Fullerton Picks Up a Rare Win on Road by Beating USF, 84-60

Recent Cal State Fullerton basketball tradition dictates that when the Titans are on the road, they lose.

Big margins and small--it hasn’t seemed to matter. Fullerton had lost seven consecutive road games going into Wednesday night’s game against the University of San Francisco.

But Fullerton broke the streak with an 84-60 victory over USF before 1,145 in Memorial Gym.

The Titans (2-2) hadn’t won a road game by such a wide margin since beating St. Mary’s, 85-65, Dec. 2, 1989. And that game was close until Fullerton pulled away in the final minutes.

USF (2-3) made only 22 of 71 shots from the field (31%) and didn’t make a shot outside the key until three minutes into the second half. The Dons also had 23 turnovers, 14 in the first half.

Titan forward Bruce Bowen, making his first start since he played at Fresno’s Edison High, said he knew the Dons had a reputation as a poor outside-shooting team.

“We knew they were sorry, but we still had to play hard,” he said.

Bowen, a sophomore, was one of five Fullerton players to score in double figures. He had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Guard Joe Small and reserve forward Ron Caldwell led the Titans with 16 points each. Aaron Wilhite added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Agee Ward added 10 points as a substitute.

Forward Tim Owens was about the only bright spot for USF, scoring 24 points. And he made only seven of 17 from the field.