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Titans
Seek First Tourney Win Since 1998 Mar. 8, 2004 – Anaheim, Calif. UPCOMING: Wed., Mar. 10 -- vs. Cal State Northridge, Big West Conference Tournament, Anaheim Convention Center Arena, approx. 8:15 p.m. Thur., Mar. 11 -- If victorious vs. CSUN, would play either UC Santa Barbara or Idaho. THE QUICK SCENARIO: The Titans (11-16, 7-11) gained the tournament field with a season finale win at Cal State Northridge and now have the opportunity to post the program’s first post-season win since 1998, when Fullerton beat Boise State in the first round at Reno. Since then, Fullerton lost in the semifinals in 1998 to Utah State and then lost to Boise State in the first round in 1999 and Utah State in 2001 and 2003. Fullerton’s all-time tourney record is 14-24 with one title in 1978. “RADIO”: All games can be heard live on the internet on computers with sound cards. Listeners may access the CSF Athletics home page at www.titansports.org and follow the links. Todd Reeves and Steve Henkle will be at the microphones and the games also will be heard on KWRM (1370 AM). TELEVISION: The tournament quarterfinals on Thursday and semifinals on Friday will be televised on KVMD TV and the Saturday title game is on ESPN. PROBABLE STARTERS: No. Name Ht. Yr. ppg rpg Quick Note G 25 Zakee Smith* 6-0 Sr. 2.3 1.3 Had a season-high 10 assists at CSUN, now at 213 in his 2-year Titan career G 3 Anthony Bolton* 6-7 Sr. 12.5 4.9 Had career-high 26 points vs. Cal Poly; played 50 minutes vs. UCSB C 11 Pape Sow** 6-10 Jr. 17.1 9.9 Big West player of the week last week with 47 points, 20 rebounds G 21 Yaphett King 6-4 Jr. 9.0 5.0 His 23 points at CSUN matched his career high F 40 Bron Groomes* 6-7 Sr. 6.4 3.5 Had two highest scoring games vs. Cal Poly -- 14 there and 13 at home OFF THE BENCH: G 2 Bobby Brown 6-1 Fr. 13.1 2.0 Highest scoring freshman in CSF history; ranks 5th in season treys with 64 F 24 Hardy Asprilla 6-5 Jr. 4.6 5.0 Grabbed season-high 11 rebounds to go with high of 10 points vs. UCSB C 12 Babacar Camara** 6-11 Sr. 1.2 1.6 Averaging about 7 minutes in relief of cousin Sow F 1 Brian Pruitt 6-5 Jr. 4.0 2.2 Has played only 46 minutes over the team’s last 17 games *previous letters earned ABOUT THE MATADORS: Cal State Northridge (11-15, 7-11) finished the season with a pair of home losses to teams desperate to gain the post-season tournament in UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton after Coach Bobby Braswell lifted the suspensions of juniors Joseph Frazier and Chris Davis, who had been out for 11 games. Off the bench Thursday, Frazier scored 2 points and had 2 rebounds in 23 minutes and Davis had 3 points and 4 boards in 9 minutes. On Saturday vs. the Titans, Frazier led the Matadors with 14 points and Davis had 4. Five Matadors average in double figures led by Eto Onyenegecha at 14.3 ppg. He’s also the top rebounder at 6.7 rpg. SERIES HISTORY: Fullerton regained the all-time lead at 23-22 with its 95-70 victory at Northridge on Saturday night. Fullerton has had only one more lopsided road win the the last 20 years, a 32-point win over a 1-25 UC Irvine team in 1997. The Matadors won the first matchup this season, 61-55, in Titan Gym on Jan. 3. The Matadors are 4-2 vs. the Titans in Big West Conference play. This will be their first tournament meeting. THE COACHES: Bobby Braswell is 122-109 in his 8th year at CSUN and career. He is 4-2 vs. Fullerton and 1-1 vs. Burton. Bob Burton is 11-16 in his first season at Fullerton and the Div. I level. He was 488-158 in 21 seasons at West Valley Community College in Saratoga in northern California. He also served two one-season stints as a Div. I assistant at Utah and Fresno State. HALL OF FAME FOR BURTON: Coach Burton will be inducted into the California Community