Titan Defense Puts the Pressure on Pacific

Cal State Fullerton, virtually defenseless during a four-game losing streak, held Pacific scoreless for a 7-minute 20-second stretch of the second half Thursday night and defeated the Tigers, 77-74, in a Big West Conference game played before 1,626 in Titan Gym.

Fullerton trailed, 61-50, with 13 minutes remaining after Pacific scored eight consecutive points, but the Titans’ halfcourt trap and intense man-to-man defense caused numerous turnovers and disrupted the Tigers’ offense the rest of the game.

Pacific guard Dell Demps hit a three-pointer with 9:50 to go for a 65-57 lead, but the Tigers didn’t score again until Demps’ two free throws with 2:30 left.

Pacific turned the ball over 21 times in the game, 14 of them coming in the second half. Titan point guard Wayne Williams led the defensive surge with five steals, and Joe Small, who led all scorers with 19 points, added two steals.

“That’s the first time the trap has worked so well this year,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said. “With the trap, we put two people on the ball and they couldn’t penetrate.”

Fullerton, whose opponents have shot 54% from the field and averaged 84 points in four previous games, scored 12 consecutive points, five by reserve forward J.D. Green, to take a 69-65 lead before Demps’ two free throws ended the Tigers’ cold spell.

Small helped ignite the Titan offense with a three-pointer from the top of the key that made it 61-54, and Aaron Wilhite, who missed the last five games because of a knee injury, made a jump hook and free throw that cut it to 62-57 with 11:23 left.

Following Demps’ free throws, Walsh Jordan hit a jumper to tie the game at 69 with 1:46 to go. But Fullerton made just enough free throws (eight of 12) and forced three Tiger turnovers in the last 1:32 to stay ahead.

The Titans also got some help when Demps, driving for what appeared to be an uncontested dunk, lost control of the ball near the rim and missed with 17 seconds left.

That basket would have pulled Pacific to within two points, but Green turned it into a five-point deficit (76-71) when he made one of two free throws with three seconds to go.

The Tigers had one final chance after Anthony Woods’ three-point shot made it 76-74 with three seconds left, and Small made just one of two free throws with three seconds remaining to make it 77-74.

But Woods’ 65-footer at the buzzer fell well short, and Fullerton (12-9, 5-7 in the Big West) snapped its four-game losing streak. Bruce Bowen scored 17 points and Williams and Wilhite each added 13 for the Titans.

Wilhite, playing his first game since bruising a knee joint Jan. 14, added six rebounds--five of them offensive--and played a solid 31 minutes.

“Either he makes a big impact or I’m a better coach tonight,” Sneed said. “Some players you need, and he’s one of them. I didn’t want to play him as much as I did tonight--I hope I didn’t wear him out.

“But he has a lot of courage. He was a lot more effective than I thought he’d be and he was an emotional lift to the team. You can see what he adds to the team--a lot.”

Demps scored 16 points to lead Pacific (10-11, 6-6), and center Don Lyttle, the major force in the Tigers’ 75-73 overtime victory over Fullerton in January, scored only 12 before fouling out with 5:23 left.

The Tigers shot 55.1% for the game but only took 49 shots, making 27. They took only 20 shots in the second half, in large part because of Fullerton’s defense.

“Their halfcourt trap caused us to make some key turnovers,” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said. “We were too tentative, and when one team is playing aggressive and the other is tentative, it’s difficult to win.”