The Few, the Proud, the Titans Earn a Win at Cal Poly

Cal State Fullerton has been fighting a war of attrition all season, but it didn’t keep the Titans from winning a hard-nosed battle against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Thursday night.

The battered Titans ended a streak of six consecutive losses to the Mustangs with an 85-77 victory in front of 2,252 in Mott Gymnasium.

It was the second Big West Conference victory on the road for Fullerton (3-13, 2-4) and left the Titans ahead of Idaho and Cal Poly (6-10, 0-5) in the standings.

“This was a heck of a win for us,” Titan Coach Donny Daniels said.

Fullerton got season-high scoring performances from freshman guards Ryan Dillon and Chris Smith, as well as sophomore center Babacar Camara.

Dillon made six of nine three-point shots and finished with a game-high 20 points. Camara scored 16, with Smith getting 11. Guard Kevin Richardson had 17 after being held to three points in the first half. Guard David Castleton added 10 to put five Titans in double figures.

With potential starters Ike Harmon, Matt Caldwell and Brandon Campbell sidelined because of injury or illness, the Titans used only eight players.

“We’ve gotten so thin that we’ve had to use some coaches and trainers to run the scout-team plays in practice sometimes,” said Titan junior forward Josh Fischer, who had a game-high nine rebounds.

There also was some doubt that Smith would be ready to play because of back spasms before the game. “I told him we had to have him,” Daniels said. “He turned in a great effort. He played tough defense at the end and knocked down some clutch free throws.”

Smith made five free throws in the final 1 minute 24 seconds.

Dillon has been slowed by a sore hamstring, but made seven of 13 shots from the field for a team that shot 56.5% in the second half in achieving its season-high point total.

“Coach told me to be more aggressive and to look for my shots more, and I tried to do that,” Dillon said.

The Titans led, 37-31, at halftime with a big boost from Dillon, who was four for eight from the field and made three of five from three-point range. A spinning underhand bank shot from inside the circle in the final second by Smith produced the halftime lead.

Cal Poly was scoreless from the field in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the half. The Titans stayed in control and turned in a solid effort down the stretch.

“We didn’t have any long scoring lulls and that helped,” Daniels said. “Having only 12 turnovers on the road against an athletic team like this one also was a factor.”

The Titans led, 74-64, with 2:24 to play and by 13 points with 1:24 left.

“Fullerton did an excellent job of dictating the tempo on the offensive end,” said Kevin Bromley, Cal Poly’s interim coach. “Playing a team like that, you have to defend for the entire 35 seconds on the shot clock because they’re not going to shoot real quick.”