Titans Win by Technical Knockout

There wasn’t any debate about the turning point in Cal State Fullerton’s 82-74 Big West Conference victory over Idaho Saturday night in Titan Gym.

The Titans scored six consecutive points in 22 seconds in the second half, helped by an intentional foul and a technical against Idaho, and stretched their home-court winning streak to six games.

The game turned with slightly more than five minutes left when the Titans’ Brandon Campbell was knocked down from behind by the Vandals’ Gordon Scott after Campbell broke away on a fast break.

Campbell made both free throws, and Idaho Coach David Farrar was called for a technical when he went on the floor to protest the call during the timeout that followed.

That set up two more free throws by Mark Murphy, and Ike Harmon then scored on the inbounds play, giving Fullerton a nine-point lead.

“That gave us confidence and enabled us to play a lot more freely after that,” Titan sophomore center Josh Fischer said.

The victory gave Fullerton (7-8, 2-2) a sweep of the conference’s two Idaho teams and its first victory over the Vandals in four games. Idaho dropped to 7-9, 1-3 in the conference. Fullerton beat Boise State by two points Thursday at home.

“Our kids played real well,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “You couldn’t ask for more than we got in this one with everyone contributing.

Campbell led the Titans with 19 points. Harmon and Kenroy Jarrett each had 15, with Fischer getting a career-high 14 and Murphy 10. Campbell was seven of 12 from the field and two for two on three-point shots.

“I’m confident in my shooting now,” Campbell said. “I’ve done a lot of extra work on it, and it’s helped.”

Farrar didn’t doubt how important Fullerton’s quick six-point run was. “It certainly wasn’t ideal for us,” he said. “We had some problems with flows during the game, and that was the biggest one.”

Farrar said he didn’t think Scott tripped Campbell from behind. “I thought he was going for the ball,” Farrar said. “I think you usually get a technical when you’re right, but it’s my responsibility to not take my team out of a game.”

Campbell said he had doubts that Scott was going for the ball on the play. “The ball was in one hand and he hit me in the other,” Campbell said.

Hawking thought one of the keys was his team’s ability to stay even with the Vandals in rebounding, each team getting 27. “When we can do that, or have an advantage, it helps us a lot,” Hawking said.

Harmon had eight rebounds despite being slowed by an ankle he sprained against Boise State. “It was still sore, and I didn’t practice [Friday], but I was able to play through it,” Harmon said.

The Titans overcame strong inside play by center Idaho’s Kaniel Dickens and Clifford Gray. Dickens scored 22 and Gray finished with 16, but the Titans held Scott to only two three-pointers in 10 attempts and 14 points.

“That was a great effort by Kenroy on Scott,” Hawking said. “He didn’t get any real good looks at the basket. But Dickens was a real force for them inside.”

Both teams shot well. Fullerton was 30 of 55 (54.5%) and Idaho made 31 of 57 (54.4%). The Titans were 15 of 18 at the free-throw line and seven of 15 on three-point shots.

The victory marked the first time Fullerton has won six games in a row at home in the same season since the 1992-93 team won its first seven at home in Brad Holland’s first year as head coach.