Fullerton in a Foul Mood After Latest Loss

Cal State Fullerton was already struggling.

The last thing the Titans needed Saturday was point guard Kenroy Jarrett missing half the game with the flu and Ike Harmon fouling out with 12 minutes 32 seconds to play on a foul that he and Fullerton coaches thought was only his fourth.

It was that kind of day for the Titans, who were beaten by Montana State, 88-64, in Worthington Arena.

The loss left Fullerton winless in three games, marking the first time the Titans have started a season 0-3 since 1974-75.

Harmon, the Titans’ leading scoring threat, played only 18 minutes, scoring 12 points. Jarrett started and played 19 minutes despite his illness, scoring only one field goal.

Fullerton trailed, 50-40, when Harmon was disqualified. Titan Coach Bob Hawking was then called for a technical foul when the referee ruled that he did not have a replacement on the floor within the required 30 seconds.

“I’m not keeping the scorebook, but there were discrepancies all night with what was on the scoreboard,” Hawking said. “To complicate it with a technical when obviously there was a discrepancy, well . . .”

The scoreboard above the court, which lists individual player fouls, showed Harmon with four at the time. However, the official scorer had Harmon with five.

“I don’t see how they can make a mistake like that and not correct it,” Harmon said. “It’s the first time that has ever happened to me. There are things that I don’t have any control over, but mistakes like that aren’t supposed to be made.”

The Titans fell behind by 12 points early, but battled back to a 30-30 tie on a three-point shot by Mark Murphy and a tip-in by Brandon Campbell.

With slightly less than four minutes left in the first half, Harmon was called for charging when he tried to muscle his way to the basket up the middle. It was his third foul, and Harmon spent the remainder of the half on the bench while Montana State outscored the Titans, 9-0, for a 39-30 halftime lead.

Fullerton also went the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half without scoring.

“The key to the game, I thought, was the last three minutes of the first half,” Montana State Coach Mick Durham said. “We went into halftime with a nine-point lead, and we didn’t let them come back on us right away in the second half.

“All I know about that fifth foul call is that if it’s in the book you’re not going to get it changed. But it was a huge break for us. It’s just unfortunate.”

Montana State (2-2) made 24 of 31 free throws to 12 of 18 for Fullerton, and the Titans shot only 34.4% from the field in the first half and 38.6% for the game. Forward John Lazosky led Montana State with 25 points, and guard Jeff Riggs added 21, making four of five three-point shots. The Bobcats shot 42.9% from the floor.

Murphy led Fullerton with 16 points, making four of seven three-pointers. Campbell added 13 points. “We’re a long way from where we need to be on both offense and defense,” Hawking said. “And when you only get six offensive rebounds in 40 minutes you’re swimming upstream.”

The Titans were outrebounded, 43-30, with center Matt Caldwell credited with only three.

“I was feeling bad because of the flu, and I got two quick fouls early in the game because I wasn’t sharp,” Jarrett said. “But we killed ourselves too. They got too many easy shots, and we let their guards penetrate too much.”