SOUTHLAND ROUNDUP

UC Riverside 68, Cal State Fullerton 60--The host Highlanders pulled through in the end to defeat the Titans in a Big West game between teams fighting for survival.

John Galbreath had 19 points, Lloyd Cook added 14 and Vili Morton finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for Riverside. Mark Miller came off the bench to score 13, including making four free throws down the stretch to hold off the Titans.

It wasn’t a pretty effort as the Highlanders (6-7, 3-2) committed 22 turnovers and had enough problems to let the Titans hang around.

“We battled the whole way through,” Cook said. “They were competitive the whole game and I don’t think a lot of people recognize how good that team really is.”

Fullerton (3-11, 0-5) can appreciate the kind words but they aren’t helping the Titans win.

Fullerton has lost seven games by 10 points or fewer and are doing it with a familiar storyline. They play hard but can’t come up with the key plays at the right time. They continued a season-long pattern of poor shooting. The Titans made only 17 of 63 shots and their 27% shooting was the worst since 1995. They also missed 14 of 36 free throws.