Leary Gets 22 as Titans Gun Down Northridge

Don Leary has a mission, the description of which is no secret.

Call him a gunner or, more politely, a shooter. Just get him the ball, which is what Cal State Fullerton did in a nonconference game against Cal State Northridge Saturday night in the Northridge gym.

Mission accomplished.

Leary scored a game-high 22 points, making eight of 11 shots and five of seven from three-point range, to help shoot down pesky Northridge, 75-68, before a crowd of 736.

“He got away from us far too often,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said afterward. “You can understand one or two times, but not five. That’s 15 big points.”

Probably more.

Leary’s long-distance shots also succeeded in stretching the limits of a tenacious Northridge man-to-man defense. Where passing lanes were shut off in the early going, they opened up a little once Leary started connecting.

And when that failed, the Titans simply lobbed passes up and over the smaller Matadors.

Usually those passes found either Sean Williams, Bruce Bowen or Kim Kemp, Fullerton’s front-liners. The trio combined for 40 points, many of which came on dunks and layups.

“In the second half, we did a much better job of getting the ball inside,” Titan Coach Brad Holland said. “That was the difference in the game.”

Williams, Bowen and Kemp knew what to do with the ball when it reached them. They made a combined 15 of 22 field goals as the Titans shot 54.9%.

“Many times our help was there,” Cassidy said, “but it wasn’t big enough.”

Williams, a 6-foot-10 senior, made six of nine field goals and five of seven free throws in equaling a season-high with 17 points. Bowen, who was five for five from the field, had 13 points and Kemp 10.

Led by Bowen, who had a game-high nine rebounds, Fullerton (3-1) had a 41-21 advantage on the boards.

“Their big guys are aggressive and strong,” said Andre Chevalier, who scored a team-high 18 points for Northridge. “They have a nice touch around the basket.”

Northridge countered with a starting a lineup of three guards 6-feet and shorter, and two 6-5 postmen. “I can’t correct their size,” Cassidy said. “They are what they are that way.”

Northridge was playing on an emotional high, buoyed by John Flowers, a recruit who lost both legs in a car accident last summer. Cassidy paid for Flowers to be flown in from his home in Glendale, Ariz., for the game.

But Flowers’ presence couldn’t help the Matadors enough to contend with Fullerton’s dominance on the front line.

“They got inside too often,” Cassidy said, “and there was nothing we could do about it.”

Peter Micelli and Chris Yard, Northridge’s two-biggest inside threats, were held to a combined 12 points--more than 10 under their season average.

“We didn’t get the ball inside real well, and when we did, we couldn’t do anything with it,” Cassidy said.

Northridge’s starting trio of guards combined for 42 points. James Morris had 13 and Brooklyn McLinn added 11.

Fullerton led by as many as 12 in the second half, but the Matadors didn’t quit.

A three-point basket by McLinn cut the Titans’ lead to 51-47 with 6:23 remaining, but the Matadors could not close the gap. A dunk by Williams with 6:05 to go set off a stretch where Fullerton scored 10 consecutive times down the floor.

Leary hit two three-pointers in the final four minutes. “That’s my role, to shoot threes,” he said. “That’s what they recruited me for.”

Leary also made three two-point baskets, a break in the norm. He came into Saturday’s game with three-pointers having accounted for his previous 10 baskets.