Cunningham Scores 22 as Titans Dissect Quincy

It was definitely a knockout.

The big question afterward was whether there was a fight.

Cal State Fullerton flattened Quincy, a Division II team, 96-66, Tuesday night in Titan Gym. It was the Titans’ 14th consecutive nonconference victory at home.

That was expected.

It was a skirmish between the Titans’ Matt Caldwell and Quincy’s Edwin Charles four minutes into the second half that provided most of the excitement and left Titan Coach Bob Hawking wondering if it really justified both players being ejected.

“I didn’t see it as a fight,” Hawking said. “But I guess what constitutes a fight is in the eye of the beholder.”

The episode started when Caldwell, known for his rugged style of play, was fouled going for the basket by Charles. The two squared off but were separated by teammates and referees. Both were called for flagrant fouls and sent to the sidelines.

“The referee said I threw a punch, but I just pushed him out of my face,” Caldwell said.

One of Hawking’s concerns was that the ejection will keep Caldwell out of next Sunday’s game at San Jose State. Hawking said he plans to take the case to John Dangleis, the Big West Conference supervisor of officials.

“I don’t think either player deserved to be ejected,” Hawking said. “I think it needs to be looked at closely. It’s an NCAA rule that a player who is ejected has to sit out the next game.”

The Titans (6-3) had plenty of firepower for Quincy (4-4) without Caldwell.

Swingman Jason Cunningham scored a career-high 22 points, and the Titans had four other players in double figures. Guard Mark Murphy had 17 points, going four of seven on three-point shots.

Guard Kenroy Jarrett was three of five on three-pointers and finished with 14. The Titans’ top scorer, Ike Harmon, played only 20 minutes and had 10 points, fouling out 8 1/2 minutes left. Mark Richardson had 10, and led the Titans to a 55-32 rebounding advantage with 13.

Fullerton shot 50.8% from the floor, including 58% in the second half, and Quincy managed only 31%.

Caldwell scored five points in only seven minutes in the game. He sat out last weekend’s game at Portland with a hip injury, and was disappointed his return was so brief.

“The trainers did a great job of getting me ready to play,” Caldwell said.

But as far as Hawking was concerned, the important thing was that the Titans got back on the winning track after two consecutive one-sided losses on the road against Portland and Saint Louis. “We did a lot of good things,” Hawking said. “And we got a lot of minutes for a lot of guys. This should be a shot in the arm for us. We had played lousy the last two games.”

Cunningham also was pleased with the way the Titans came back from the the two disappointing losses.

“Those last two games have been terrible,” Cunningham said. “It was fun to get back home and have a good game. Hopefully, we’re back in gear now. I still don’t know what happened to us in those last two games.”

It was obvious the Titans were headed for an easy night after they scored 13 consecutive points midway through the first half. Murphy nailed two three-pointers in the surge, and Jarrett dropped in a third for a 17-point Titan lead.

Jarrett had the longest three-pointer of the season when he banked in a one-hander from just inside the mid-court line on an out-of-of bounds pass with a second left in the first half. It gave Fullerton a 44-29 halftime lead.