Fullerton Rallies Past Utah State

Utah State isn’t the defining Big West Conference power that it has been in recent seasons, but the Aggies were the credible opponent that Cal State Fullerton needed to defeat to give credence to its vast improvement this season.

In clinching their first winning season in 12 years, the Titans came up with a 64-60 victory Saturday in front of 1,417 at Fullerton that will go down as one of their most meaningful in recent seasons.

Fullerton, 15-8 overall and 9-5 in the Big West, defeated Utah State for only the third time in the last 24 meetings. The Titans are half a game behind the third-place Aggies.

“This is the first time we beat a really good team,” said guard Ralphy Holmes, who had 16 points. “Now we’ve got to take care of the teams we’re supposed to beat.”

It was the play of forward Yaphett King that proved decisive against an Aggie team that had won each of its previous five road games by 24 points or more. King led a second-half charge after the Titans trailed by eight points at halftime before making his biggest shot with 39.6 seconds left.

With Fullerton leading, 59-58, Holmes drew a double team on the right wing and passed to King. The senior, who had 17 points, stepped back behind the three-point line and gave the Titans a four-point advantage.

“It’s one of those shots you work on all the time,” King said. “Just like the ones you dream about when the time is running down.”

Said Fullerton Coach Bob Burton of King: “He’s just been terrific for us this year.”

Utah State (19-7, 10-5) fell one game behind Cal State Northridge for second place. The Aggies had an opportunity to tie the score with eight seconds left, but Fullerton’s Bobby Brown stripped Spencer Nelson on the way up for a three-point attempt. Brown led the Titans with 18 points.

The Titans held the nation’s top shooting team to 44% in the second half and forced 19 turnovers. Nelson had a game-high 24 points but none in the last 4 minutes 26 seconds.

“Switching [forward] Jamaal Brown on to Nelson made all the difference in the world,” Burton said.

At the conclusion of the game, university police handcuffed three men for running onto the court and led the individuals out of the gymnasium.

-- Eric Stephens

UC Riverside 63, Idaho 62 -- Rickey Porter made a layup at the buzzer and the host Highlanders (9-15, 4-10) ended a three-game losing streak and kept their hopes alive for a spot in the conference tournament.

The Vandals (8-18, 6-9) led, 59-58, after Anton Lyons converted a three-point play with 1:41 to play.

UC Santa Barbara 78, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 66 -- Chrismen Oliver, Alex Harris and Joe See each scored 16 points to lift the Gauchos (9-14, 6-8) at San Luis Obispo.

The Mustangs (4-19, 2-12) got a career-high 24 points from Mike Titchenal and a career-high 20 points from Glenn Jones.

UC Irvine 77, UC Davis 66 -- Jeff Gloger scored 20 points to tie his career best and lead the Anteaters (12-11) in a nonconference game at Irvine.

Rommel Marentez scored 16 points for the Aggies (10-15).