Skid Continues for Titans With Loss to Nevada

It went from bad to worse for Cal State Fullerton on its home court Thursday night.

The crumbling Titans, who lost their fifth consecutive Big West basketball game in Titan Gym, and haven’t won conference game at home, were overwhelmed by Nevada, 82-67.

Fullerton’s loss, combined with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s victory over Long Beach State, left the Titans alone in last place in the Western Division.

It was Fullerton’s 10th defeat in its last 13 games, but this was the season’s most decisive loss at home. Fullerton, which dropped to 8-13 for the season and 3-8 in the conference, hadn’t been beaten this badly in Titan Gym since a 73-56 loss to Long Beach State in 1996.

“You’re not going to beat anyone allowing the opposition to shoot 60%,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said.

Nevada (12-8, 8-3) shot 66.7% in the second half and 58.9% for the game and left Fullerton with a 1-11 record over two seasons against Eastern Division teams.

The Wolf Pack had three players score 20 or more points. Paul Culbertson led the way with 21, but center Marvin Wilson and guard Jimmy Carroll each had 20.

Guard Chris Dade had 17 for the Titans, with sophomore point guard Kenroy Jarrett getting a career-high 15, all in the second half.

Senior guard Chris St. Clair continued to struggle, missing the seven shots he took. It was the first time this season St. Clair has been scoreless, but he scored only seven points in the previous two games. St. Clair has made only five of 31 shots from the floor in his last four games.

The Titans, who had shot only 38% from the field in its previous six games, improved slightly (42.9%), but still was no match for Nevada’s balanced attack.

“We couldn’t match them inside, and then their outside got going,” Hawking said. “We just couldn’t match up with them. They’re a solid team with real good balance.”

Dade also was impressed with Nevada’s balance. “Culbertson is an outstanding player, and Carroll is a good three-point shooter,” Dade said. “ All their guards penetrate well.”

Nevada Coach Pat Foster was especially pleased with Wilson’s play. “When he plays like that, it changes our whole team,” Foster said. “We played sharper than we have in a while.”

Nevada, however, had 15 turnovers to 11 for Fullerton.

The Titans were flat at the start and it didn’t get much better. They quickly fell behind, 12-3, and never caught up. A three-point basket by Dade brought the Titans to within four points at 28-24, but the Wolf Pack went on to lead 33-25 at halftime.

The Titans went into what lately has become a fairly typical nosedive at the start of the second half. “We’ve got to figure out a reason for that,” Dade said. “I don’t know what it is. I don’t think confidence is the problem.”

Nevada scored the first seven points of the second half to build went a 15-point cushion, and led by as much as 22 points in the second half.

Fullerton is in a battle to avoid being left out of the conference tournament. The Titans play UC Irvine in an important game from that standpoint Saturday at home. The Anteaters provided Fullerton with one of its three conference victories. “No one is giving up on the season,” Hawking said. “This game was important, but there are more important games ahead of us. We’ve got five games to go, and they’re all Western Division games. They take on double the weight.”