College Men’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Friday in conjunction with the state tournament to be held in San Diego. Joining Burton will be Coach John Chambers from Mt. San Jacinto and Barstow Colleges and Coach Keith Hughes of College of the Sequoias and Reedley College. Two Titan victories in Anaheim would change his itinerary. ROSTER AT NINE, BUT ONLY SEVEN PLAY MUCH: Fullerton’s playing roster has stabilized at nine available players. Since conference play started, the Titans lost Anthony Bolton for five games due to academic problems and have been without reserve guard Denver Lopez, who returned to the Philippines because of his ailing father. In early February, senior guard Derick Andrew was dismissed from the team and his replacement, David Warsaw, withdrew from the team due to personal problems. ON THE ROAD: Fullerton is 3-10 this year, winning only at Pepperdine, Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge. The Titans were 4-13 last year, which was better than any of the three previous seasons -- 1-13 in 2001-02; 2-11 in 2000-01 and 2-12 in 1999-2000. The last winning road record was 8-6 by Coach John Sneed’s 1988-89 team AT HOME: Fullerton finished 8-6 this year in Titan Gym, 5-4 in Big West Conference play, for its winning record at home since going 10-3 in 1998-99. Three of this season’s home losses came in overtime and the regulation defeats were by 4, 6 and 8 points in games in which the Titans led in the final three minutes. The all-time (Div. I) Titan Gym record is 233-140 (.625). CLOSE CALLS ALMOST EVERYWHERE: Of Fullerton’s 16 losses, 12 have come by 10 points or less. And of those 12, the Titans held a second-half lead in 8 of them (Sacramento St., USC, LMU, CSUN, UoP, UCR, Utah State and UCSB). The Titans led in the final 5 minutes against all but Sacramento. CRUNCHED TIME: If games could go selectively slightly less than 40 minutes, the Titans would be 18-9, to wit: • at USC - if 39 minutes=WIN... Fullerton leads all of the second half except the final 56 seconds, when Desmon Farmer hits a trey to tie a game which goes into overtime, where Fullerton never leads and loses, 96-90. • vs. LMU - if 38:45=WIN... Bolton free throws at 1:19 put CSF up, 67-66. But Charles Brown hits a trey at 1:14 and LMU wins, 71-67. • vs. CSU Northridge - if 38:00= WIN... Brown free throws at 2:18 put CSF up, 52-51. But Davin White hits a 3-pointer at 1:55 and Eto Onyenegecha hits another at 0:57 and CSUN wins, 61-55. • vs. Pacific - if 38:49=WIN... Fullerton takes 58-56 lead at 1:26 on Sow jumper but Christian Maraker free throws at 1:11 force overtime, where Brown runner at 1:49 gives CSF a 64-60 lead. But Maraker makes a two and David Doubley drills a 3-pointer at 1:10 for a 65- 64 UoP lead and the Tigers win, 66-64. • at UC Riverside - if 36:30=WIN... Fullerton takes 56-55 lead on Brown layup but Mark Peters free throw ties it and Rickey Porter puts UCR ahead for good at 60-58 with 1:46 to play. • vs. Utah State - if 37:00=WIN... Brown’s 3-pointer at 3:00 puts Fullerton ahead, 49-48, but Chad Evans free throws at 2:34 put USU ahead to stay as the Aggies score the final 9 points of the game. • vs. UCSB - if 39:05=WIN... Sow’s FTs at 0:55 put CSF ahead, 72-70, but Fullove tipin at 0:38 ties game and UCSB comes from 5 down in final minute of first overtime to win in double overtime. TREND REVERSES: But in winning five of their last six home games, the Titans made clutch plays down the stretch. Against Idaho they didn’t let a 10-point lead with 5:45 to go get smaller than 7 points; against UCR they didn’t let a 6-point lead at 8:08 get smaller than 2 points; against UCI, they broke a tie with 1:47 remaining and made 4-of-4 free throws in the final 40 seconds; against Long Beach they grabbed the eighth and final lead change of