Big West Competition Starts Early

Ready or not, Cal State Fullerton will get an early start in the Big West Conference men’s basketball race Saturday night at Nevada Las Vegas.

And, regardless of the early date, it hardly figures to be a typical conference opener. It will be the first home game for the Rebels under Coach Tim Grgurich, the longtime assistant under Jerry Tarkanian who returned as head coach after Rollie Massimino’s controversial two years there.

The Big West normally doesn’t begin conference games until January, but UNLV wanted to play the game earlier because the Rebels are allowed only nine home games, all in the Big West, this season under the sanctions handed down by the NCAA in a case pending since 1987. Fullerton agreed to move the game from its original date in early February.

“It’s a little early to be playing your conference opener, especially with a team that’s still developing,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said.

But it doesn’t figure to be as difficult an assignment as last week’s, when the Titans had to go against UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. Fullerton clearly was over-matched by UCLA’s personnel. The second-ranked Bruins won, 99-65, although the Titans were down by only six points at halftime.

“We played one half of our best basketball of the year,” Hawking said. “Unfortunately, our size and strength didn’t allow us to stay at their level over the full 40 minutes . . . UCLA’s depth was just overwhelming. They’re really strong eight or nine people deep.”

The Titans were helped by a series of easy baskets by center Winston Peterson on the fast break in the first half. In the second half, when the Bruin defense tightened, the Titans shot only 25% from the floor, and UCLA turned the tables with its fast break.

“I was disappointed with our transition defense in the second half,” Hawking said. “We need to continue to play defense with a lot of enthusiasm. If we do that, we can create offense from the defensive end.”

The Titans rank last in the Big West in field-goal shooting percentage at 36%, and Hawking says his team still needs to shoot better than in the three losses that followed a season-opening victory over Cal State Northridge. “But I’m not going to panic, and pull back,” he said. “The shots will start to fall. I have confidence in that.”

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UNLV has lost its first two games, taking some of the glimmer off Grgurich’s debut in Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels lost to Marquette, 82-74, in overtime in their opener and then lost to Seton Hall, 99-79, Sunday night.

“I have a lot of respect for Grgurich, but I’m sure it’s going to take a little bit of time for him to get that program going again, too,” Hawking said.

Hawking and Grgurich go back to when Grgurich was recruiting for Tarkanian and Hawking was coaching at Simi Valley High. “He recruited Don MacLean, and UNLV was one of Don’s final five. Travis Bice, who played for me at Simi Valley, played there, and Grgurich also recruited him,” Hawking recalled.

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The Fullerton women’s basketball team is 1-3, and Coach Deborah Ayres is lamenting the fact that the Titans will have to go at least five or six more weeks without standout outside shooter Autumn Hollyfield after getting the inside attack going in the last three games.

Center Koko Lahanas has scored 32, 16 and 31 points in the last three games and is averaging 21.8 for the season. Shayla Bradshaw also has a 21.3 average, but the Titans miss Hollyfield, who led the nation in three-point field goal average last season.

“It’s really a shame that we don’t have Autumn right now because she gave us that strong threat from outside, as well as a third strong scorer,” Ayres said. “We’re just going to have to get more help from the other people.”

Hollyfield, who had arthroscopic knee surgery last week, was averaging 17.5 points before she re-injured the knee in a victory over Loyola Marymount.

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Titan soccer Coach Al Mistri was surprised by the ease of Indiana’s 4-1 victory over UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA soccer playoffs last weekend in Davidson, N.C.

“I watched the game on television and I can’t remember a game that one-sided on that level in a long time,” Mistri said. Virginia won the national championship for the fourth consecutive year, defeating Indiana, 1-0.

Mistri remains optimistic about a good recruiting year on the heels of his team’s second consecutive appearance in the final eight.

He also thinks the selection of two Titans, Alfred Partida and Joey Franchino, to practice with the U.S. under-21 team this month in North Carolina is another good sign the Fullerton program is being recognized nationally.

“Traditionally, 70% of this team goes on to make the Olympic team,” Mistri said. “I think our team played just about everyone who was anyone in soccer this season other than Virginia, and we didn’t see any young players of the caliber of those two in their positions. I think their chances are good of being selected.”

Partida is a sophomore sweeper and Franchino a freshman midfielder.

Mistri has coached two players who made the Olympic team in the past, Rick Davis in high school at LaVerne and Mike Fox at Fullerton.

Notes

Fullerton center Winston Peterson leads the Big West in scoring with an average of 22.5 per game. He has scored 75 points in the last three games. The last Titan player to score that many points in three consecutive games was guard Aaron Sunderland, who also had 75 in three consecutive games in 1993 . . . The Titan men lead the Big West in one statistical category, blocked shots. Fullerton has had 18 in four games . . . Titan basketball recruit David Harrison from Mt. Hood (Ore.) College has completed academic work he needed to be eligible to enroll at the university and will start practice with the team Sunday. Senior guard Danny Robinson’s status remains uncertain until a final exam grade is posted. Robinson could regain his eligibility in time for Tuesday night’s home game against San Diego State.