Titans Finally Come Through in Clutch

The swarm of media crowded in Cal State Fullerton Coach George McQuarn’s office on Monday night wasn’t on hand to question him about the Titans’ Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. battle against Fresno State. McQuarn’s postgame meetings usually draw about three reporters and he doesn’t exactly have wrinkles from squinting into television lights.

Most of these journalists were more interested in the bizarre circumstances surrounding the abduction and robbery of Titan star Tony Neal on Saturday.

Neal didn’t shed much light on the incident during a brief postgame press conference and those who watched the game while waiting were probably having just as much trouble sorting out the events on the floor--despite being eyewitnesses.

Fullerton went almost 14 minutes without making a field goal in the second half and shot just 29% from the floor after the intermission, but still managed to come from behind to beat the Bulldogs, 52-51, on Kerry Boagni’s miraculous tip-in with one second remaining.

Boagni had been shoved to the floor on a jumper attempt with six seconds left, but no fouls were called and the Titans were awarded possession of the ball after a scramble underneath. Kevin Henderson inbounded the ball with a handoff to Neal, who tried a 12-foot fall-away jumper that bounded off the rim and well over Boagni’s head.

But Boagni, with his right arm stretched straight out behind him, got the ball on his fingertips and shoved it back up in the air. It went eight feet up above the basket and then straight down through.

Many of the 3,722 in Titan Gym swarmed onto the court to celebrate Fullerton’s seventh win in eight games. The victory boosted the Titans’ conference mark to 8-3 and 12-8 overall. Fresno State is 8-2 and 13-6.

The last four Titan-Bulldog games have been decided by either one or two points, but this one was a visitor from the Twilight Zone. The Titans shot 61% in the first half and were leading, 29-22, with two minutes left in the half.

But Fresno, always slowing the tempo as much as the 45-second clock would allow and playing the tenacious defense which has been its trademark, outscored Fullerton, 26-12, in a weird 18-minute span after that to take a five-point lead (48-43) with 4:30 to play.

At that point, two Neal field goals and 10 free throws were the extent of Fullerton’s second-half offense. But Henderson drove for a layup, Neal hit a short follow shot and then Henderson drilled home a 21-foot, three-pointer to give the Titans a 50-49 margin with 1:11 left.

“That three-pointer really changed things,” Fresno State Coach Boyd Grant understated.

Jos Kuipers, a 6-8 junior from Hoensbroek, Holland, followed Mitch Arnold’s missed shot to put the Bulldogs back up by one with 24 seconds left before the Titans--who lost four games in overtime and four more by one point last year--finally came through in the clutch.

Just one of those things, right?

“Dang, we were due ,” McQuarn yelled afterward. “We showed courage tonight, coming back against this team when we were down by eight. Trailing this team by eight isn’t like trailing a team like Irvine by eight. Fresno State is gonna control the tempo and we showed tonight we can win playing a slow-down game, too.

“This was a big win, a really big win.”

Henderson led all scorers with 16 points. Boagni, who had eight points in less than three minutes after tipoff, finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds. And Neal, who finally faced the press but didn’t answer many questions, had 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Center Scott Barnes (15 points, 8 rebounds) and Kuipers (14 points) led the Bulldogs.