the last 4:42, scoring the winning points with 16 seconds remaining; against Cal Poly the Titans went 12-for-12 at the foul line in the final 1:23 to holf off a Mustangs’ rally. THREE-POINT HIGHS: Fullerton’s perimeter shooting has generally been inferior to the opponents’ but the Titans have had their moments behind the arc this season. Twice the Titans have posted back-to-back flurries. They were 13 of 20 vs. UC Irvine on Feb. 12 and 12 of 22 vs. Long Beach State on Feb. 14 for a combined 25 of 42 (.595). They were a school-record 14 for 24 vs. USC on Dec. 9 and 10 of 16 the next game vs. Eastern Washington for a combined 24 for 40 (.600). Back-to-back games better than 50 percent are extremely rare in recent years, occurring only twice previously in the past 10-plus seasons — the last two games of 2001-02 and Jan. 10 and 13, 1996. Fullerton had only two games over 50 percent all of last season and none in the 1999-2000 or 2000-01 seasons. THREE-POINT LOWS: Fullerton has made more 3-point field goals than its opponent only nine times this season — 14 to 7 at USC, 7 to 6 vs. Utah State, 7 to 6 vs. UCR, 13 to 4 vs. UCI, 12 to 5 vs. Long Beach, 7 to 5 at Idaho,10 to 8 vs. UCSB, 5 to 4 at Pacific and 9 to 6 at Northridge. The Titans have come out even three times — 8 each at Pepperdine, Long Beach State and Cal Poly. Fullerton has had a better percentage 12 times, going 7-5 in those games. HIGHEST SCORING TITAN FRESHMAN EVER: Bobby “LB” Brown will become the highest scoring true freshman in Fullerton’s 30-year Div. I history unless the Titans go two games into the NCAA Tournament and he doesn’t score another point. He’s averaging 13.1 points per game and the school freshman standard is 10.9 ppg by Tony Neal in 1981-82. The only others to average in double figures are Kevin Heenan (10.5 ppg in 1975-76), Greg Bunch (10.33 in 1974-75) and Mike Niles (10.26 in 1976-77). The balance of the top ten are Ryan Dillon (8.7 in 2000-01), Wayne Williams (8.3 in 1988-89), Gary Davis (6.8 in 1981-82), Josh King (6.69 in 1993-94), David Gilbreath (6.67 in 1980-81) and Richard Morton (5.7 in 1984-85). Bunch, Niles, and Morton all eventually played in the NBA. MORE ON BROWN: Monday he was selected the Big West Freshman of the Year by the conference coaches and he is a candidate for the “sixth man” award, having come off the bench 9 times in Big West play and 12 times this season. Fullerton’s only other Freshman of the Year was Tony Neal in 1982. Currently, for all games, Brown is the No. 12 scorer in the conference, No. 2 in 3-point field goals made, No. 4 in assists, No. 5 in assists-to-turnover ratio and No. 7 in 3-point percentage. Bobby’s scoring was at its best in Games Nos. 3 to 8 when he was a combined 24-for-41 (.585) from 3-point land and averaged 19.3 points. In Big West play he was shooting 23.6 percent (13 of 55) behind the arc before making 29 of 59 (.492) in the last 9 games. KING LOSES TOUCH: Yaphett King was among the conference leaders in 3-point shooting percentages before going 0-for-9 in the final two home games. He regained his touch on the road last week, making a combined 6 of 14 in Stockton and Northridge. He matched his season high with 23 points against the Matadors, making 7 of 10 from the floor, 3 of 5 treys and all 6 free throw tries. He was instrumental in CSF’s come-from-behind win vs. UCR, scoring 7 points in a 13-0 run to open the second half. And he came up huge vs. Long Beach State. In two games he averaged 21.