Titan Shooting Goes Cold in Idaho

Boise State shut down Cal State Fullerton’s outside shooting, and the rest was easy for the Broncos Thursday night.

The Broncos shot 60.5% from the field to 33.9% for the Titans in a 75-55 Boise State victory in front of 7,405 at the BSU Pavilion.

Boise State improved to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in the Big West Conference and plays at home Saturday night against UC Irvine. It was the fourth consecutive loss for Fullerton (3-17, 2-8).

“We just couldn’t hit any shots this time,” Titan Coach Donny Daniels said.

Fullerton freshman guard Ryan Dillon, who made a school-record 10 three-point shots in 15 attempts when Boise State won by eight points last week in Fullerton, was two of 11 from behind the arc this time.

“I felt like I got some good shots again, but they just didn’t fall,” Dillon said. “They pressured me, but I was surprised at some of the looks I got.”

The Broncos took advantage of their strength inside. Forward Abe Jackson scored 19 points, Delvin Armstrong had 15 and Richard Morgan 12. Guard Kevin Richardson was the only Titan player in double figures with 18 points.

“I thought we did as good a job defensively as we have in a long time in the first half,” Boise State Coach Rod Jensen said. “A week ago [Fullerton] got 76 points and tonight they got 55, and that’s definitely an improvement.

“But we saw how quickly Fullerton can score the last time, and we tried to make sure we knew where Dillon was all the time.”

Daniels said he was impressed with Boise State’s inside game.

“They’re a good shooting team, and a good defensive team,” Daniels said. “In this game, they did an excellent job of getting the ball inside.

“Our effort was good, and we did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half, but we just didn’t hit the shots. If Dillon doesn’t hit shots, the last game could have been like this.”

Fullerton point guard David Castleton suffered a dislocated shoulder in the second half and his status for Saturday night’s game at Utah State is uncertain.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened to me,” Castleton said. “It’s an old football injury.”

Boise State’s second leading scorer, senior forward Kejuan Woods, sat out his second consecutive game as part of a two-game NCAA suspension because of an eligibility issue.

Woods, averaging 12.3 points, is expected back for the game against Irvine.

The Broncos still had plenty of depth to get past the Titans.

Fullerton didn’t get its first field goal until seven minutes into the game on a jump shot by Richardson, but still trailed only 9-4 at that point.

Dillon made consecutive three-point shots to keep the Titans close, but strong play by Jackson and Morgan carried the Broncos to a 30-18 halftime lead.

Boise State shot 61% in the first half to 25.9% for Fullerton.

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Big West Standings

Through Thursday’s games

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Conference Overall Team W L Pct. W L Pct. UC Irvine 9 1 .900 17 3 .850 Utah State 9 1 .900 20 3 .870 UC Santa Barbara 6 4 .600 9 11 .450 Boise State 5 4 .556 13 9 .591 Long Beach State 5 5 .500 12 11 .522 Pacific 5 5 .500 13 8 .619 Cal Poly SLO 2 7 .222 8 12 .400 CS Fullerton 2 8 .200 3 17 .150 Idaho 1 9 .100 4 17 .190

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Thursday’s results

Boise State 75, Cal State Fullerton 55

Cal Poly SLO 103, Long Beach State 88

UC Santa Barbara 69, Idaho 67

Utah State 67, UC Irvine 52