Titans Put Worst Foot Forward

IRVINE — Cal State Fullerton had beaten UC Irvine in its last four trips to the Bren Center, and the Titans might have made it five in row Saturday night if it hadn’t been for a bad first half.

“I think that was the difference in the game,” Titan forward John Williams said. “If we played the whole game the way we played the second half, I think we could have won by maybe 10 points.”

As it turned out, Irvine won by that margin, 85-75, to remain in the thick of the Big West basketball title race as Fullerton walked away with its fifth consecutive loss.

Williams’ play mirrored the Titans’ plight. He finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but he had only four points in the first half and was one for seven from the field. “I know I was a lot more intense in the second half,” Williams said. “I knew the team needed it.”

The Titans fell behind at halftime, 44-33, but made a run in the second half. They were down by only five points, 75-70, with slightly more than three minutes left before Irvine finished strong.

“We came out determined to beat them again, but we just didn’t get the job done “ said Titan guard Chris Dade, who led the Titans with 18 points.

Dade had scored a career-high 28 points to spark Fullerton’s upset of the Anteaters the last time the two teams met this season in Titan Gym. “We only played 25 or 30 minutes of good basketball and you can’t do that against a team as good as Irvine is,” he said.

Dade said he was hoping for a night such as the one he had against Irvine earlier this season when he sank his first three-point shot less than a minute into the game. Dade made seven of eight three-point shots in the earlier game and finished with 28 points. This time he was five for nine from the field and seven of eight on free throws.

Dade also sat out more than six minutes early in the second half when he picked up his fourth foul less than three minutes after the break. He scored only four points the rest of the way.

“We had all kinds of foul trouble that caused us to go with some strange matchups,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. He said forward Mark Richardson was unavailable in the second half with a broken little finger, forcing a four-guard lineup at times.

The Titans had 19 turnovers in the first half, but only six in the second.

Titan guard Brian Thomas also was looking for answers on the difference in the team in the second half. “I think maybe we just were trying too hard in the first half,” he said. “I know I was. I felt liked I played better after I relaxed more in the second half.”