Titans Make Noise, Defeat the Gauchos : Basketball: Cal State Fullerton wins in overtime, 72-68. It’s the first victory in the Thunderdome since the early 1980s.

They stood shrieking outside the Cal State Fullerton locker room for 30 minutes after the game, and this was UC Santa Barbara’s Thunderdome living up to its loud and raucous reputation.

But these were Titan fans celebrating Fullerton’s dramatic overtime, 72-68 Big West Conference victory, which snapped the Titans’ eight-game losing streak here.

Fullerton (9-5, 4-3) tuned out a boisterous crowd of 6,000 and ignored a backdrop of half-dozen spinning pinwheels to make 12 of 14 free throws in overtime.

One by one they emerged from the locker room several minutes later and, with all of the giddiness wearing orange and blue, those nearby probably thought that Fullerton alumnus Kevin Costner nearby.

They were cheering anything that came out of the locker room door--including trainer Ivan Pierra.

“Good job with the tape!” a voice rising above the cheers screamed when he emerged.

The tape?

“Hey, man, this is a big win for Cal State Fullerton,” said center Sean Williams. “Considering that everyone picked us for ninth in the conference, didn’t give us no credit, said we had a first-year head coach, a bunch of no-name players. . . .”

Whoa, Sean.

Williams had a career-high 21 points and point guard Aaron Sunderland had a career-high eight rebounds. Bruce Bowen added 18 points and Don Leary 13 as Fullerton won its fifth consecutive overtime game covering the past three seasons.

And notched its first victory here since the 1983-84 season.

The Gauchos have won 80% of its games in the Thunderdome since the 1986-87 season. Eight years in a row, Fullerton has left this place red-faced--and 10 of the past 12.

“I wasn’t aware of that, but I’m not surprised,” said Brad Holland, Fullerton coach.

Some of the veterans on campus are still bitter about that 1990 overtime loss when the Titans blew a 12-point lead in the final two-and-a-half minutes of regulation and lost by eight in overtime.

The Titans had also lost three of four Big West road games this season prior to Saturday.

“I think this is huge,” Holland said. “This place is notorious. They really get behind their team here. It’s loud.

“But we didn’t panic. We maintained our poise. We were just really proud of our team tonight.”

Fullerton clung to the lead like kids hold on to the last days of summer.

But Santa Barbara point guard Ray Kelly (12 points, 10 assists) and center Doug Muse (13 points) scored four points apiece in the final 3:28 to force the overtime.

Regulation ended at 57-57 after Santa Barbara’s Idris Jones missed an off-balance, 19-foot jumper at the buzzer.

The Gauchos (9-5, 2-4) had a chance to win because Sunderland had badly missed on an off-balance drive through the lane with 19 seconds to play. The score was knotted at 57-57 for the last 1:06 of regulation.

“I thought Fullerton played very well, very smart, very patient,” said Jerry Pimm, Santa Barbara coach. “They made the key plays and executed.”

Fullerton never trailed for the game’s first 37 minutes, dictating the flow most of the way. Three times, Santa Barbara tied the score and three times, Fullerton came up with a big play to stay in control.

Santa Barbara made it 22-22 late in the first half on a three-point play from reserve Duane Carter. But . . .

A minute later, Kim Kemp delivered a thunderous dunk to keep Fullerton on top.

The Gauchos fought back, making it 26-26 on a Michael Meyer 18-footer with 2:26 left before halftime. But . . .

Sunderland came back on the Titans’ next possession and made a 13-foot jumper from the lane in heavy traffic, allowing the Titans to keep the lead again.

Santa Barbara tied the game for a third time on a Paul Johnson three-pointer with 12:39 left, but . . .

Titan guard Don Leary answered with a three on Fullerton’s next possession to keep the Gauchos at arm’s length again.

“Oh, every time the home team ties it up, you’ve got to have character and answer,” Holland said between sighs of relief. “Those things are critical, no question, when you’re on the road.”

Santa Barbara started slowly, although this one wasn’t quite as numbing as the Gauchos’ slow dance Monday, when they allowed No. 25 Cal State Long Beach to take a 14-1 lead early and eventually trailed by 16 before stealing a dramatic comeback victory.

Fullerton led early, 15-6, thanks to a tight man defense, and stayed cool when the Gauchos challenged.

The Titans made 25 of 31 from the line for the game, while Santa Barbara was only six of 15.

“Coach in the timeouts was telling us to maintain our confidence,” Sunderland said. “Every time we came down to make a big shot, it went in for us.

“I think that’s what helped us at the end.”