Utah State Routs Titans Feb. 20, 2003– Fullerton, Calif.
Box Score
Desmond Penigar scored 14 points and Spencer Nelson added 12 while each
had a game-high 7 rebounds Thursday night to lead Utah State to an easy
62-41 Big West Conference victory at Cal State Fullerton.
The Titans got 24 points from Ralphy Holmes but only 17 from the rest
of his teammates in falling to 7-16 overall and 5-8 in the Big West. Utah
State improved to 19-6 and 10-4 and moved into a tie with UC Santa Barbara
for first place after the Gauchos’ loss at Cal Poly.
The Aggies scored the first 9 points of the game and were never threatened,
gradually stretching the lead to 33-16 at the half. Fullerton shot only
26 per cent from the floor in the first 20 minutes while the Aggie hit
56 percent while dominating the boards by a 22-8 count.
The second half was anticlimactic with Utah State leading by as many as
28 points at 57-29 with 8 minutes to play. Fullerton got only as close
as 15 in the early minutes of the half.
Holmes, among the conference’s scoring leaders, had 11 of Fullerton’s
16 first-half points. He made 10 of 19 shots including 4 of 7 from 3-point
range. But the next high man was Zakee Smith with 6.
Utah State ended up shooting 51 percent while the Titans improved slightly
to 33 per cent. The Aggies won the battle of the boards, 37-22.
In the teams’ first meeting this year, Utah State won, 61-60, in
Logan.
Fullerton will try to regroup for a Saturday night home game vs. Idaho.
