UNLV Is Missing Players, but Beats Fullerton, 69-53 : College: Rebels’ leading scorer, Stewart, is out and guard Manuel plays sparingly in victory. Titans tied for eighth place in conference.

Would Cal State Fullerton bounce back strong, or just tumble farther off the pace in Big West basketball?

That was the question on Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking’s mind going into Saturday night’s game in Titan Gym against Nevada Las Vegas after the most one-sided loss at home in 22 years against New Mexico State.

Hawking didn’t like the eventual answer.

The Titans, who surprised the Rebels in Las Vegas in December with a two-point victory, couldn’t duplicate that success on their home court. UNLV (8-9, 5-6 in conference) dominated rebounding and shot 49% from the floor on its way to a 69-53 victory.

It was the season scoring low for Fullerton (6-13, 4-7). The Titans shot only 25.5% from the field, also a season ebb.

“We’re in a real struggle right now offensively,” Hawking said. “I guess that’s an understatement.”

The Rebels were without their top scorer, center Kebu Stewart, and played all but four minutes of the game without another regular, guard Reggie Manuel. Stewart, who scored only three points Thursday in a loss at UC Irvine, complained of problems with his knees and was sent home to be checked by the team physician. Manuel went down hard when he was fouled on a driving layup early in the first half and was carried from the floor. He is expected to be out about 10 days because of a severe ankle sprain.

But the absence of two players who average 32 points between them didn’t significantly slow UNLV. Damian Smith had 19 points and reserves Clayton Johnson and Patrick Savoy scored in double figures. Johnson had 17 and Savoy 13.

Freshman Chris Dade led the Titans with 14 points, hitting four of six from the floor, including two three-pointers. Center Winston Peterson hit only three of 12 from the field and finished with 13. Guard James French had another sluggish shooting effort, going two for nine and finishing with seven points. Forward Chuck Overton went seven shots without a field goal and reserve guard Chris St. Clair had two field goals in eight shots.

The Titans made only six field goals and shot only 24% in the first half while the Rebels built a 36-25 halftime lead. UNLV led by as many as 14 points at one stage.

Fullerton, however, trailed by only six points midway through the second half, but the Rebels were strong at the finish while the Titans were fading into a tie for eighth place in the conference with UC Irvine.

“It seems like we’ve lost our concept of what we should be doing offensively,” Hawking said. “We’re just not executing at the same level that we had been just a couple of weeks ago, and there’s really no rhyme or reason for it. Teams go through slumps, and we’re really in a slump right now.”

The Titans have lost seven of their last nine games since defeating Irvine in January.

Hawking also said the Titans have been sagging defensively.

“When you’re struggling offensively the only way to make up for it is with the defensive effort,” Hawking said. “Some of our offensive frustration has led to some defensive lapses. We’re just going to have to go back on the practice floor and refocus on what we’re doing offensively.

“But we have two-thirds of the season under our belt. I don’t have any explanation of why we’ve taken two steps backward at this point.”

UNLV’s acting coach, Cleveland Edwards, was pleased by his team’s performance without Stewart and Manuel.

“It just shows you what the character of this team is,” he said. “They’ve been growing as individuals and as a team.”