SOUTHLAND ROUNDUP

UC Santa Barbara 74, Cal State Fullerton 71--The Titans had a shot at ending a long losing streak, but let it slip away.

UC Santa Barbara made four free throws in the final 14 seconds for a Big West Conference victory at Titan Gym. It was the first road victory in six games this season for the Gauchos.

Ike Harmon scored on a layup off a steal by reserve guard Chris Smith with 38 seconds left to give the Titans a one-point lead, but the Gauchos (5-7, 2-0) got two free throws each from Mark Hull and Branduinn Fullove to hand the Titans (1-12, 0-3) their ninth loss in a row.

“It was a toughness issue,” Titan Coach Donny Daniels said. “We battled back, but it came down to toughness, and we didn’t have it. It would have been nice if we could have gotten one tough defensive stop late when we needed it.”

After Hull’s free throws gave Santa Barbara a 72-71 lead, Fullerton took a timeout with 14 seconds left. Smith, a 5-foot-9 point guard, dribbled the length of the floor only to have two shots from close range blocked. Fullove made two free throws with one second left.

Santa Barbara made 28 of 34 free throws with Fullove, a freshman, making 13 of 14. Fullove led four Titans in double figures with a game-high 22 points.

Harmon led Fullerton with 17 points.

The Titans again were troubled by a lack of depth. Center Matt Caldwell remained sidelined at his family’s home in Peoria, Ariz., because of swollen lymph nodes, and freshman forward Joe Travis, who had started the last three games, didn’t play because of problems with his left knee.