Titans Won’t Be on ESPN, and That’s a Good Thing

Cal State Fullerton guard Kenroy Jarrett got a warning from Titan assistant coach Bob Thornton that stuck in his mind before Saturday night’s game against North Texas.

“Coach just passed me and said, ‘If we lose this one, it’s going to be on ESPN,’ ” Jarrett said.

As it turned out, Jarrett and the Titans didn’t have to worry about the notoriety that a loss to the winless Eagles might have produced.

Fullerton shot 61% from the field in the second half, overcoming a troubled first half, and went on to a 72-55 Big West Conference victory over North Texas in front of 1,009 in Titan Gym.

The Titans (7-5, 1-1 in the Big West) were a different team in the second half, turning in their best one-half shooting effort of the season after trailing by two points at halftime.

Fullerton had a season-low nine turnovers. Jarrett, the Titan point guard, had none for the second consecutive game and scored a career-high 16 points.

Ike Harmon led the way with 18 points, but Jarrett and guard Mark Murphy gave him solid backup. Murphy finished with 17 points on six of 12 shooting. Jarrett was six of 10 from the floor, including four of seven from three-point range. Mark Richardson had 10 points.

The first half was ugly with each team making only nine of 32 shots (28.1%) from the field. North Texas (0-12, 0-2) managed its first halftime lead since last season against UC Santa Barbara, one of five games the Eagles won.

“There was no reason why we were so sluggish in the first half,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “But we made some adjustments at halftime. We didn’t get anything inside in the first half, so we attacked some different spots.”

The Titans were able to maneuver inside North Texas’ zone defense in the second half.

“Their adjustment in the second half was simple,” North Texas Coach Vic Trilli said. “They just pounded the ball inside. They put their big guys in the paint and we couldn’t counter it.”

The Titans had a 44-33 rebounding advantage with Harmon getting nine. Harmon sat out nearly eight minutes early in the second half when he picked up a foul and technical for protesting the call.

“That technical was his third foul,” Hawking said. “When he gets three that early he’s going to have to sit for a while because we want to have him around for the last 10 minutes.”

The Titans led 47-40 when Harmon returned with 11 1/2 minutes left.

“We felt confident going into the second half,” Jarrett said. “In the second half, we got comfortable with what they were doing, and they didn’t change anything. We were up without Ike and we knew we’d be fine when he came back.”

Hawking thought Jarrett’s strong floor game was one of the keys for the Titans, particularly in the second half.

“Kenroy has turned the corner,” Hawking said. “He showed a lot of leadership in this game.”

Jarrett said he is playing more cautiously since the Big West season began. “Before I would gamble a lot with my passes,” Jarrett said. “We’ve got a couple of athletes inside and I took some chances sometimes to try to get them the ball, but I’m not gambling as much now. It seems to be working better.”

Jarrett had 18 turnovers in the Titans’ final three nonconference games.

Jarrett didn’t think the North Texas zone bothered the Titans as much as it might have appeared when their shooting slumped. “I think the zone actually helped us,” Jarrett said. “We were ready for it.”

Hawking gave credit to North Texas’ defense in the first half.

“They might not have won a game, but they’ve been playing against some real solid people,” Hawking said. “They’re beginning to feel like they can win now. They did some good things against us.”

Reserve forward Sam Funches, playing only his fourth game with the Eagles since becoming eligible, scored 15 points, and Charles Washington had 13.