Overmatched Cal State Fullerton Falls to Gonzaga

Gonzaga had too much size, court savvy and shooting skill for Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs, with three starters back from a team that was 21-9 and made its first appearance in the NCAA basketball tournament a year ago, overwhelmed Fullerton, 83-57, in the Titans’ home opener in front of 1,006.

It was the first of three consecutive games the Titans play against West Coast Conference teams. Fullerton, which was 0-3 against the WCC last season, next plays Loyola Marymount at home and at San Francisco.

Gonzaga (3-2) shot 53.2% from the field, hitting six of 11 three-point tries, and blitzed Fullerton (1-3) behind the shooting of guard Jon Kinloch and the commanding inside play of 7-footer Paul Rogers. Kinloch was 10 of 18 from the field and finished with 26 points. Rogers had 15.

The Titans shot only 28.2%, and were four of 21 on three-pointers (19%). Only junior forward John Williams reached double figures in scoring for Fullerton. Williams had 23 points, including seven of 10 free throws.

“They’re a tournament-tested, veteran team and they really exposed our youth,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “They pressured most of our shots, and our shot selection was only so-so.”

Gonzaga Coach Dan Fitzgerald was particularly pleased with his team’s play, especially on defense in the final 10 minutes of the first half and first 10 minutes after the break.

“It was almost like we were at home and they were on the road the way the two teams shot the ball,” Fitzgerald said. “I felt badly for Bob. Everyone has a game like that one, and you’d rather it was on the road.”

Fullerton fell behind at halftime for the first time in its four games at 43-28 and never was able to recover.

The Titan shooting was sluggish from the start, and the Bulldogs built an 11-point lead at 25-14 with slightly more than eight minutes left in the first half.

Two three-point baskets by Kenroy Jarrett and Chris St. Clair cut the lead to four points two minutes later. But at that point, Gonzaga went to a zone, the Titans again faltered and Kinloch’s firepower led the Bulldogs back to a solid lead at the break.

It was all downhill for Gonzaga in the second half.

“It was a good solid game for us,” Fitzgerald said. “We got good play again out of our big guys. I thought it was a matter of some big bodies wearing down some smaller bodies inside. But we also shot very well. That was good to see, since we absolutely didn’t play against Montana State the other night.”

Gonzaga shot only 37% from the field in a 58-56 loss Thursday at Montana State.

“Kinloch had a great individual performance, but it was not a good defensive performance by us,” Hawking said. “Kinloch was averaging only seven points a game coming in. We did an all right job on some of their other guys.”

Hawking said Gonzaga’s height inside was a big factor.

“We were well-aware that they had a 7-footer with a real presence on both ends of the court,” Hawking said. “When you’ve got a big fellow like Rogers waiting for you inside, it creates a need to adjust, and we didn’t do that very well.”

Gonzaga had 47-35 rebounding advantage despite 10 from Williams.

Williams’ performance was about all Hawking could find to praise. “John is an impact player for us, and he’s a big part of what we’re trying to do offensively.”