Titans Squander Big Lead, but Ward Comes to Rescue : Basketball: Senior is 15 of 19 from field and sinks two free throws with two seconds left to seal 98-94 victory over Portland.

PORTLAND, Ore. —  No lead is safe around the Cal State Fullerton basketball team. After blowing five-point second-half leads in recent losses at Butler and Eastern Illinois, the Titans were one basket away from catastrophe when Portland trimmed a 21-point second-half deficit to two in the final minute Saturday night.

But Agee Ward, who scored 35 points and pulled down 15 rebounds (both career-high totals), sank two free throws with two seconds left to secure Fullerton’s 98-94 victory over the Pilots.

Ward, a senior forward, made 15 of 19 shots to tie a Chiles Center record of 15 field goals, set by Loyola Marymount’s Bo Kimble in 1990. It also tied a Titan Division I field-goal record, held by Leon Wood and Cedric Ceballos.

Bruce Bowen added a career-high 28 points, including 19 in the second half, and Joe Small had 16 points and five assists as the Titans (2-3) stopped a three-game losing streak. The Pilots (2-4) lost their fourth straight.

A crowd of 1,259 watched Fullerton use its superior inside height and ability and a good running game to build a 74-53 lead with 11:18 left. The Titans outrebounded Portland, 48-29, grabbing 20 offensive boards compared to the Pilots’ 12.

Eight of Fullerton’s 36 field goals came on follow shots, six came on dunks and four on inside jumpers. The Titans shot a season-best 53.7% from the field (36 of 67).

But Fullerton stopped attacking the basket and pushing the ball upcourt and Portland finally began hitting its outside shots, making six three-pointers in the last six minutes.

Combine that with some poor Titan free-throw shooting--Fullerton made only five of 10 foul shots in the last 1:32--and some sloppy ball-handling--the Titans committed 25 turnovers--and it’s easy to see how Fullerton blew the big lead.

“We built the lead through our running game and rebounding, and we stopped doing that--we got tentative,” Titan Coach John Sneed said. “They made some desperation threes in the end and we missed some free throws. Otherwise, I don’t think the score would have been that close. But it’s a road win, and we’ll take that.”

It marked Fullerton’s first road victory in 10 tries dating back to last Jan. 2, when the Titans won at Fresno State.

Portland forward Uba Satterfield scored a team-high 22 points, including an off-balance three-pointer with 32 seconds left that cut Fullerton’s lead to 93-91. Joe Small connected with Ward on a long pass for a dunk, and Small made one of two free throws for a 96-91 lead with 14 seconds left.

But Peter McKelvey, who scored 13 points, made a three-pointer with nine seconds to go to make it 96-94. Small again found Ward for a dunk attempt, but Ward missed and was fouled. His two free throws with two seconds left secured the victory.

Brenton Moore added 21 points and Grant Tracy had 18 for the Pilots, who outscored the Titans, 41-24, in the final 11:18.

“When we got the lead, we knew we were away from home and we couldn’t do anything wrong,” Bowen said. “We’ve got to learn to play with the lead. Usually, we get a lead and slack off. You saw that at Butler and Eastern Illinois. But we’re still young.”

Bowen did most of his damage at the start of the second half. Portland went to a diamond-and-one offense, keying on Small, and left Bowen wide open on the perimeter. After Kevin Ahsmuhs’ follow shot to open the half, Bowen scored Fullerton’s next 12 points, making two three-point shots.

That helped the Titans build a 62-47 lead with 15:10 left, a cushion that evaporated soon thereafter.

“We did some very good things tonight--our press offense was excellent, we executed well against their diamond-and-one and we did a great job feeding the post,” Sneed said. “But we made some foolish plays down the stretch.”