CS Fullerton Surprises CS Long Beach, 93-70

Cal State Long Beach had the highlight of its season Thursday night, when it upset Nevada Las Vegas.

Saturday, it was Cal State Fullerton’s turn.

Fullerton, which lost seven straight games earlier this season and has struggled to its worst record in seven seasons, finished its regular season with a 93-70 blowout of Long Beach in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game before 2,305 at Titan Gym.

It was easily the Titans’ best game of the year.

“No question,” said George McQuarn, Fullerton coach. “We cannot play any better.”

The Titans (11-16, 7-11) jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half and withstood a Long Beach run that cut it to four to lead by eight at halftime.

Less than six minutes into the second half, Fullerton led by 18, and Long Beach was never close again.

When McQuarn pulled his first-string players--four of whom were seniors playing their last home game--with 1:16 to play, the lead was 27 points.

Long Beach (17-10, 11-7) never seemed to have much of a chance.

“I thought our season went one game too long,” said Joe Harrington, Cal State Long Beach coach.

Although Fullerton won by 23 points, each team made 26 field goals, and Long Beach made eight three-pointers, compared to one by Fullerton. The difference? Fullerton made 40 free throws in 50 attempts, both school records. Long Beach made 10 of 16.

Part of the discrepancy was caused by the 49ers’ persistence in fouling down the stretch, committing eight fouls in the final 1:15.

Still, it was a trend that started in the first half. The Titans made 18 of 22 in the half, and Long Beach made 4 of 5. Richard Morton, who finished with 28 points, made 9 of 9 free throws in the first half and 13 of 14 in the game.

Fullerton made 54% of its field-goal attempts in the game, compared to Long Beach’s 36%.

Morlon Wiley, who scored 19 points for the 49ers but missed several minutes in the second half after twisting an ankle, said he tried to avoid having a letdown after the win over UNLV.

“I tried to block that out,” he said. “Maybe I wanted it too much, because I forced up a lot of shots.”

The intensity of the rivalry between the schools has faded some, but players on both teams were aware that it has been some time since Long Beach won a game in Titan Gym. The last 49er victory in the gym was in 1975, although Long Beach beat the Titans in a Fullerton home game in the Anaheim Convention Center in 1980.

For Fullerton, it was the highlight of a late-season run in which the Titans won 5 of their last 6 games. Fullerton scored as many as 90 points only one other time this season, in a 106-60 victory over Brown University in December.

“It was our last time in Titan Gym and it was an emotional experience for us,” said Henry Turner, a senior, who scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds. Point guard Eugene Jackson, another senior, scored 17.