Nevada Beats Up on Titans

It was only a week ago that Cal State Fullerton was celebrating three consecutive victories and a four-game home-court winning streak in the Big West Conference.

But that’s just a faded memory for the Titans after their second one-sided loss on the road, this one at the hands of Nevada, 89-70, Saturday night before 6,014 in Lawlor Center.

Nevada, stung by a two-point loss to UC Irvine that left the Anteaters alone in first place Thursday night, took it out on the Titans. “We haven’t been a very good team on the road this season,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said. “We don’t seem to play with the same attitude on the road as we do at home. Part of that may because we’re so young, although we’ve had a few games when we were competitive on the road.”

Fullerton (5-12, 4-5 in the conference) has won only once away from Titan Gym this season. “You’ve got to be able to win a few games on the road,” Hawking said.

The victory left Nevada 12-6, 5-3 in the conference. Nevada’s record is its best after 18 games since the 1981-82 season, when the Wolf Pack finished 19-9.

The game wasn’t even as close as the final score might make it seem. Nevada led by 31 points with less than six minutes remaining before Fullerton closed the gap at the end.

Nevada shot 49% and had a 42-32 rebounding advantage. Fullerton shot only 35% in the first half but finished with 45%. Fullerton had 22 turnovers, Nevada 17.

The Wolf Pack had five players scoring in double figures, led by Brian Green and Damien Edwards, each with 15. Green played only 19 minutes and was ill with flu-like symptoms.

Chuck Overton led Fullerton with 19 points, 14 of them coming in the second half. He was five of 18 from the field. Chris Dade had 11 points, all but two of them in the second half.

“Nevada’s awfully good,” Hawking said. “They proved what a gap there is between us right now. They did just about anything they wanted to do. They have good balance both inside and outside, and they seemed to be really focused.”

Hawking said he still regards Nevada as a strong contender for the Big West title. “I’ll be surprised if they’re not in it down to the wire,” he said.

Fullerton scored only 20 points in the first half for the second consecutive game, shooting only 35% from the field and making only one of eight from three-point range. That helped Nevada build a 25-point cushion at the intermission.

The Wolf Pack, playing much more aggressive on defense than Thursday in its loss to UC Irvine, went ahead, 27-9, and Nevada was rolling the rest of the way. Nevada made six of 10 three-points shots in the first half compared to only one of eight for the Titans. Fullerton’s 50 points in the second half turned out to be its most productive half of the season, but it meant little with the outcome locked up long before the finish.

“We came out and played awfully well in the first half,” said Nevada Coach Pat Foster. “We played good defense and we were sharp. We took them out of it early. From 10 minutes in, it was just a matter of us finishing it. We were up, and they were down. Those things happen.”

Fullerton will be back at home Thursday night against Long Beach State.