Fullerton Comes Up With Big Victory

For Cal State Fullerton, it was like a day at the beach compared to a week ago.

Saturday night, Fullerton was in charge all the way, and Norfolk State, playing its first season in Division I, was the team overmatched.

The Titans scored 11 consecutive points in the first three minutes and went on to an 83-57 victory in front of 1,004 in Titan Gym.

Last week, 16th-ranked Utah manhandled the Titans by 28 points in chilly Salt Lake City.

Against Norfolk State, Fullerton had a 15-point lead seven minutes into the first half and led at halftime, 44-28.

The Titans (1-1) shot 54.8% from the field in the first half and finished at 45.9%. Guards Chris Dade and Chris St. Clair, seven for 25 against Utah, were a combined 11 for 21 against the Spartans.

Dade made eight of 14 shots from the floor and finished with 24 points. Dade did most of the damage on the fast-break transition game, but St. Clair was three for six on three-point shots, and Dade was two for four. St. Clair finished with 13 points.

“It was a lot more fun out there tonight,” St. Clair said. “We got some open looks as a team, and that didn’t happen last week. I don’t think I got one open look the whole game against Utah.”

The Titans also had a 47-34 rebounding advantage, with Craig Whitehead getting a career-high nine to lead the way.

The only down note for the Titans was that highly rated sophomore Ike Harmon, who scored 10 points, missed the final 16 minutes with what was believed to be a slight concussion. He was accidentally hit in the face by an elbow.

“They’ll give him some further tests in the hospital, but we’re fairly sure that it’s not anything serious,” Coach Bob Hawking said.

Norfolk State (0-3) shot only 39.3% from the field, but that was the Spartans’ best effort in their three losses, which have come by a total of 93 points. Sean Blackwell’s 12-point effort was a team high.

Even though Norfolk State has been struggling on offense, Hawking thought his team turned in a solid effort on defense.

“That was the key to the game,” Hawking said. “We were aggressive going after the ball. That needs to be the trademark of this team. We’re going to need 40 minutes of great-effort defense.”

That aggressive defense also helped Fullerton’s fast-break game. “We’re still not hitting on all cylinders, but we were advancing the ball and hitting the open man,” Hawking said. “That’s what we have to do.”

Hawking opened with a lineup that included three forwards--Mark Richardson, Whitehead and Harmon--but quickly went to other combinations after the Titans took control early. Nine players played 13 minutes or more.

“We’re still tinkering right now,” Hawking said. “That pattern probably will continue for a while until we develop a cohesive unit. But we’re planning on seeing a lot of different players for now.”

Corey Sanders, a 6-foot-11 freshman reserve center, scored nine points and collected seven rebounds, again showing good agility inside. Hawking continues to be impressed by his improvement.

“Corey is making strides every day,” Hawking said. “He’s going to be an outstanding player down the road. He plays with a lot of emotion and aggressiveness.”

Sanders even flashed a new side of his play once in the second half when he brought the ball down the court on a fast break. “I couldn’t get the ball to St. Clair, so I took off with it,” Sanders said, smiling. “I do it sometimes in practice too.”

It was the kind of night when the Titans could afford to be a little loose and free-spirited.

“Tonight we didn’t have those 6-10 guys out there chopping us down at the knees the way we did at Utah,” Hawking said.