Time Is Right for the Titans

Just when Cal State Fullerton was approaching the height of frustration without a Big West victory at home, UC Irvine came along just in time. Again.

The Titans won their second game of the year against the Anteaters Saturday night in Titan Gym, 85-66, after five consecutive conference losses at home.

It was Fullerton’s fourth consecutive victory over Irvine and fifth in the last six games between the teams. It also turned out to be the Titans’ most decisive conference victory at home since a 25-point victory over Nevada in 1994.

“Add up all of our conference victories this season, and the margins don’t add up to 19 points,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “This was a big game for us, but they’re all big when you’re fighting for a tournament seeding.”

The victory left Fullerton (9-13) and Irvine (7-15) tied with UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, all with 4-8 records in the Western Division. Long Beach State is alone in second place behind Pacific.

The victory, however, gave Fullerton the tie-breaker advantage over Irvine if the teams finish with the same conference record.

“This was an important game for us to get into the playoffs, but we couldn’t produce,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said.

The Titans had their best shooting performance from the field of the season (51.7%). Irvine, which shot only 31.6%, lost its seventh game in its last eight and fifth in a row.

Guard Chris Dade’s 17 points led the Titans, but Chris St. Clair also emerged from his shooting slump with 12 points. Reserve center Matt Caldwell also came on strong in the second half and finished with 13 points. Sophomore Ike Harmon was plagued by foul problems, but managed to score 11 points in nine minutes. Another Titan forward, Craig Whitehead, missed the game because of an injured wrist.

St. Clair was three for 10 from the floor and two for six on three-pointers, but he was pleased with that after making only two of 16 shots in the previous three games.

“I can’t remember a slump like that before,” St. Clair said. “I just went back to the basics and made sure my feet were set. I also wore my practice pants underneath my uniform, hoping that would help.”

Nothing seemed to help Irvine, however.

“I thought we had a chance in the second half,” Douglass said. “But Fullerton beat us up and down the court, and they beat us on the boards. It was a poor showing by our front line.”

Most of Irvine’s points came from outside with Adam Stetson getting 16, Junior Bond 15 and reserve Brian Scoggin 13. Irvine made 26 of 35 free throws and 10 of Stetson’s points came at the line.

The Anteaters didn’t get their first field goal until more than six minutes into the game, and trailed, 23-13, before they started working their way back.

Harmon picked up his third foul with less than nine minutes gone, and sat out the rest of the first half.

The Titans built a 16-point cushion slightly more than five minutes into the second half. The lead expanded to 22 points, and the Anteaters didn’t threaten in the final 10 minutes.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to bump up a halftime lead to a comfortable margin,” Hawking said. “This was a step forward. This is the most important time of the year. We want to finish strong and get a good seeding in the tournament.”