Right From the Start, Titans Had No Shot

Upsets happen. For Cal State Fullerton’s Titans, the reminders came from as far away as the Big Eight Conference and as close to home as the act that preceded them on the Long Beach Arena floor Friday night.

Colorado stuns Missouri.

The University of the Pacific arises against UC Santa Barbara.

Could Fullerton take the cue and follow through against Nevada Las Vegas?

The track record said no. Fullerton was 0-5 in prior Big West Conference tournament encounters with the Runnin’ Rebels.

The regular season said no. Fullerton lost both 1990 meetings with Las Vegas by counts of 28 and 18 points.

And the first 4 1/2 minutes of Friday’s Big West quarterfinal said no.

Ultimately, that became the final word on the matter.

Now, 4 1/2 minutes isn’t a lot of time. Coffee breaks take longer. Rap songs take longer. Mike Witt between pitches takes longer.

But for Fullerton, it was more than enough time to louse up whatever scant prospects the Titans had, real or imagined.

After 4 1/2 minutes, the pertinent statistical lines read:

Fullerton field-goal shooting: 0 for 4.

Fullerton turnovers: 6.

Fullerton deficit: 12-0.

Fullerton’s 1989-90 basketball season?

Time’s up.

Titan Coach John Sneed at least had the right game plan. After eliminating UC Irvine in the first round to set up Friday’s foregone conclusion, Sneed was asked what it would take to scale Mt. Tarkanian. Other than immediate NCAA sanctions.

“If we can minimize their fast break and our turnovers and shoot a good percentage from the field,” Sneed offered, “we have a shot. I know that’s a lot, but that’s what you have to do to beat them.”

Accurate words, but who was listening? Not the Titans, who took Sneed’s three-pronged strategy and wronged every prong just long enough.

The only thing Fullerton minimized at the outset was its own chances. The Titans not only couldn’t shoot, they couldn’t pass. Point guard Wayne Williams appeared particularly flustered, tossing the ball away twice for turnovers Las Vegas turned into quick baskets.

Just like that, Las Vegas 12, Fullerton 0. The Titans were done. Spotting Tark 12 points is a little like giving a shark A-1 sauce. Bring on the feast.

The final score--Las Vegas 115-93--would simply be academic.

Maybe it was the late start. Tip-off clocked in after 9 p.m., past the stroke of midnight on the East Coast, which seemed appropriate as the Titans turned into dust rags.

Or maybe it was ESPN. This was only Fullerton’s sixth appearance on national television and it takes a while to get adjusted to the floodlights. In their past two national telecasts--this year against UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Long Beach--the Titans went down in overtime both times.

Whatever, Fullerton exposed nerves aplenty in the early stages, and before the Titans settled in, Las Vegas was settling into the semifinals.

Fullerton pulled to within seven points before trailing by 10 at the half. Then, the Rebels’ fast break kicked in. Las Vegas scored 42 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half--including a 9-0 run by Big West player of the year Larry Johnson--and the Titans were past tense.

Cedric Ceballos’ final collegiate game wasn’t among his best. He finished with 25 points, but 11 came from the foul line. His field-goal shooting was a mere six of 19, contributing to Fullerton’s miserable 31 for 76 (40.8%) showing for the night.

Afterward, Ceballos didn’t have a clue as to what went wrong. “They didn’t do anything different against me defensively, I don’t think,” he said.

Sure they did. Ceballos’ normal sparring mate in his clashes with Las Vegas has been defensive specialist Stacey Augmon. But, most of the time, Augmon hasn’t looked particularly special against Ceballos, so Tarkanian decided to mix things up Friday.

Center David Butler guarded Ceballos for a while. So did Anderson Hunt. In all, four Rebels took a crack at Ceballos in the first half.

Along with rotating defenses, Las Vegas featured a rotating offense, with Johnson scoring 32 points, Augmon 23, Moses Scurry 17 and two others in double figures. Overall, the Rebels shot 52% from the field.

And, all the while, the mascots--Las Vegas’ shark and Fullerton’s elephant--duked it out on the sidelines. Giving away weight and height, Tuffy Titan lost this one too.

From start to finish, this was a mismatch. Particularly the start.