Skies Are Not That Friendly for Fullerton

Jet lag hit Cal State Fullerton once again, and really took hold with a little more than three minutes to play in Thursday night’s game.

The situation was critical, but not yet desperate. The Titans trailed Idaho by six with 3 minutes 25 seconds left. In the time it takes to return a seat to an upright position, they were out of it.

The Vandals pulled away for a 77-62 victory in front of 2,115 in the Kibbie Dome. Fullerton’s belly landing was easy to trace by connecting the numbers, from rebounding to assists to free-throw shooting to field-goal shooting.

The most bizarre stat, though, is when the Titans are leaving on a jet plane. In 20 road games that involve flying, the Titans are 2-18 since December of 1996.

“Most teams win when at home more than they win on the road,” said Titan Coach Bob Hawking, whose teams are 7-6 when they travel by bus or van. “I don’t think we’re an aberration from the normal . . . it’s probably that way in every conference.”

Pity there is no top 25 in that category, for the Titans would surely rank. Thursday, they again seemed to leave their mental game at home.

“We make a few less mistakes and capitalize on a few more of their mistakes and who knows?” Hawking said. “It’s not like we were blown out of the tub.”

Which must have made it all the more frustrating.

The most devastating moment came after Mark Murphy sank a three-pointer to cut the Idaho lead to 66-60 with 3 minutes 25 seconds. Avery Curry then missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Fullerton’s Matt Caldwell and Kenroy Jarrett both were in the key too soon.

Given a second chance, Curry made both free throws. Fullerton didn’t score again until Murphy’s layup with 46 seconds left. The Vandals went on an 8-0 run that gave the Titans (7-6, 1-2) some carry-on baggage for their trip to Boise, where they play Boise State Saturday night.

“I thought that was a bigger win than some of you might,” Idaho Coach David Farrar said. “I’ve watched a lot of Fullerton tape. It was better than Oprah or anything else that’s on TV today. They looked like a nice passing team that didn’t beat themselves.”

Must have been a Titan home video.

Passing? The Titans had three assists--two by Ike Harmon, which gave him a grand total of 16 for the season and was two more than Jarrett, the team’s point guard.

Beat themselves? They were not only out-rebounded, 43-32, they watched as the Vandals snagged rebounds off their own missed free throws three times. Idaho’s Kevin Byrne had 12 rebounds, eight above his season average. Fullerton was also only nine of 22 on free throws.

Harmon and Caldwell were both one of five from the foul line, which hurt since the Titans were making an effort to go inside. Fullerton went into Harmon (15 points) on its first four second-half possessions. He made one of four shots.

“They had 24 shots [between them] and I’ll take that every night,” Hawking said.

What he could live without is the way the Titans started, or rather, didn’t start.

The Vandals (6-7, 2-2) held Fullerton scoreless the first four minutes and led, 19-6, with 12 minutes left in the half. Curry (18 points) and Gordon Scott (17 points) repeatedly burned the Titans from long range.

Scott had eight points and Curry six to give Idaho a 16-6 lead six minutes into the game. Curry had 14 points by halftime.