Even the Walk-On Gets In on 84-53 Titan Runaway

Cal State Fullerton blitzed New Mexico State, 84-53, at Titan Gym Wednesday night, and to know just how badly the Titans beat the Aggies is to know Kenny Spears.

Spears is a basketball player at Fullerton--or so the rumor goes. Don’t look for him in the Titans’ media guide. He isn’t listed.

Actually, he’s a freshman guard from San Gorgonio High, a walk-on who has practiced with the Titans from Day One but, only through player attrition, began suiting up for games last week.

So, how does Spears figure in this story? Well, for one minute Wednesday night, Spears accomplished the unimaginable.

He played.

And that, as much as anything else, sums up the way things went for the streaking Titans, lead by Tony Neal’s 24 points, and the staggering Aggies.

Fullerton (10-8 overall, 6-3 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.) had never defeated a conference opponent by so great a margin as the 31 points Wednesday night.

En route, Fullerton:

--Shot 56% from the field (34 of 61) while restricting New Mexico State to 34%--and just 25% in the second half.

--Outrebounded the Aggies, 44-32, for the game and 30-16 for the second half.

--Put the clamp down on New Mexico State’s three-point jump-shot assault, which produced PCAA records for most three-point attempts (30) and conversions (12) Saturday night against UC Irvine. Wednesday night against Fullerton, the Aggies’ long-range artists drew a big zero--as in zero-for-12.

By the time Round Two was over--and for all intents, this one was over early--Fullerton had won for the fifth time in its last six games, New Mexico State (6-12, 3-6) had lost for the fifth straight game, and everyone on the Titan roster had got in some playing time.

Even Kenny Spears.