Titans’ Shooting Evaporates Into Thin Air at Utah State

Cal State Fullerton has had its problems locating the basket this season, but even the Titans couldn’t have imagined a night like this. Fullerton shot only 29% and was drilled by Utah State, 69-44, Saturday night in front of 7,354 fans.

“We didn’t shoot well, we didn’t defend well and the result was a 25-point loss,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said.

The 44 points are the fewest the Titans have scored since they lost at Fresno State, 65-44, on Jan. 30, 1989. Fullerton didn’t exactly scorch the nets Thursday night, shooting 31% in a 51-48 victory at UC Irvine. But the Titans quickly discovered that Utah State is a little more talented than UCI and the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is not as friendly as the Bren Center.

Utah State (18-5, 8-1), the Big West Conference’s Eastern Division leader, had won 22 consecutive home games entering Saturday night, tying a school record. It was probably appropriate that Fullerton (8-12, 3-7) was here for the record-breaker. Utah State has won nine straight over Fullerton by an average of 18 points. The Titans have not won here since 1982.

“It’s always like this up here,” Fullerton guard Chris Dade said. “The air is a little thin up here. It’s a tough environment, especially for some of the younger guys.”

Said Hawking: “You have to play Utah State a certain way and we kind of veered from our game plan. They make you pay for it. They capitalized on our lack of execution.”

Hawking didn’t say what the game plan was, but it surely involved better shooting and more production from leading scorers Ike Harmon and Dade. Dade and Harmon each scored nine points and combined to make only five of 15 shots.

“We need our best players to play their best games, but that goes for all of our players, including those coming off the bench,” Hawking said.

Harmon fouled out with nine minutes to play and Dade was never much of a factor. Six of his seven shots were three-pointers and he had only two assists.

“My jump shots weren’t falling,” Dade said. “So I tried going inside. Then I started getting taken out. That’s in a player’s head. You start thinking about coming out when you miss a shot.”

No one can say Hawking didn’t try different combinations in hopes of shaking his team out its doldrums. Twelve players saw minutes, including senior DeVaughn Wright, who had played in only one Big West game. Ten players were on the court for at least 12 minutes. But none of them were able to match Utah State’s energy level or its athleticism around the basket.

“They jump very well and they are very physical,” Hawking said. “We’re very young on our front line. We’re learning as we go.”

Utah State’s front line isn’t big--it averages only 6 feet 5. But it outscored the Titans’ front line, 37-21, and outrebounded it, 16-13. Donnie Johnson, a 6-6 center, scored 18 points on nine-of-11 shooting.

The Titans took a 7-5 lead and actually gave the impression that they might have a shot at stopping Utah State’s home winning streak. But four minutes into the game, the Titans seemingly forgot how to play basketball. They missed uncontested layups, open jump shots, dribbled the ball off their feet and threw passes to no one in particular.

Utah State’s 21-4 run and Fullerton’s seven-minute dry spell gave the Aggies a 26-11 lead with three minutes left in the half. The lead was 31-15 at halftime and 44-18 five minutes into the second half. Most of the second half was a dunking session for Utah State as it took advantage of Fullerton’s failure to block out on the boards.

“We were missing some easy shots and that took its toll mentally,” Dade said.