Titans Can’t Keep Pacific’s Big Man From Busting Out

Cal State Fullerton brushed aside one 7-foot center this past week, but it was a much different story Saturday night against Pacific’s Michael Olowokandi.

Olowokandi, one of 30 players on the list of Wooden Award candidates, had 21 points, five blocked shots and 11 rebounds to lead the Tigers to an 86-68 victory over Fullerton in front of 4,711 in Spanos Center. It was Pacific’s 26th consecutive victory at home. The victory left Pacific (11-8, 4-2) alone in first place in the Big West’s Western Division with Fullerton falling to 7-9, 2-4. The Titans are 2-7 on the road.

Fullerton used the 2-3 zone, which helped limit Long Beach State center Andrew Betts to two points on Thursday, about half the time against Pacific. It didn’t slow Olowokandi.

“We weren’t able to contain his size and strength,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “He’s a dominant force to contend with. They were able to establish him early. That set the tone of the game, and opened up other things for them.”

The Tigers had too many weapons for Fullerton. Pacific shot 59.2% and made 14 of 24 three-point shots. Reserve guard Clay McKnight, a transfer from UC Irvine, made six of seven three-point shots and finished with 20 points.

Guard Chris Dade, the Titans’ top scorer, wasn’t at anything approaching full strength after having four teeth pulled last week--he missed the victory over Long Beach. Dade didn’t start this time and played only 18 minutes, scoring six points.

Fullerton’s second-leading scorer, Ike Harmon, still was troubled by a sprained toe. Harmon played 16 minutes and scored nine points. It was up to Mark Richardson, who led the Titans with 14 points. Jason Cunningham had 10.

“It was a minor miracle that Dade was able to play at all,” Hawking said. “He did the best he could under the circumstances. Hopefully, with some time off now, we can have him back at full strength for next week. Harmon still isn’t healthy either, and that didn’t help matters. I wasn’t going to take any chances with him or Dade once [Pacific] took control late in the second half.”

Pacific scored the game’s first eight points, but the Titans came back behind the inside play of Richardson, though Pacific led at the break, 33-27. The Tigers made nine of their first 10 shots from the field in the second half and went on to build their lead to 65-43 midway through the second half.

“They shot the ball extremely well at the start of both halves,” Hawking said. “There wasn’t a lot we could do to combat that.”

McKnight was five for five on three-point shots in the second half and Olowokandi controlled the game inside. “The shots were there for me, and it felt good,” McKnight said. “That was the best night I’ve had here.”

McKnight got off to slow start this season because of a dislocated shoulder. “I’ve been telling people that he’s been close to breaking out,” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said. “It’s just been a matter of time. He missed two weeks of practice with the shoulder, and that set him back.”

About the only irritant for Pacific was a full-court press the Titans used most of the game. “It helped keep us in the game,” Hawking said.

Thomason thought his team’s 73% shooting in the second half made the difference against Fullerton’s press. “We struggled at times against it in the first half,” Thomason said.

But the steadying influence for Pacific throughout the game was Olowokandi.

“He sure takes up a lot of space inside,” Richardson said of Olowokandi. “He’s a good player with a lot of potential. It’s scary how much potential he has.”

Said Hawking: “The thing about him is that his best basketball is still ahead of him. He’s going to be really good in three or four years.”