Williams Keys Titans’ Fast Start

The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team is 9-5 heading into Thursday night’s home game against Utah State, and the Titans haven’t done that well since the 1992-93 season.

That team finished 15-12 in Brad Holland’s first year as head coach.

If the Titans keep playing as well as they have, they should have a shot at only their second winning season since the 1988-89 team coached by John Sneed went 16-13.

The keys to the improvement?

Strong play by senior power forward John Williams has been a big factor. Plus better ballhandling and more strength from the reserves.

Williams leads the team in scoring (17.9 points) and rebounding (7.9), and has scored 20 or more points in eight of the last nine games.

“They’ve been double- and triple-teaming him,� Coach Bob Hawking said. “That’s been a part of everyone’s strategy, but John has reacted well to it. He’s been able to deal with it emotionally as well as strategically. And when [opponents] have been putting a lot of pressure on him, he’s been able to look around and find the open man.�

Williams scored a career-high 28 points Saturday night against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and had 21 earlier in the week at UC Santa Barbara, even though he sat out half the game because of foul problems.

Williams has shot 62.5% from the floor in the last nine games and 53.7% for the season, but continues to be inconsistent at the free-throw line. He made only four of 11 against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is shooting 48.5% for the season.

“We keep working on it,� Hawking said. “John doesn’t have any mechanical flaws, but some players just have problems with free throws. We try to not make a big deal of it because sometimes that can hurt more than help. He’s had some games where he’s shot very well at the free-throw line.�

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Hawking also has been pleased with the way the Titans are keeping their turnovers down.

“There were times last season when we were a turnover circus,� Hawking said. “But this year we haven’t had one game with as many as 20 turnovers. Our goal each game is to make no more than 15, and we’ve had only three games when we haven’t done that. Coming out of the Cal Poly game with only 15 turnovers against their full-court press was very important.�

Chris St. Clair, who sat out most of last season because of injury, and Ali Nayab have given Fullerton more consistency at point guard this year. Hawking also has the option of having them in the lineup at the same time, with St. Clair moving to the second guard.

Better bench strength in general has helped.

Freshman Dane Plock from Estancia High has given the Titans a fourth solid guard, and he ranks as one of the team’s best three-point shooters. “He’s contributed a lot as a freshman,� Hawking said.

Mark Richardson, who started on the front line most of last season as a freshman, had struggled as a reserve this year before getting 10 points and eight rebounds against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“He’s had some back problems, then got the flu, and has had to battle a couple of other minor injuries,� Hawking said. “But getting an effort like that from him can really help because of what it can do to take some of the pressure off Williams.�

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Fullerton will play its first game against a team from the Eastern Division Thursday, when the Titans host Utah State.

“They look very good on film,� Hawking said. “They have good balance, a lot of athletic ability inside and are well-coached, so they will be a tough test for us.�

Utah State is 12-4, 5-0 in the Big West. Their losses were against Utah, Brigham Young, Colorado State and Southern Illinois.

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The Titan baseball team begins its regular season Tuesday at Cal State Northridge, and one newcomer to the starting lineup, sophomore outfielder Aaron Rowand, appears likely to be a key player.

Rowand was one of the standouts at the Team USA tryouts in Tampa this month. Rowand was six for 12, including a triple and a double, in the intrasquad games. He drove in four runs.

Two other Fullerton players were invited to the tryouts. Freshman catcher Craig Patterson had three hits in seven at-bats, and freshman second baseman Ryan Owens was one for six.

A total of 65 players took part in the tryout camp, with 40 expected to be invited back for the summer. The final roster will be cut to 25 before the team begins international competition.

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Performances in her first two meets indicate that gymnast Alexis Lott isn’t back in the form she was before sitting out last season because of a knee injury that required surgery. Her scores in Fullerton’s victory over UC Davis last weekend were 8.8 on the bars, 9.175 on the beam and 9.325 in floor exercise. . . . The Titan women’s basketball team that started the season 5-1 has lost eight consecutive games and is 0-4 in the conference. . . . The Titan softball team will play its season opener at home Feb. 9 against Stanford.