Jarrett’s Shot Is a Winner

Kenroy Jarrett got his revenge in Titan Gym Thursday night.

Jarrett, a senior point guard, connected on a 17-foot baseline jumper with one second left to give Cal State Fullerton a 54-52 victory over Boise State.

A year ago at Boise State, Jarrett’s shot glanced off the rim at the buzzer, and the Broncos escaped with a one-point victory.

This time Jarrett rebounded a missed Boise State shot, dribbled downcourt and launched a high-arching shot that ended a three-game Fullerton losing streak and gave the Titans their fifth consecutive victory at home.

“When I first looked at the clock, I thought there were only three seconds left, but then I realized it was five seconds, and I thought I could really get close,” Jarrett said. “When I let it go, I thought it felt really good.”

Fullerton (6-8, 1-2) led by five points with slightly more than two minutes to play before Boise State (6-8, 0-3) battled back to tie the score on a three-point basket by Abe Jackson with 1 minute 21 seconds left.

It was the third consecutive regular-season game between the teams that was decided in the final seconds. The Broncos’ Roberto Bergersen hit a shot at the buzzer two seasons ago to give Boise State a two-point victory in Titan Gym, then made two free throws with six seconds left for the victory margin last season.

“I wish Bergersen were here for this one,” Jarrett said, smiling. “I thought about the shot he made against us two years ago this time.”

Bergersen, who led the Big West in scoring last season as a senior, is playing in the Continental Basketball Assn. this season. Guard Mark Murphy scored 14 points and Ike Harmon had 13 for Fullerton. Jarrett finished with eight points, making three of four field-goal attempts. Forward Justin Lyons led Boise State with 15 points, and Jackson had 14.

“For the first time in a while, we played even with an opponent on rebounds, and that’s a telling statistic,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “If we stay even, we have a chance to be competitive.”

Each team had 31 rebounds, and they were even in shooting too--Fullerton hitting 40%, Boise State 40.8%. The Titans made 16 of 22 free throws to eight of 10 for the Broncos.

Harmon injured his left ankle twice during the game but played 31 minutes. “He turned it early, then stepped on Murphy’s foot and hurt it again,” Hawking said.

Fullerton struggled early, and didn’t break into double figures until slightly more than 12 minutes had elapsed. The Titans didn’t get much going until the final two minutes of the first half, when they outscored the Broncos, 8-2, for a 29-27 halftime lead.

Guard C.J. Williams, who had scored only five points in Boise State’s previous two Big West games, scored 13 in the first half.

“Our strategy was to sag off Williams and double up on the post,” Hawking said. “We had to change that in the second half, but that opened up Lyons more inside.”

The Titans threatened to take control midway through the second half, but Lyons scored seven consecutive Bronco points to keep the pressure on. Fullerton scored six consecutive points, four of them by Josh Fischer, to take a 52-47 lead with 3 1/2 minutes to play. Fisher made a key block that led to a fast-break layup by Murphy in that run.

“Boise State is real solid defensively,” Hawking said. “That’s the kind of game they like to play. We’ve had some real heated games with them the last couple of years. This time our guys got to celebrate at the end.”

Fullerton upset Boise State in the Big West tournament two seasons ago, but lost to the Broncos in the tournament last season.