Fullerton Holds Off UC Irvine at End

Players made the key decisions and technology handled the crucial bit of officiating.

Clearly, Cal State Fullerton’s fifth consecutive victory resulted from some out-of-the-box moments, allowing the Titans to outlast UC Irvine, 71-70, Thursday in a Big West Conference game at the Bren Events Center.

Jamal Brown’s spinning bank shot gave the Titans a 69-68 lead. A favorable television review later allowed them to stay ahead, as Irvine’s Ross Schraeder shot two free throws instead of three with one second left.

In the end, Brown made 10 of 11 shots, scoring 22 points.

The game seemed to be a rout midway through the second half.

Yaphett King’s layup gave the Titans a 56-40 lead, but Irvine, 10-10 overall and 4-8 in the Big West, took advantage of Fullerton turnovers and ill-conceived shots to rally, taking a 68-67 lead with 1:41 left.

The Titans then relied on Brown, who vetoed Coach Bob Burton’s initial play during a timeout. Brown backed up his plan by spinning and faking, then making a an eight-foot bank shot with 25 seconds left to give Fullerton (13-7, 7-4) a 69-68 lead.

“I had called a different play [during a timeout], then Jamal said ‘No, give me the ball, I can take my guy inside,’ ” Burton said. “[Guard] Ralphy Holmes said to give it to Jamal too. If the players are that confident, you have to go with it.”

But Burton stood his ground moments later.

After Brown made two free throws with six seconds left to give the Titans a 71-68 lead, Schraeder was fouled on what referees said was a three-point shot attempt with 1.5 seconds left. Burton convinced referees to look at a television replay, which showed that Schraeder’s foot was on the three-point line.

Schraeder, an 83% free-throw shooter, made both shots. He finished with 21 points.

Chris Foster

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No. 24 Pacific 78, Idaho 56 -- David Doubley scored 21 points at Moscow, Idaho, to help the Tigers win their first game as a member of Associated Press’ Top 25.

Doubley connected on all five of his three-point shots as Pacific (19-2, 13-0 Big West) won its 15th game in a row and its 26th consecutive Big West game.

Idaho (8-15, 6-6) lost for the 10th time in the last 11 games against Pacific.

Long Beach State 58, UC Riverside 56 -- Jibril Hodges made seven of 10 shots from the field, including five three-pointers, and scored 24 points at Long Beach, as the 49ers (4-18, 2-10) ended a three-game losing streak and won for only the second time in their last 13 games.

Steve Williams had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Highlanders (3-8, 8-13), who dropped to 2-9 on the road.

Utah State 77, Cal State Northridge 57 -- Jaycee Carroll scored 22 points to lead four Aggies (18-5, 9-3) in double figures at Logan, Utah.

The Matadors (12-10, 9-4) were led in scoring by Ian Boylan, who scored 19. An aggressive trapping zone defense by Northridge caused 18 Aggie turnovers and gave the Matadors 13 steals.

Northridge led much of the first half, until a 10-2 run by the Aggies near the end of the half gave them momentum and a 36-26 halftime lead.

UC Davis 72, UC Santa Barbara 63 -- Ryan Moore had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Aggies as the Gauchos lost to a nonconference opponent at Davis, Calif.

Fowzi Abdelsamad had 13 points and Phil Rasmussen added 11 for the Aggies (9-14), who had lost eight straight to the Gauchos (8-13).