Fullerton Routs Nevada With Improbable Run

Nine minutes had elapsed in Thursday night’s game against Nevada, and Cal State Fullerton still hadn’t reached double figures.

Who would have believed that in the final minute, Titan forward Winston Peterson and guard Greg Vernon would be staging their own dunk contest, Fullerton fans would be on their feet--clapping, not cursing--and the Titans would be flirting with triple figures?

Trailing by 17 points with 11 minutes left in the first half, Fullerton stormed back for a 97-72 Big West Conference victory over Nevada before 873 in Titan Gym.

Fullerton (5-15, 3-9 in conference) outscored Nevada, 94-52, in the final 31 minutes. The Titans’ 62 second-half points were the most Fullerton has scored in a half since Dec. 11, 1985, when the Titans scored 72 in a 117-94 victory over U.S. International.

Five Fullerton players, led by Darren Little with 24 points, scored in double figures, as the Titans recorded their second victory over the Wolf Pack this season and their first home victory against an NCAA school. The Titans only previous home victories were over NAIA Concordia and Oklahoma Baptist.

The victory also lifted Fullerton out of last place in the Big West, a half game ahead of UC Irvine.

“I can’t explain it,” Fullerton Coach Brad Holland said of the Titans’ 42-point swing, from 17 points down to 25 up. “Certainly, this team has been hot and cold this season, but I’m glad we were hot for 31 minutes tonight.”

The Titans spent the first nine minutes in a cryogenic state. They couldn’t dribble the basketball. They couldn’t pass it. And they certainly couldn’t shoot it.

Nevada made nine of its first 13 shots to open a 20-3 lead with 12 minutes left in the half, and with the way Fullerton was playing defense, it appeared the Wolf Pack (9-11, 5-7) would be in for an easy night.

On one possession, Nevada forward Jimmy Moore dribbled from half court all the way to the basket, right through Fullerton’s zone, and dunked. Jerry Hogan made two uncontested three-pointers during the run, and it seemed as if a Nevada rout was on.

But Holland called a timeout, told his players to relax and just play like they know they’re capable of playing.

The Titans didn’t listen. Rather than playing like the scruffy bunch they are, they played the rest of the game like conference contenders.

Who were those impostors who cut the lead to 36-35 by halftime, nudged ahead of Nevada early in the second half and then blew out the Wolf Pack?

Little isn’t sure, but he’d like to get to know them better.

“This win enables us to look at Utah State (Saturday) and know we have a team that can compete with any in the Big West,” Little said. “Our record doesn’t show that, but if we keep playing like this, someone will have to respect us.”

Peterson and Josh King, who each scored 17 points, snapped the Titans out of their early game doldrums, Peterson with a three-point play and King with a three-point shot to make it 20-9. Little scored 10 points and Vernon, who finished with 15 points, added six points before halftime.

King’s three-pointer early in the second half gave Fullerton a 38-36 lead, and point guard James French, who had eight assists, scored all 12 of his points during a 34-18 run that put the Titans up, 75-58, with 8:34 remaining.

Fullerton did a much better job of penetrating Nevada’s zone defense, and the switch from a zone to man-to-man defense in the first half helped transform the Titans from a lethargic to an aggressive team. Fullerton wound up shooting a season-high 55.2% from the field, and for only the second time this season, the Titans had more assists (26) than turnovers (16).

“Once again, our team seemed to respond by getting down by a few points and coming back in a big way,” Holland said.