Titans Get Their Points Across : College basketball: Mississippi Valley State star Ford scores 39, but Cal State Fullerton picks up the 109-100 victory.

Mississippi Valley State guard Alphonso Ford got his points Saturday night, but Cal State Fullerton got a victory, defeating the Delta Devils, 109-100, before 1,715 in Titan Gym.

Fullerton Coach John Sneed said earlier this week that his team would make Ford’s 40 minutes in Titan Gym “miserable,” and he guaranteed Ford would not score his average, which was 34.1.

Sneed was partially correct. The Titans made life miserable for Ford, throwing several different defenses at him and making him work hard for most of his shots.

Fullerton forward Bruce Bowen’s elbow into Ford’s face even knocked Ford out of the game for a few minutes in the second half.

Ford still finished with a game-high 39 points, but it was Sneed who was smiling afterward.

“He got his average, but we got a win,” Sneed said. “I didn’t say those things because I didn’t have respect for him. I just wanted to motivate my players. We had guys who were hungry to play defense tonight.”

The Titans apparently had a big appetite for offense, too. Their point total was the most since Fullerton scored 117 against U.S. International University in 1985.

Joe Small scored 29 points, making 12 of 17 shots from the field and five three-point baskets. When Mississippi Valley State cut Fullerton’s lead to 84-80 midway through the second half, Small made two consecutive three-point shots to make it 90-80.

Reserve forward J. D. Green, the former Fairfax High standout who transferred from Southern Methodist, had his best game as a Titan, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, eight of them offensive. He also made a clutch three-point shot after the Delta Devils had pulled to within 79-74.

Fullerton center Aaron Wilhite added a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds, forward Agee Ward had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and reserve center Ron Caldwell had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Fullerton outrebounded Mississippi Valley State, 66-40, coming up just short of its school-record 68 rebounds in a game.

The Titans led by as many as 15 in the first half, scoring 10 unanswered points--seven by Small--to go ahead, 44-29, at the 6:36 mark.

Defense set up two Fullerton baskets during the run, with Bowen’s blocked shot starting a break that resulted in Small’s three-point basket and Caldwell’s block, on a three-on-one Delta Devils break, leading to Small’s jumper.

Mississippi Valley State came back with its own 10-0 run to pull to within 47-43 with 4:28 remaining, but Fullerton outscored the Delta Devils, 8-2, the final four points scored by Green, to close the half with a 57-47 lead.