Titans Step Boldly in 80-74 Loss to Aggies : College basketball: Fullerton walks on carpet, then rallies twice against 12th-ranked New Mexico State before falling.

Even before the opening tip Thursday night, it was obvious Cal State Fullerton wasn’t going to be intimidated by New Mexico State and its home crowd, which have been known to turn the Pan American Center into a house of horrors for opponents.

When they rolled out the red carpet for the Aggies’ pregame entrance, the Titans boldly walked all over it, whipping 11,411 fans into a frenzy.

Those fans, who haven’t seen 12th-ranked New Mexico State lose at home since the end of the 1988-89 season, expected the Aggies to stomp all over Fullerton with similar disdain, but the Titans never backed down.

Fullerton played with New Mexico State in the first half and came back from 12- and 10-point deficits in the second before falling, 80-74, in a Big West Conference game.

As they do in every home victory, Aggie fans began jingling their keys--a signal to start the bus for the opponent’s ride home--but that gesture didn’t come until there were 24 seconds left when Reggie Jordon made a free throw to give New Mexico State a 79-74 lead.

Fullerton whipped the Aggies on the boards, out-rebounding New Mexico State, 48-34, the Titans turned eight second-half offensive rebounds into baskets and proved that an 89-81 victory over the Aggies Jan. 19 was no fluke.

“I’m sure we played them as well here as anyone has all year,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said. “We were right there in the end. We did an outstanding job. A couple of New Mexico State spurts hurt us, but we fought back.”

The Titans had only two extended lapses against the Aggies’ full-court, trapping defense, and the last one prevented them from ending New Mexico State’s home winning streak, now 29.

Trailing 67-64 with 5 minutes 51 seconds remaining, Fullerton turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, aiding a 6-0 Aggie run that made it 73-64 with 4:38 left.

Joe Small, who scored a game-high 19 points and had 10 rebounds for the Titans, followed his own miss with a basket, but Tracey Ware’s three-point play on the other end gave New Mexico State a 76-66 lead.

The Titans didn’t fold, though. Small hit a three-pointer, Kevin Ahsmuhs tipped in a basket and Bruce Bowen’s steal led to Ahsmuhs’ fast-break dunk with 2:03 left that made it 76-73.

It was 78-74 when Small made one of two technical free throws with 1:01 left, but Bowen had a shot blocked by Randy Brown, Wayne Williams missed a three-pointer with 38 seconds left and Aggie guard William Benjamin stole an Agee Ward pass with 18 seconds to go to help New Mexico State fend off Fullerton.

Reggie Jordan scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Ware had 16 points, and Brown had 16 points and five assists for the second-place Aggies, who improved to 19-2, 11-1 in conference going into Saturday’s game at No. 1 ranked Nevada Las Vegas.

Ward, who had 26 points and 15 rebounds in the first game against New Mexico State, had another strong game, scoring 16 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, 10 of them offensive.

Williams had 14 points and Bowen added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Titans, who fell to 13-10, 6-8, and into a fifth-place tie with Fresno State in the Big West. Center Ron Caldwell, who was allowed to rejoin the team Wednesday, played seven minutes, committed four personals and scored two points.

Aggie opponents have been averaging 23 turnovers, but Fullerton turned the ball over just 18 times.

“We showed the crowd we weren’t intimidated when we walked on their carpet, and we were real motivated from the start of the game,” Williams said. “It was a real boost to us when we saw how angry the crowd got.”

Fullerton’s game plan--to get the Aggies into a half-court game and force them to shoot from outside--worked almost to perfection in the first half, which ended with the Aggies leading, 39-36.

But the Aggies, a 44%-shooting team, made 14 of 27 second-half shots, 52%.