Yaphett King's turnaround jumper in the lane with 8.6 seconds left in
overtime lifted Cal State Fullerton to a 71-70 win over Cal State Northridge
in the Big West Conference opener for both teams Tuesday night at Wells
Fargo Court at The Matadome.
Northridge's Davin White, who earlier hit a 3-pointer that gave the Matadors
their final lead at 70-68 with 3:05 left in the extra period, missed a
3-pointer at the buzzer. Northridge missed its last four shots of the
game.
Bobby Brown led the comeback effort for Fullerton (5-3, 1-0), which trailed
by 11 with 5:38 left in regulation before closing the gap with a 14-3
run that was capped by Brown's running jumper that tied the game at 62
with 49 seconds left.
Brown finished with 19 points, including 16 in the second half.
Thomas Shewmake's put-back gave Northridge (2-7, 0-1) a 64-62 lead with
13 seconds left in regulation.
But King, who finished with 16 points, tied it at 64 on a lay-up at the
other end with seven seconds left.
King then scored five of Fullerton's seven overtime points as the Titans
won their first conference opener since the 1994-95 season.
Northridge's Ian Boylan led all scorers with 20 points, though he lost
the ball on the dribble on the Matadors' final possession of regulation.
Shewmake ended the night with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Thursday night (Dec. 30) as the
Titans travel to Stockton, Calif., to take on the Pacific Tigers at 7
p.m.
