Overmatched Fullerton Falls Hard to No. 16 Utah

Utah had the talent and the tradition on its side.

Cal State Fullerton hadn’t won against the Utes since 1988, and there was no reason to believe this time would be different, especially in front of 12,738 fans in Huntsman Center.

It wasn’t.

The 16th-ranked Utes, coming off a season in which they advanced to the NCAA West Regional championship game, had too much strength inside for Fullerton, and turned back the Titans, 87-59, Saturday night in the men’s basketball season opener for both teams. It was Utah’s fifth consecutive victory in the series between the teams.

Utah had an overwhelming 65-32 rebounding advantage, with Alex Jensen getting a career-high 16, and Michael Doleac and Hanno Mottola each pulling down 11. They also each had 12 points. Guard Andre Miller was the key figure on offense with 19.

“They dominated us in the paint and on the glass, and we compounded it by having a terrible offensive display,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said. “We thought we might have an advantage in quickness, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

Utah Coach Rick Majerus said everything went according to plan. “We were bigger and stronger, and that was our whole thing going into the game,” he said.

Fullerton didn’t get the outside shooting it needed to be competitive. Chris Dade and Chris St. Clair, the two fifth-year senior guards, both had off-nights offensively. Dade was four for 13 from the field and finished with 13 points. St. Clair was three of 12 and was held to 10 points.

“Our two seniors go seven for 25,” Hawking said. “I can’t explain that.” The Titans shot only 30.6% as a team, and only forward Craig Whitehead had a good night, going five for six to finish with a team-high 14 points. Highly rated sophomore newcomer Ike Harmon also struggled, making only one field goal in seven tries and finishing with six points.

Utah didn’t have a good shooting night either (36.2%), but made up for it with second and third chances on offensive rebounds.

“I was disappointed with our overall effort,” Hawking said. “We didn’t execute any phase of the game the way we have to do to win. I was disappointed and I think all the kids were disappointed too.”

Despite Fullerton’s problems, it didn’t become a Utah runaway until the final 10 minutes of the game. Utah led, 56-47, with 9:45 left, but started padding the lead after that.

The Titans got off to a bad start and didn’t get their first basket until St. Clair connected from three-point range more than five minutes into the game. Dade made only one of seven shots in the first half and bobbled a bounce pass that cost him an easy layup.

Harmon picked up two quick fouls, and had three in the first half. He went out with his fifth with more than six minutes left in the game.

“That foul trouble was frustrating,” Harmon said. “I had to pull back a lot after that. But every time I tried to pick up the pace defensively, it seemed like I got called for a foul. And it was my first college game, and I had a lot of butterflies.”

St. Clair had no explanation for the Titans’ shooting performance, but gave Utah credit. “This is a tough place to play, and they play with a lot of confidence here,” he said. “When they’re getting second chances the way they were inside, it’s tough to compete.”

It was a rude introduction to top-flight college basketball for Fullerton’s two new freshmen centers, Matt Caldwell and Corey Sanders. They had their hands full with Doleac, who is 6 feet 11, and Mottola (6-10). Both Titan centers fouled out. “Every time I went to the glass, there were four Utah players there with me,” Caldwell said. “They’re a good rebounding team. Doleac was very physical. But I got three fouls early, and that didn’t help.”

Majerus thought Fullerton turned in a solid effort defensively. “I thought they really played hard,” he said.