Fullerton Meets Its Match

Boise State has been the best defensive team in the Big West Conference, and the Broncos showed why again Thursday night against Cal State Fullerton.

The Titans had to shoot 61% from the field to stay close in the first half.

Fullerton couldn’t match that in the second half, and the Broncos hammered out a 77-60 victory in the opening round of the conference tournament at the Lawlor Center.

“Their pressure defense was very effective,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said.

The loss sent Fullerton (13-14) to its sixth consecutive losing season, five under Hawking. Boise State (20-7), the top-seeded team from the Eastern Division, moved on to play Long Beach State in tonight’s semifinals.

The loss ended a stretch of three consecutive close games between the teams. Fullerton had eliminated the Broncos in last season’s tournament with a seven-point victory.

Fullerton held swingman Roberto Bergersen, the conference’s player of the year, to 15 points, but the Broncos also shut down Ike Harmon in the second half. Harmon scored 13 points in the first half, but managed only one field goal in the second half and finished with 15.

Long Beach State 81, Idaho 76--Guard Ramel Lloyd scored 24 of his 27 points in the second half to lead the 49ers (13-14) to victory. Devon Ford led Idaho (16-11) with 18 points.

UC Santa Barbara 75, Utah State 74--Brandon Payton made an 18-foot jump shot with 19 seconds left and the Gauchos (15-12) survived two shots by the Aggies (15-13) in the final seconds. It was the 15th victory in 19 games for Santa Barbara, which lost its first eight to start the season under new Coach Bob Williams. Santa Barbara plays New Mexico State tonight.

New Mexico State 89, Pacific 78--Junior guard Billy Keys scored 26 points to lead the Aggies into the semifinals. New Mexico State (21-9) overcame a 31-point effort by Pacific forward Jason Williams, who also had a game-high 11 rebounds. The Tigers (14-13) lost despite shooting 54.9% from the floor.