Fullerton Takes Another Body Blow

Beaten up both in body and spirit, Cal State Fullerton was thoroughly battered by Pacific in the teams’ Big West Conference opener Thursday night at the Spanos Center.

Twelve of the 13 Pacific players in uniform scored and the Tigers won, 79-50, in front of an announced crowd of 3,033. Pacific (9-3) is 7-0 at home, while Fullerton (1-10), which has not won here in 12 years, lost its seventh in a row.

“You can’t get beat by 29 points and find a silver lining,” first-year Fullerton Coach Donny Daniels said. “We are who we are. We’re a work in progress.”

The Tigers used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to take control.

“We let the games get away from us,” Daniels said. “We have to make a commitment to defense and to the game plan. The players know it. They have to execute it.”

It didn’t help, either, that the Titans weren’t at full strength at several positions.

Center Matt Caldwell remains at his parents’ home in Arizona with swollen lymph nodes. He’ll be sidelined at least until Tuesday, when results from medical tests are expected to be ready, a school spokesman said.

Guard Ryan Dillon, who did not practice this week, was slowed by a pulled quadriceps in his right leg and played only 14 minutes. Senior forward Ike Harmon was knocked around by the physical Tigers and came up limping at the 13:31 mark of the second half after he fouled Peter Heizer on a three-point try. Harmon fell and hit his knees on the floor, where he remained for about a minute. He got up, though, and finished with a team-high 13 points.

Heizer led all scorers with 19 points and forward Mike Hahn had 12.

“The way we’ve been playing and the way they have been playing, we should win this game, but not by 29 points,” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said.

If their was a positive development for the Titans, it was the way they outshot Pacific in the first half at Spanos, usually a difficult place for visiting teams to find their range. Fullerton made 11 of 23 field-goal tries (47.8%). Pacific made 12 of 31 (38.7%), but still led, 40-25, at halftime.

The Tigers put it away in the first eight minutes of the second half, outscoring the Titans, 14-0, on their way to a 60-32 lead.

Pacific made only five of its first 19 shots and led only 20-17 with 9:45 remaining in the first half.

Their first big run began with a pair of free throws by 6-9 center Mike Preston and two more by Heizer.

Seconds later Heizer stole a Titan pass and his lay-in at the other end made it 26-17. Tim Johnson, a 6-10 center, finished the rally, scoring the last five points with two baskets and a free throw.