Cal State Fullerton Barely Holds On to Beat Utah State, 73-72

Cal State Fullerton gave what might have been its most inspired performance of the season in scoring a 73-72 victory over Utah State Saturday night before 2,345 fans at Titan Gym.

Fullerton (7-6 overall and 2-2 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.) almost let the game get away at the end after leading by six with just 41 seconds remaining. Utah State (8-5 and 1-3) put together a frantic rally, causing a couple of turnovers and hitting two clutch three-pointers.

Kevin Henderson, who was switched from shooting guard to point guard three games ago, was a major factor in the Titans’ success, scoring 26 points. And it was his clutch free throws in a one-and-one situation with 10 seconds remaining that kept Jeff J. Anderson’s three-pointer at the horn from providing another chapter in Fullerton’s book of last-second losses.

Henderson is quickly becoming one of the PCAA’s most explosive offensive players, and he brought the Titan fans to their feet with some spectacular plays Saturday night:

--His double-pump, two-handed, around-the-head slam gave Fullerton a 27-20 lead late in the first half and had Titan Gym (and the backboard) rocking.

--He broke the Titan drought and Utah State’s 13-0 streak by creating his own shot (an 18-foot jumper that got nothing but net) when the rest of his teammates were standing around, then came right back with a steal and a layup to put Fullerton up by four.

--Later, he really showed his athletic ability by running down a long lead pass on the break and calmly flipping it behind him to Tony Neal as he flew out of bounds. Neal jammed it home, and the Titans led, 55-49.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of cheerful chatter in the Fullerton locker room these days, but everyone--even Coach George McQuarn--was smiling on this night.

“I have to be pleased with the overall performance,” McQuarn said. “We lost some concentration when we got up by 15, but like I said, we showed character tonight.”

The Titans shot 45% from the floor, with Gary Davis, who has been struggling at 36%, hitting 5 of 8 en route to 11 points.

Kerry Boagni, the 6-8 transfer from Kansas, scored 14 points and had a season-high 9 rebounds and 7 assists. And Neal, the Titans’ do-everything man underneath, finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.