Titans Show Signs of Life, Beat BYU

Brigham Young hasn’t lost many basketball games in Marriott Center. Only 10 in its last 82 games, and only 14 in the last seven years. And Cal State Fullerton? Well, the Titans had won only 13 games in the past two years, no matter where they played.

But things do change.

After two years of frustration, the Titans showed signs that they might actually be the “breakthrough team” Coach Bob Hawking has been waiting to see with a 75-67 victory over the Cougars in Friday night’s season opener for both teams.

“Obviously, this is a difficult place to win, and it’s especially tough when your program hasn’t been that successful and you’re trying to put down a foundation,” Hawking said.

The Titans built a 15-point lead at halftime, then held off a second-half charge by the Cougars. The crowd of 7,530 at the game out of 15,347 who bought tickets really didn’t seem to take the Titan threat seriously in the first half. But that changed in the second half.

“The crowd got going, and we were just hoping we could weather the storm,” Hawking said.

The Cougars managed to pull within a point, 61-60, before guard Chris St. Clair connected for a three-point basket with 4 minutes 33 seconds remaining. That turned back the challenge, and the Titans held on with solid free-throw shooting down the stretch.

Chris Dade, a two-year starter at guard, made six of six free throws in the last three minutes, and newcomer Craig Whitehead made two of two. Dade had a team-leading 18 points. Power forward John Williams had 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Whitehead finished with 12 points.

Hawking was especially pleased for St. Clair. “That was a big shot he made,” Hawking said. “He just got his left hand out of the cast on Monday, and we really didn’t know what his status would be. He’s had to overcome a lot of adversity.”

St. Clair missed most of last season with a recurring knee injury, then broke a bone in his left hand in preseason workouts.

“I didn’t know how much I’d play before the game, but I had a good week of practice and I felt I was ready,” said St. Clair, who finished with 10 points. “I’m excited because this is the first time I’ve been healthy for a game in a long time.”

St. Clair was playing point guard at the time he made the key three-pointer, but he said he was looking for his opening. “I knew we needed a basket then,” he said.

BYU shot only 31% from the floor in the first half against Fullerton’s zone defense, but got rolling in the second half. “They made some good adjustments at halftime, got the ball inside more on us, and took more advantage of their height,” Hawking said.

The Cougars were more aggressive defensively in the second half, and that seemed to help them get going offensively. BYU shot 50% from the floor in the second half and finished at 41%. Senior forward Jeff Campbell led BYU with 22 points.

The Titans went from shooting 45% in the first half to 31% in the second half, and were 39% for the game. Each team made 19 free throws, but BYU missed 12. Fullerton also made six three-point shots; BYU missed all nine of its attempts. The Titans had a 46-39 rebounding advantage.

“We got tentative for a while in the second half, but we were able to make the plays down the stretch and hit our free throws,” Hawking said.

BYU Coach Roger Reid said he was impressed with the effort Fullerton made on the road. “I have a lot of respect for Fullerton’s coaching,” Reid said. “They’re very sound fundamentally. But we played like we were immature.”

The victory marked the first time Fullerton has won its first road game since 1992 at Northern Iowa.