Titans End Losing Streak With Victory Over Pacific : College basketball: Late three-pointer by St. Clair seals the decision for Cal State Fullerton.

Just when things were looking as bad as they have all season for Cal State Fullerton, the Titans bounced back.

With the score tied at 61 and 31 seconds left, guard Chris St. Clair hit a three-point shot and the Titans went on to a 69-63 Big West basketball victory over Pacific Thursday night.

It broke the Titans’ five-game losing streak, and sent the Tigers down to their eighth defeat in their last nine games in Titan Gym. Fullerton (7-15) is 5-9 in the conference. Pacific is 12-9, 7-6.

“This was a game we badly needed,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said. “It’s real easy for the kids to lose confidence in themselves in a streak like that.”

Center Winston Peterson continued to be Mr. Stability for the Titans with 20 points and 14 rebounds, 10 of them on the defensive board. St. Clair had 14 points, hitting six of eight free throws. Chuck Overton added 10 points.

But Hawking said his team’s defensive play was the key. Fullerton held center Vic Trierweiler to 10 points and forward Marzell Clayton to six. Pacific’s two highly regarded guards, Adam Jacobsen and Corey Anders, hit only four baskets in 26 shots between them.

“We did a better job on their inside people than we did up there,” Hawking said, recalling Pacific’s 78-62 victory in Stockton. “Clayton and Trierweiler really kicked our butt the last time, but we played better defensively inside this time. We did another good job on their perimeter people, and when you do that, you have a chance to beat them.”

Forward Charles Jones led Pacific with 22 points, carrying his team in the first half. The Tigers led by 11 points at one stage, but the Titans came back to cut the deficit to 35-30 at halftime.

“They outplayed us down the stretch and deserved to win the game,” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said. “But, as far as I’m concerned we lost the game in the first half. We played well for about eight minutes, but we played absolutely no defense late in the first half and let them get back in the game.”

Hawking shuffled his starting lineup again, leaving senior guard James French, who had been shooting only 20.8% from the field in the last five games, on the bench. St. Clair started at guard along with Chris Dade, with Overton in the swing spot and Dave Harrison at forward.

Jones, who scored 12 points in the first half, hit four consecutive shots midway through the first half to put Pacific in control and the Tigers went on to an 11-point lead at 30-19. The Titans came back with a pair of baskets by Peterson, a three-pointer by St. Clair and two free throws by Overton.

Fullerton’s 13 turnovers were the big difference between the two teams in the first half. Pacific had only six. The Titans, however, committed only five turnovers the rest of the way.

“We took better care of the ball in the second half,” Hawking said. “We were too careless in the first half . . . But the kids played 40 minutes of pretty good defense, which is what we’ve been trying to get back to doing.”

The Titans tied the score, 39-39, five minutes into the second half behind Peterson’s strong play inside, then took their first lead in the second half with 8:51 to go at 51-49 on Peterson’s short jumper.

It was close the rest of the way before St. Clair’s key three-pointer and a free throw by Peterson put the Titans up by four points with 21 seconds left. Dade had two fast-break baskets in the Fullerton flurry at the finish.

“That was a big shot St. Clair hit,” Thomason said. “I don’t think he could have been covered any better than he was.”

Fullerton had a 44-38 rebounding advantage and outshot the Tigers, 40% to 37.9%, from the field.