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg. He made 16 of 23 shots including 9 of 13 from 3-point range. In fact, in the two games he was 9-for-9 in the first halves. SOW MANY NUMBERS: Pape Sow became only the tenth Titan player to earn first-team All-PCAA /Big West Conference honors on Monday, joining Greg Bunch (3 times), Calvin Roberts (2), Leon Wood (3), Tony Neal, Kevin Henderson, Cedric Ceballos (2), Bruce Bowen, Ike Harmon and Ralphy Holmes. Sow made second team in 2002. He has 13 “double-doubles” this season and 26 in his career and is AVERAGING one in Big West games at 16.4 ppg and 11.2 rpg. He beat his personal high and the Big West Conference single-game high this season by one when he grabbed 18 rebounds on Feb. 28 vs. Cal Poly to go with 26 points. He rang up only the fourth “double-double” of the season vs. Utah State on Feb. 21 when he had 18 points and 13 rebounds against the nationally ranked Aggies. He became the 17th member of the Titans’ 1,000-point club on Feb. 19 at Idaho and currently ranks No. 13 with 1,114 career points. No. 12 is Bruce Bowen (San Antonio Spurs) with 1,155. In rebounding, Sow has passed Cedric Ceballos to move into the No. 5 Titan spot with 650. No. 4 is Ike Harmon with 662. SOW CONGESTED & POUNDED: Sow is seeing tighter and tighter defenses and more and more of the foul line as the Titans’ perimeter shooting threats have been held in low regard. Even after making 24-of-43 (.558) field goals over the last three games, he has made only 58 of 140 (41 percent) field goal tries over the last 13 games after shooting 56 percent in the first 14 games. Much of his scoring is coming from the free-throw line (“Bop-a-Pape” strategy?) where he made 83 of 112 (74 percent) in those same 13 games. With 224 tries, he easily leads the Big West. He is averaging 8.3 attempts per game. He shot 182 free throws in his sophomore year when only UCI’s Jerry Green among Big West Conference players had more free throw attempts. The school record is 257 by Leon Wood in 1983-84. SMITH’S ROLE EVER CHANGING: Zakee Smith lost his starting role to Bobby Brown and did not make the trip to USC (Dec.9) after missing a practice. He was back in uniform but did not play in the next two games behind Brown and Denver Lopez. With Lopez away, Smith averaged 9 minutes the next three games. With Anthony Bolton also idled, Smith averaged more than 15 minutes the next five games. With Bolton back but Bobby Brown struggling, he played 35 minutes on the last road trip and regained his starting position against UCR last Saturday night. In three of the last four home wins he scored critical points. He made only one field goal against both Idaho and UCR but each put the Titans ahead to stay— 45-44 at 10:34 vs. Idaho and a trey to make it 47-46 at 11:45 vs. UCR. Against UCI he scored a season-high 9 points to go with 8 assists and only 2 turnovers in 35 minutes. He scored the first “hat trick” at the foul line of his career, making 3-of-3 free throws at the 5:10 mark to halve a 6-point deficit. He made two treys in a game for the first time vs. UCI and matched the feat against Long Beach State. BOLTON RETURNS STRONG: Senior Anthony Bolton returned from a 5-game absence due to academic problems to post 10 consecutive double-figure scoring efforts before he was stopped at 9 points at Northridge on an inflammatory basket interference call on Pape Sow that cost Bolton a 3-pointer. Bolton had a career-high 26 points on Feb. 28 vs. Cal Poly. He hit the clinching bucket in the UCR win, making the score 67-63 with 21 seconds remaining, and he converted a one-and-one opportunity for a 66-63 lead over UCI with 40 seconds to play. Against Long Beach State he scored 16 points in the second half including 3 of 4 3-point baskets. Against Cal Poly he hit his first five 3-point field goal attempts of the game and then scored 10 of Fullerton’s final 14 points including 8-of-8 from the foul line. He is in a tight race for the Big West’s 3-point field goal percentage title. At .430, he trails Utah State’s Mark Brown (.446) and Cardell Butler (.433) and UCSB’s Joe See (.431). Bolton went 0-for-3 in Stockton