Tulsa Gets the Best of Titans This Time : Basketball: Golden Hurricane scores 19 consecutive points in first half and shuts down Cal State Fullerton, 89-63.

Wednesday night’s Cal State Fullerton-Tulsa game was almost a carbon copy of last season’s game between the teams at Titan Gym. Only this time, it was the Golden Hurricane that left its indelible imprint on the Titans.

Tulsa, on the strength of its relentless pressure defense, scored 19 consecutive points during an 8 1/2-minute stretch of the first half en route to an 89-63 victory over Fullerton before 5,320 in Tulsa’s Maxwell Convention Center.

After Wayne Williams’ fast-break basket trimmed Tulsa’s lead to 12-8 with 14:20 left in the first half, the Titans (0-2) didn’t score again until the 5:58 mark when Aaron Wilhite made a short baseline jumper. That made it 31-10.

Last season, it was Tulsa that suffered through a dry spell, going about 11 minutes without a basket in the second half. Fullerton turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 26-point victory, 84-58.

But the Golden Hurricane (2-0) stormed the Titans early Wednesday, blowing them out of the game in the first 14 minutes.

Tulsa’s aggressive defense helped force Fullerton into a school-record 29 turnovers, breaking the previous mark of 27 set against Cal State Los Angeles in 1977 and Loyola Marymount in 1979. Tulsa was credited with 15 steals, including five by senior guard Marcell Gordon.

The Golden Hurricane extended its lead to 31 with 5:49 remaining, but a 10-0 Fullerton run in the final five minutes spared the Titans from a 30-point defeat, something they haven’t experienced since the 1980-81 season.

“The first 10 minutes of the game we just took control,” Tulsa Coach J.D. Barnett said. “We dictated the tempo and completely dominated every part of the game. We had extreme intensity. I think the kids remembered the game (at Fullerton) last year.”

Titan Coach John Sneed can vouch for that. “Sometimes, it seemed like they were possessed,” Sneed said. “They shut us down over that long stretch and we never recovered. They played outstanding defense and took us out of our offensive flow. Our inexperience showed.”

Four players scored in double figures for Tulsa, which was led by Lou Dawkins’ 15 points, Jason Ludwig’s 12 on four three-point shots, Gordon’s 11 and Wade Jenkins’ 10. Point guard Reggie Shields had 10 assists and only two turnovers.

Titan reserve Ron Caldwell matched his Fullerton career high of 16 points and guard Joe Small added 13.

Despite committing two early fouls, Small played 36 minutes, but he was only able to shoot 13 times, making five. Small went 10 for 22 from the field against Lamar. Tulsa didn’t use any special defense to stop Small, but Barnett rotated players against the Titans’ top outside shooter.

“We did a good job containing him,” Barnett said. “He’s obviously a great shooter, but we wanted to keep a fresh body on him, wear him down and make life miserable for him.”

The Golden Hurricane made life miserable for the Titans in the first half. Fullerton committed 17 of its turnovers and attempted only 21 shots in the first 20 minutes.

The Titans’ 8 1/2-minute drought was caused by poor ball-handling and passing and a physical Tulsa defense. Williams was knocked down twice by Golden Hurricane players making steals, and the usually reliable Fullerton point guard turned the ball over six times.

The Titans, who open their home schedule against Butler Saturday night, were also burned on the boards by a smaller Tulsa team, which had 14 offensive rebounds.

During the 19-0 first-half run, the Golden Hurricane scored six of its points on follow shots. Lamar had 15 offensive rebounds against Fullerton Monday night.