Fullerton Sputters, But Wins Easily : College basketball: Titans see 17-point lead dwindle to eight, but score 19 consecutive points to rout Chapman, 92-71.

Cal State Fullerton broke most rules of proper etiquette, showing up fashionably late for a party in its own house Wednesday night. But once things got rolling, the Titans swiftly showed Chapman University, their guests from Division II, to the door.

After letting a 17-point halftime lead slip to eight midway through the second half, Fullerton scored 19 consecutive points en route to a 92-71 victory before 888 in Titan Gym.

With the exception of Don Leary’s long-range marksmanship, Fullerton’s offense seemed a bit out-of-kilter for most of the evening.

Aaron Sunderland, brilliant in Monday’s victory over Eastern Illinois, threw away a few passes on the fast break. One of his passes went off Greg Vernon’s shoulder and out of bounds; another went through Leary’s hands and out.

Even center Sean Williams fumbled a towel that Leary threw to him on Williams’ way out of the game early in the second half.

The Titans (5-1) had significant height advantage against the Panthers (2-6) but had trouble getting the ball to their big men in the half-court offense. And defensively, Fullerton front-court players were having trouble sticking with Chapman’s smaller and quicker forwards on the perimeter.

So Fullerton Coach Brad Holland decided to go small. He replaced the 6-foot-10 Williams with 6-3 Dijon Bernard and moved 6-8 Kim Kemp from power forward to center.

The Titans responded, shutting down Chapman for more than five minutes and causing several turnovers that were converted to fast-break baskets during their 19-0 run, which pushed a 59-51 lead with 12:37 left to 78-51 with 7:33 left.

“We were going south there for a while, but the small lineup really turned the game around,” Holland said. “We matched up better with them. We pressured them, did a better job of stopping their penetration and forced some turnovers that led to baskets.”

Titan forward Bruce Bowen had one of his best games of the season with 26 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. Bowen scored 10 of Fullerton’s 19 points during the decisive run, including a key, three-point play.

Bowen had an inside shot blocked by Richie Bethune, but when Bethune tried to save the ball over the baseline, he inadvertently tipped it back to Bowen, who scored, was fouled and added the free throw for a 66-51 lead.

Four of Bowen’s 11 field goals came on follow shots, and he also had two nice assists that led to easy Williams baskets late in the game.

“I really commend Bruce for his aggressiveness, which was a real key,” Holland said. “He crashed the boards offensively and defensively, he was active, and he was able to create baskets for himself and others.”

Leary made seven of 12 three-pointers, five of eight in the first half, on the way to a 23-point performance. Williams had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Kim Kemp added 11 points.

Sunderland, who scored 17 points against Eastern Illinois Monday, had nine assists and eight steals Wednesday night, but he also turned the ball over five times, made only two of nine field-goal attempts and seemed indecisive at times.

“I think he went on holiday a little early,” Holland said. “He’s been a good player for us, but you’re going to have times when you’re not with it. It wasn’t a good game for him, but he’ll be ready for UCLA.”

The Titans take on the 12th-ranked Bruins next Wednesday in Pauley Pavilion, and Bowen admitted that after watching Cal State Northridge give UCLA a scare Tuesday night, their thoughts weren’t completely on Chapman.

“Some people came to play tonight, and others showed up in the second half,” Bowen said. “We were looking forward to next week a little bit. We weren’t clicking in the first half.”