and 3-for-7 at CSUN. Had he not had one taken away, he would be at .435. Either way, he is challenging the CSF school record of .4427 by Don Leary (89 of 201) in 1992-93. EARLY BOLTON: He had his two best games of the season to earn Big West Conference Player of the Week honors (Dec. 8-14). At USC he made 7 of 9 shots including all four 3-point attempts on his way to 18 points and a team-high 6 rebounds. Vs. Eastern Washington he scored 22 points and 16 of them came during a 27-9 run over the first 11 minutes of the second half. Prior to the game at USC he was shooting only 30 percent from the floor and 21 percent from 3-point range. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Pape Sow last week became the third Titan to earn Big West Player of the Week honors, joining Bobby Brown (Dec. 8) and Anthony Bolton (Dec. 15). Fullerton last had two Big West player of the week awards in the same season in 1998-99 (Ike Harmon and Matt Caldwell) and last had three in 1988-89 (Cedric Ceballos twice plus Wayne Williams). HOOPS HONOR ROLL: Junior forward Hardy Asprilla, former player Rodney Anderson, team manager Nick Arciniaga and student assistant Allyson Alhadeff represent the men’s basketball program on Cal State Fullerton’s Fall, 2003, honor roll. GROOMES STARTS SCORING: Bron Groomes has started to take advantage offensively of the attention opposing defenses are giving Pape Sow. He had 12 points and 8 rebounds while making 5 of 6 shots at Northridge on Saturday night. One week earlier he had 13 points and 5 boards against Cal Poly. FIVE POTENTIAL STARTERS DISAPPEARED EARLY: After Bob Burton was hired on June 6, five players who potentially could have started for the Titans this season were lost to a wide variety of reasons. Leading scorer Ralphy Holmes was expelled in October for a May violation of school rules; forward Jamal Forcheney, who started 14 games last year, was an academic casualty; guard Fedi Holm-Hadulla, who shot 43 per cent from 3-point range and made 6 starts, had to retire due to a cartilage problem in his knee; forward Ron Allen, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Artesia High School idled under the guidelines of Prop. 48, left for the community college ranks; and then forward Bron Groomes, who started 8 games last year, suffered a severed tendon in the little finger of his right hand when someone smashed in a window at his campus residence. He didn’t suit up until Jan. 3 and didn’t play until Jan. 5. BURTON’S RESERVES: Despite his late June 6 hiring, Coach Bob Burton was able to replenish his roster, at least in numbers. Yaphett King and Bobby Brown were brought in on scholarships during the summer and walk-ons Brian Pruitt, Jason Pettaway and Danny Lambert joined the program. In addition, the Titans have landed three four-year transfers in guard Jermaine Harper from Virginia, power forward Lloyd Walls from Wright State and power forward Jamaal Brown from Western Kentucky, who was enrolled on Feb. 2 and will be eligible after next Fall semester. In five games this season, Brown averaged 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds. As a freshman, he averaged 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds, shooting 48 percent from the floor and 74 percent at the foul line. INCOMING CLASS: The Titans signed three players to national letters of intent during the November recruiting period -- Derek Quinet, 6-8, West Valley JC, San Jose, CA; Junior Taylor, 6-1, Pioneer HS, San Jose, CA; and Ephram Williams, 6-9, Arroyo HS, San Bernardino, CA. The Titans also have added walk-on point guard John Cleammons (6-0, Jr., El Camino JC), who enrolled at the semester. A local community college player also has signed a scholarship and will enroll in the Fall. . .
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