Improved Play Gives Titans Good Shot to Finish Second

This has been a strange season for the Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team.

The Titans, 10-14 and 5-9 in the Big West Conference, go into the final week of the regular season with a chance to finish as high as second in the Western Division.

The best thing the Titans have going for them is their improved play in victories over Long Beach State and UC Irvine in two of their last three games. They haven’t been as successful in a three-game stretch since late December.

Even in the 14-point loss to Pacific last week, the Titans didn’t play badly. They just had nobody in the same class with 7-foot center Michael Olowokandi.

Coach Bob Hawking hopes that little bit of momentum will help in games tonight at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Saturday at UC Santa Barbara.

“Every team wants to be playing its best basketball at this time of the year,” Hawking said, “and hopefully we will be.”

There’s no doubt the Titans came up with their best performance of the season last Saturday in the 92-70 victory over Long Beach State.

The Titans were able to do what they do best: run the floor. Sophomore Ike Harmon is at his best in a fast-break game, as his 27-point night against Long Beach indicates. It’s when the Titans get stuck in a slower half-court game that they have most of their problems.

But transition baskets come from defensive rebounds and steals, and it’s more difficult when the opposing team is shooting and rebounding well. Neither Long Beach nor Irvine did either particularly well in Fullerton’s most recent victories.

“Everyone ran the floor really well Saturday,” said senior guard Chris St. Clair, who keyed the fast break and had a career-high 12 assists. “We worked on that really hard in practice, and I think once we got it going, everyone’s confidence took a step up. Those high-flying dunks Ike made are really exciting. I’ve never seen him run the floor any harder.”

It also helped that Harmon stayed out of foul trouble and was able to play 26 minutes. He had fouled out of three of the previous four games.

Another good sign was that the Titans were able to dominate Long Beach although leading scorer Chris Dade got only five points. Dade, however, always contributes with strong defensive play.

One of Fullerton’s problems this season has been that opponents have been able to focus most of their defensive efforts on Dade.

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The women’s basketball team has qualified for the Big West tournament in Denise Curry’s first year as head coach after missing it the previous two seasons under Deborah Ayres.

“Making the postseason tournament was our big goal for this season, and we feel good about that,” Curry said. “I thought the most important thing for us was to improve during the season, and we’ve done that.”

The Titans (9-16, 6-8 in conference) defeated Long Beach State, 96-87, Sunday, without two players who have been starters much of the season. Nashira Shaw is out the rest of the season because of a broken cheek bone, and center Erin Whiteside is sidelined two weeks because of a shoulder dislocation.

But Curry’s team got a big boost from junior Natascha Stokely, who scored 31 points and had 13 rebounds against the 49ers. She had played in only 13 of the first 22 games and averaged 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds. She also scored 11 points and had 17 rebounds in a midweek loss to Pacific.

“She’s really stepped up for us, and she exploded against Long Beach,” Curry said.

Curry also has been pleased with sophomore forward Nieshia Cleveland’s recent improvement. And point guard Andrea Thieme had 21 points and only one turnover against Long Beach.

Fullerton plays its final regular-season game at home tonight against San Luis Obispo, and can finish in at least a tie for third place with a victory. Pacific is a half-game behind the Titans with two games to play.

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The Titans swept both games against Long Beach State in both men’s and women’s basketball for the first time in the same season.

Fullerton’s men hadn’t won both games from the 49ers since the 1986-87 season and the women’s team hadn’t won both since 1975-76.

The men’s team has won three of the last four games against Long Beach--all since Wayne Morgan took over there--after losing seven in a row to the 49ers.

Titan Notes

The Titan baseball team is scheduled to play a three-game series against sixth-ranked Alabama at Titan Field beginning Friday. Coach George Horton plans on a pitching rotation of Benny Flores on Friday, Jon Smith on Saturday and Erasmo Ramirez on Sunday. . . . Freshman basketball player Matt Caldwell and his wife, Elizabeth, have a new daughter, born Friday. The baby’s name: Michaela Jordan Caldwell. . . . The injury woes continue for the women’s gymnastics team. Tammy De la Cruz will be out at least 10 days because of a chipped wrist bone.

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Coming Attractions

Key events this week for Cal State Fullerton:

* Baseball against Alabama 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday; all games at Titan Field.

* Men’s basketball at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 7 tonight , and at UC Santa Barbara 7 p.m. Saturday.

* Women’s basketball against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 7 tonight , Titan Gym.

* Softball hosts Cal State Fullerton Softball Showcase today through Sunday at Titan Softball Complex.

* Wrestling hosts Pacific 10 Championships, noon and 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Titan Gym.