CS Fullerton Edges CS Long Beach

Point guard Aaron Sunderland drove nearly the length of the court, pulled up in the lane and sank a 10-footer with three seconds remaining in overtime Saturday night to give Cal State Fullerton a 78-77 victory over Cal State Long Beach before 3,125 in Titan Gym.

The 49ers had a chance to win after calling timeout with one second remaining. Long Beach forward Bryon Russell threw an inbounds pass from under the Titan basket all the way to Lucious Harris, who caught the ball on the left baseline about 14 feet from the basket.

Harris, who scored 18 points, turned for the shot, which was blocked by forward Bruce Bowen as the buzzer sounded. A jump ball was called with no time on the clock, and the Titans held on for the victory. They improved to 6-9, 2-4 in the Big West Conference.

Sunderland, who finished with a game-high 27 points, sent the game into overtime with a 10-foot jumper with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score, 71-71.

Long Beach (11-6, 5-3) scored first in the extra period, but Joe Small’s jumper, Sean Williams’ free throw and Bowen’s driving basket gave the Titans a 76-73 lead with 1:46 remaining.

Tower was credited with a basket when Williams was called for goaltending with 1:23 remaining, and the 49ers took a 77-76 lead with 11 seconds left when Harris made two free throws.

But Sunderland, who was criticized by Titan Coach John Sneed after playing poorly against UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night, came through in the end.

“I sat down and thought about what I did wrong Thursday,” said Sunderland, who made nine of 12 shots and nine of nine free throws.

“I wasn’t the point guard (Sneed) recruited. I came with the attitude that I had to run the team tonight, and if the shots were there, take them. They just happened to fall.” Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds for Fullerton.