back with strong rebounding and big plays by Jones, who hit two three-point baskets in the final 2:13, and McArthur, who added a three-point basket.

In overtime, Santa Barbara jumped ahead by four points and Fullerton failed to get any closer.

Ceballos did away with a 31-31 halftime tie by scoring 11 of Fullerton’s points in a 13-4 run to start the second half that staked Fullerton to a 44-35 lead.

DeHart, who became the Gauchos’ all-time leading scorer last week when he surpassed Doug Rex’s 1,434 points, quickly added to his 1,457 career total in the first half. He scored 18 points in the first half, including four of five shots from three-point range. He finished with 23 points.

Without him and McArthur, Santa Barbara might have been in trouble. The Gauchos went ahead by seven points early in the game, 24-17, after 11 consecutive points by DeHart. But then Fullerton ran off 14 points in a row to take a 31-24 lead. McArthur, who finished with 28 points and 21 rebounds, scored to break the run and then DeHart added a three-point basket to help the Gauchos battle back and tie the score at halftime.