Fullerton holds off pesky Riverside

It seemed like a mismatch when Cal State Fullerton, which finished tied for first in the conference, met seventh-place UC Riverside in a Big West Conference tournament quarterfinal, but still, Titans Coach Bob Burton had concerns.

And for good reason.

The Titans had to survive a second-half scare before finally putting away the Highlanders, 81-69, in a quarterfinal Thursday night at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Fullerton (22-8) appeared headed to the blowout victory many had predicted when they took a 69-51 lead with 8:18 to play, but the pesky Highlanders (9-21) wouldn’t go away, trimming the lead to 75-66 with 2:41 remaining.

The Highlanders made only one field goal after that, however and the Titans made six of seven free throws down the stretch to hold on.

“I was really worried about this game,” Burton said. “I’m really happy to get this one out of the way and we’re looking forward obviously to playing” in the semifinals.

A blowout victory would have given Burton a chance to rest some of his regulars, rest that could have come in handy because the Titans will have to win two more games in two days to win the title.

Fullerton, seeded No. 3 because of conference tiebreakers, will meet No. 2-seeded Cal State Northridge tonight at 8 with a spot in the title game on the line. The Matadors will be playing their first game since last Saturday.

The teams split their two games in the regular season, with each team winning on the other’s home floor.

“We play a lot of guys, so I don’t think tired is going to be a factor for us,” said Burton, who used a nine-man rotation Thursday.

Frank Robinson had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Titans and Josh Akognon had 20 points. Forward Scott Cutley, the Big West co-player of the year, had an off night with 10 points on four-of-12 shooting.

“We ran into a buzz saw, particularly in that first half and we played a team that took us out of a lot of things we wanted to try and get done,” Riverside Coach Jim Woolridge said. “To play catch up against this team was too much for us.”

UC Irvine 57, Pacific 56 -- Patrick Sanders blocked a shot by Pacific’s Michael Kirby as time expired, ending a comeback bid by the Tigers against the fifth-seeded Anteaters.

Irvine (17-15) led, 47-33, with 9:44 to play, but did not make a field goal for the rest of the game. Pacific (21-10) used a full-court press to create five turnovers in the final three minutes, but could not overcome 36% shooting for the game. It led the conference in shooting at 49.7% in the regular season. The Anteaters will play top-seeded UC Santa Barbara today. The Gauchos were swept by Irvine in the regular season.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com