Fullerton Off Target but Wins Fifth in Row

It won’t go down as one of Cal State Fullerton’s most impressive efforts of the season, but it was a victory, and that was about all that mattered to the Titans. After all, Fullerton hadn’t won five consecutive games since the 1990-91 season.

Fullerton (5-1) made it five in a row Thursday night in a 73-67 victory over Montana State at Titan Gym. The Titans, off to their best start in six years, won despite shooting 33% in the second half.

“This team is going to find a way to win,” point guard Kenroy Jarrett said. “There are going to be times when you don’t have a great shooting night. But who cares if you win?”

Guard Mark Murphy, normally one of Fullerton’s best shooters, made only three of 12 shots but had a three-point basket with 1 minute 20 seconds left that gave Fullerton a seven-point lead. It was his only field goal of the second half and only three-point basket of the game.

Montana State (4-3) struggled even more than Fullerton did in the final seven minutes, scoring only five points, all on free throws.

Ike Harmon, still recovering from a sprained left ankle, led Fullerton with 19 points and had seven rebounds. Jarrett had 14 points, while Mark Richardson and Jason Cunningham each had 12 as the Titans continued to get balanced scoring.

The Titans also only had a 36-35 rebounding edge, but Coach Bob Hawking was still pleased.

“That’s the fourth game in a row we’ve outrebounded our opponent, and I don’t think we’ve done that four times in a row during my tenure,” said Hawking, in his fifth season at Fullerton.