Dade’s Seven Three-Pointers Help Fullerton Beat Irvine

Cal State Fullerton’s Chris Dade was in “the zone” Saturday night.

That’s what Dade called it, and Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking was quick to agree. What else could they call making seven of eight three-point shots? Dade’s career-high 28-point performance carried the Titans to an 81-73 Big West victory over UC Irvine in front of 1,327 in Titan Gym.

It was only fitting that Dade got the last two points on a fastbreak dunk that put the finishing touch on Fullerton’s upset. It was one of only two shots he made inside the arc all night.

Fullerton, 3-10 overall and 2-3 in the Big West, was without second-leading scorer John Williams, who jammed fingers on his left hand in practice. But Dade and senior Chuck Overton, who had 18 points, made up the difference.

“There were a couple of other times last year where I felt I was in a zone, but this was probably the best,” Dade said. “Really, I felt I had been in sort of shooting slump lately.”

Dade fell one three-point basket short of the school record, but Fullerton’s 10 of 14 (71.4%) was the best three-point effort by a Titan team.

“Chris had a monster game,” Hawking said. “He was really in the zone, and it was fun for me just to watch.”

It was agonizing for Irvine (5-6, 2-2). The Anteaters were outrebounded for only the fourth time this season, 34-23.

Irvine shot 55.6% from the field, but Fullerton made 15 of 22 free throws compared to only six of 12 for the Anteaters. Reserve center Dirk Rassloff made four of four free throws in the final minute to help the Titans boost their Big West record to 2-3.

Sophomore Kevin Simmons led Irvine with 25 points. Guard Raimonds Miglinieks had 17 points and eight assists.

The Anteaters have struggled somewhat from the field in their first three conference games, prompting Hawking to send the Titans into a 2-3 zone three minutes into the game.

The Anteaters missed five in a row from outside immediately after that but came back to make 14 of 26 from the field (53.8%) in the first half.

The Titans led, 34-33, at halftime, helped by a 20-11 rebounding advantage, including 11 on the offensive board.