Titans More Than Half Bad as Slide Hits Nine at Pacific

A season gone bad turned even worse for Cal State Fullerton Saturday night.

Pacific, which had lost three consecutive games, handed the Titans their ninth consecutive loss, 68-53, in front of 3,889 in Spanos Center. It was Pacific’s eighth victory in its last nine games against Fullerton and left the Tigers alone in third place in the Big West Conference’s Western Division.

Fullerton scored only 14 points in the first half, tying the school record for fewest points in a half since Fullerton became a Division I program. Fullerton also scored 14 in the first half of games against Fresno State and San Jose State in 1981.

Pacific (11-15, 6-8) capitalized on strong defense and the emotion of Senior Night while Fullerton (8-17, 3-11) started flat and lost for the 12th time in 14 road games.

“Our defense just wasn’t there tonight,” point guard Kenroy Jarrett said.

Ike Harmon scored a game-high 17 points for Fullerton, but no other Titan player reached double figures. Center Mike Preston led Pacific with 14 points, and guard Peter Heizer had 13.

“We struggled offensively,” said Titan Coach Bob Hawking, who has resigned effective at the end of the season. “We couldn’t seem to do the things we do correctly every day in practice.”

Harmon also blamed the problems on bad execution.

“It was disappointing, but every game like that this season has been disappointing,” Harmon said. “Coach had us prepared, and we had a good game plan, but we didn’t play well. We have no one to blame but ourselves.”

Pacific got two quick three-point baskets from guard Nathan Davis, who was shooting 19% on three-point shots coming into the game. After that, Pacific was rolling.

“It was an emotional night for all of us with it being our last home game,” said Pacific senior guard Clay McKnight, who played at Mater Dei and at UC Irvine for one season before transferring. “We played with a lot of heart and emotion. We thought this was sort of a make-or-break game for us for getting in the conference tournament.”

Pacific Coach Bob Thomason was pleased with his team’s defense, especially in the first half. “That’s exactly how we’ve played at other times this season, but not consistently,” Thomason said.

The Tigers held Fullerton to six field goals in 23 attempts (26.1%) in the game’s first 20 minutes and built a 17-point lead.

Not even free throws fell for Fullerton in the first half; the Titans were one for five at the line.

Fullerton’s previous scoring low for a half this season was 19 points in an 89-62 loss at St. Mary’s in December.

“We couldn’t seem to come up with a loose ball or finish a play,” Hawking said.

Even when swingman Brandon Campbell scored on a dunk early in the second half to cut the deficit to 36-25, he was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. McKnight made both free throws, and Pacific was back in gear again.

“We didn’t get any breaks, that’s for sure “ Hawking said. “But we have to just keep plugging away.”

Fullerton has two remaining regular-season home games next week. The Titans play UC Irvine on Wednesday and New Mexico State on Saturday. Fullerton’s last victory before the losing streak began came against Irvine, 76-64, in late January at the Bren Center.