Ralphy Holmes scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds and Jamaal Brown added
20 points and 8 rebounds Thursday night to lead Cal State Fullerton to
an 84-74 Big West Conference victory over Idaho.
Tanoris Shepard scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Vandals, who
fell to 8-17 overall and 6-8 in the Big West. Bobby Brown had 19 points
and 6 assists for the Titans, now 14-8, 8-5.
The win put the Titans firmly in fourth place in the Big West standings,
three games in the loss column ahead of Idaho, UC Santa Barbara and UC
Irvine with two and a half weeks left in the season.
The crowd of 2,076 was the largest in Titan Gym since March 6, 1993, when
4,128 saw Fullerton beat UNLV.
Holmes also did an excellent defensive job on Dandrick Jones. The Big
West’s leading scorer got his average of 16 points but was only
6 for 20 from the floor.
Fullerton shot 55 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Vandals,
42-27.
The Titans took control of the game with a 12-0 run midway through the
first half that turned a 15-12 deficit into a 24-15 lead. Idaho tied the
score only once at 34-34 late in the first half, only to give up a 10-1
run to Fullerton to finish the half.
Idaho fell behind by as many as 13 points in the second half but made
one late run, pulling within 75-69 with 2:44 to play on a 3-pointer by
Jones.
But Holmes made a layup and Jermaine Harper nailed a trey to make it 80-69.
Fullerton, 8-1 at home, hosts Utah State Saturday at 2. Idaho plays at
UC Riverside.
