Winless Fullerton Gets Lost on This ‘Continent’

They call St. Mary’s 7-foot-3 center Brad Millard “Big Continent,” and he certainly was more than Cal State Fullerton could handle Tuesday night.

Millard, a fifth-year senior who had played only five games the previous two seasons because of a left foot that was broken twice, continued his strong comeback this season with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots in the Gaels’ 89-62 victory over the struggling Titans.

The loss dropped Fullerton to 0-4, marking the first time the Titans have lost their first four games since the 1971-72 season. St. Mary’s is 2-2. Fullerton played without junior center Matt Caldwell, who is expected to be sidelined at least another week because of a sprained ankle.

Point guard Kenroy Jarrett was ill with the flu in the Titans’ previous game at Montana State, and this time sophomore forward Josh Fischer was slowed by flu-like symptoms.

“Caldwell is a good player, and we knew they didn’t have great depth,” St. Mary’s Coach Dave Bollwinkel said. “We took advantage of that.”

Titan Coach Bob Hawking went with a starting lineup that had no true center, leaving 6-foot-7 forward Ike Harmon in the position much of the night, paired opposite Millard, but hardly anything worked.

“We’re obviously undermanned right now, but you have to go with the players you have suited up,” Hawking said. “We have no excuses for the way we played, though. Millard is a tremendous force in the paint, but we didn’t do what we wanted to do. You can’t shoot over him. You have to try to go around him.”

Millard set the tone on defense in the first half with the four blocks, two of them on consecutive Fullerton shots. One was a jump shot by Jon Stoa, and the other a layup attempt by Mark Murphy he slapped to the floor.

“We played more the way we’re capable of playing defensively in this game,” Millard said. “I always seem to get a couple of blocks when people forget about my height.”

The first half was a disaster for the Titans, who shot 25% from the floor, with Harmon making only one of his first eight shots. Harmon was two of 14 from the field for the game, finishing with four points.

Sophomore Brandon Campbell led the Titans with 16 points. Dan Thompson, a freshman from Australia, played in his first game after missing the first three with a stress fracture in his right foot, scoring 13 points. “He wasn’t cleared to play until Monday,” Hawking said. “He played pretty effectively.”

St. Mary’s led by as much as 33 points midway through the second half. Josh Greer, who played at Esperanza High, had 15 points for the Gaels, hitting three of four three-point shots.