Northern Trip Backfires for Titans

It was a far cry from the typical season opener for Cal State Fullerton.

The Titans have played at Kansas State, Utah, Brigham Young and UCLA the past four years. But Fullerton tried something different Friday night.

The Titans played their first basketball game ever outside the United States, against Simon Fraser, an NCAA Division II team, but the trip to Canada didn’t produce the victory they were seeking.

Simon Fraser wiped out a 10-point halftime deficit and surprised the Titans, 80-77.

Fullerton had a chance to tie the score with a three-pointer in the final seconds, but Mark Murphy didn’t get a shot away in time against strong defensive pressure.

“I couldn’t get a good look,” Murphy said. “It always seems like there were a million other things I could have done, but it just didn’t go our way this time.”

It was the first time in more than 20 years a Division I team had played in Chancellor Gymnasium. Simon Fraser (1-5) had played four other games against Division I teams on the road this season, and was beaten at New Mexico, Portland State, Utah State and Iowa State.

“It was a great atmosphere and opportunity for them, and they seized the moment,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “We’re disappointed that we couldn’t get the win, but we didn’t play well enough for that to happen. We didn’t have the benefit of having a couple of run-through games, and that hurts.”

The Titans weren’t able to play exhibition games this season because of being on NCAA probation. However, Hawking said he had no regrets about his decision to play at Simon Fraser.

Simon Fraser overcame a 27-point scoring effort by senior forward Ike Harmon, who was nine of 17 from the field including three of four on three-point shots.

“It’s tough playing on the road, and everything seemed to go their way,” Harmon said. “I tried to do everything I could, but we couldn’t seem to get it done at the end. I had three fouls in the first half, and that didn’t help matters. I usually don’t condemn refs, but I thought they let some things go for them that they didn’t for us.”

Hawking said he had no complaints about the officiating.

“We need to get better defensively than we were in this game,” Hawking said. “We need to learn from this experience and get ready for our next game. Simon Fraser had some open shots”

The Titans shot 52.5% from the floor, but Simon Fraser shot 58% and made 18 of 24 free throws to eight of 13 for Fullerton.

Simon Fraser came on strong early in the second half, tying the score, 58-58, and moving out to a 65-60 lead with slightly more than nine minutes to play.

Harmon nailed two clutch three-pointers to give the Titans a 73-73 tie with 2 1/2 minutes remaining, but Richard Anderson broke into the clear for an open layup that put Simon Fraser in the lead to stay.