Lamar Gets Boards, Beats Titans, 95-86 : College basketball: Small gets 30 points in Division I debut, but Fullerton outrebounded, 48-39, in season opener.

Cal State Fullerton caught a Lamar basketball team--and program--on the rebound Monday night, and the result wasn’t good for the Titans, who lost to the Cardinals, 95-86, in their season opener at Beaumont, Tex.

Lamar, attempting to bounce back from a dreadful 7-21 season, pounded Fullerton on the offensive boards, turning eight offensive rebounds into 19 points. The Cardinals (2-1) were fouled on three follow shots and converted the three-point plays.

A crowd of 2,631 in the Montagne Center saw Lamar hit three follow baskets during a key 9-4 run late in the game, when the Cardinals increased their lead from 79-78 with 5:28 remaining to 88-82 with 2:41 left.

They held off the Titans despite a game-high, 30-point performance by junior guard Joe Small, the former Bolsa Grande High School and College of the Sequoias standout who was playing his first Division I game.

Taking advantage of Fullerton’s foul problems and an injury on the front line, Lamar outrebounded the Titans, 48-39, with 15 rebounds coming on the offensive end.

Cardinal center Daryl Reed powered his way to 23 points and 13 rebounds, and his inside play was complemented by the outside shooting of guards Terry Bridgeman (23 points) and Atiim Browne (20 points, eight assists).

Fullerton center Aaron Wilhite, who scored 10 points in the first half, committed his fourth foul with 18:19 left and was limited to 23 minutes. J.D. Green picked up his fourth foul with 14:14 to go and played 19 minutes, and forward Agee Ward, one of the Titans’ strongest inside players, played with a bruised thigh.

“Agee wasn’t rebounding the way he can,” Titan Coach John Sneed said. “Wilhite does a good job of positioning, but when he got in foul trouble, he couldn’t lay that big body on anyone. And we have to get (reserve forward Kevin) Ahsmuhs more aggressive on the boards.”

Monday night’s game was a far cry from last season’s opener, when Fullerton whipped Lamar, 104-67. But then, these Cardinals, under the direction of first-year Coach Mike Newell, are a far cry from last season’s Cardinals.

Three starters--Browne, a freshman point guard from the Bronx, N.Y., and Bridgeman and Tommy Smith, both community college transfers--weren’t there in 1989-90. And Newell, who guided Arkansas Little Rock to five postseason berths (three NCAA tournaments, two National Invitation Tournaments) before moving to Lamar, has installed a new style.

“They have better players, they play much harder and at a different tempo,” Sneed said. “They’re very aggressive and they play fast.”

Sneed’s Titans also have a new look--they’re extremely young and inexperienced, with only one full-time returning starter in point guard Wayne Williams. But Fullerton showed some character Monday night, coming back from several deficits.

Lamar led, 48-47, after the first half, during which the score was tied six times and the lead changed hands 10 times. Williams, who made four of four three-pointers, scored nine of his 15 points in the first half, and Small added 13.

The Cardinals scored eight unanswered points early in the second half to take a 58-49 lead, but the Titans worked their way back and pulled even at 71 on Bruce Bowen’s follow shot with 8:39 left. Bowen finished with 11 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 36 seconds left.

Lamar then ran off another eight consecutive points, five by Bridgeman, to take a 79-71 lead, but Fullerton came back with Small’s three-pointer and fast-break basket and Ward’s jumper to make it 79-78 with 5:28 to go.

But after Reed’s two free throws and Bridgeman’s follow shot made it 83-78, the Titans could get no closer than three points the rest of the way.

“We played pretty well for 30 of the 40 minutes, but we dug ourselves a hole at the start of the second half,” Sneed said. “I was proud of the way we fought back. We could have tossed in the towel, but we got ourselves back into a good position.”