Titans Back Home for 6:05 Rematch with UTSA
Nov. 30, 2006
Fullerton, CA -
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UPCOMING:
Sat., Dec. 2 - vs. Texas-San Antonio, Titan Gym, 6:05 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 5 - at UCLA, Pauley Pavilion, 7:35 p.m. - (FSN Prime Ticket TV)
Sat., Dec. 9 - at Pepperdine, Firestone Fieldhouse, 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 16 - Bethune-Cookman, Titan Gym, 6:05 p.m.
IN A NUTSHELL:
Cal State Fullerton plays its first home game against an NCAA
Div. I opponent Saturday night when Texas-San Antonio plays the second half
of an in-season non-conference ©¯home-and-home©~ series. The Titans won at
UTSA last week despite the absence of three starters, who now have two games
under their belts.
AUDIO:
All Titan games can be heard live on the internet on computers with
sound cards. Listeners may access the CSF Athletics home page at
www.fullertontitans.com and follow the links. Justin Alderson will be at
the microphone.
VIDEO:
All Titan home games and road Big West Conference games are
available via videostreaming on a subscription basis. Details are available
on the Big West website at www.bigwest.org.
SERIES HISTORY:
CSF evened the series at 2-2 with its 67-63 win in San
Antonio on Nov. 22. CSF lost to UTSA last year in Miami, 88-76, at the
Florida International Tournament. The teams played a home-and-home series
in 1983 and 1984 with the home team winning each time.
ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS:
Texas-San Antonio (3-4) has a new coach in Brooks
Thompson, who was an assistant at Arizona State the past two seasons. The
former Oklahoma State star, who was a first-round draft choice of Orlando in
the 1994 draft and played for five NBA teams, previously served as head
coach at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona, where he was 55-14. The
Roadrunners bounced back from blowing a 17-point lead over Fullerton to
defeat University of San Diego, 64-49, on Sunday, and Wednesday night they beat Henderson State, 55-37.
ABOUT THE TITANS:
The Titans are trying to post their third consecutive
winning season, something that hasn©^t been done in Fullerton since Coach
George McQuarn posted four winning records between 1981-82 and 1984-85.
They got off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 1989-90, but then lost
at Eastern Washington, 110-100, on Monday night. They are averaging almost
93 points a game and have seven players averaging in double digits.
The Titans feature three returning ©¯regulars©~ in seniors Bobby Brown at
point guard and Justin Burns at center and junior guard Frank Robinson, who
was the Big West Conference©^s ©¯sixth-man©~ of the year in 2005-06. Four-year
transfers Scott Cutley and Marcus Crenshaw from Kent State and Ray Reed from
Georgetown have made an immediate impact along with community college
transfers Kenneth Alexander and Marcus Morgan from West Valley, Andrew Green
from College of the Sequoias and Chris Minardo from Citrus College. Five
different players (Minardo, Reed, Crenshaw, Cutley and Brown) have led the
Titans in scoring in their first five games.
THE COACH:
Bob Burton is 52-42 in his fourth year at Cal State Fullerton
and career. At .553, Burton has the second best winning percentage of any
Titans©^ head coach, trailing only Bobby Dye (109-78, .583). He is 1-1 vs.
Texas-San Antonio, 1-0 against Coach Thompson.
BOBBY FOCAL POINT:
Senior point guard Bobby Brown is the focal point of the
Cal State Fullerton program. An unheralded product of Westchester High
School in Los Angeles, he has developed into one of the nation©^s finest
players and an All-America candidate. He tested the NBA draft waters last
summer but opted to return for his senior year. He has been nominated for
the Bob Cousy Award as the nation©^s top point guard and is on
CollegeInsider.com©^s pre-season Mid-Major All-American team. He has made
numerous pre-season All-Big West Conference teams and is projected as player
of the year by many. Last year he was first-team All-Big West and
second-team All-NABC District. He needs 462 points this season to become
the Titans©^ all-time leading scorer, surpassing All-American, Olympic gold
medalist and 6-year NBA veteran Leon Wood.
SUPER SUB:
Junior Frank Robinson was the key Titan off the bench last year
when he was selected the ©¯sixth man©~ of the year in the Big West Conference.
He became a starter for the final three weeks of the season and played to an
all-conference level, averaging 16.6 points over the last seven games capped
by a 25-point, 12-rebound effort in defeat to Long Beach State in the
semifinals of the post-season tournament. Overall, he averaged 11.5 points
and 5.1 rebounds and was No. 3 in the conference in 3-point field goal
accuracy at .445 (49 of 110). He also led the conference in steals at
1.66 per game. In two starts this year he has twice scored 16 points.
Scott Cutley:
Kent State transfer Ray Cutley broke in with a bang, scoring
31 points with 11 rebounds in his Titan debut at Louisiana-Lafayette. It
was only the 62nd 30-point game by a Titan at the Div. I level. He scored
the game-tying buckets in the final minute of both regulation and overtime.
He came back with 19 points at Eastern Washington.
RAY REED:
Georgetown transfer Ray Reed leads the Titans in points (86),
assists (21) and steals (18) through the first five games. He just missed a
triple-double against Hope when he had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
BURNS WINS HONOR:
Senior Justin Burns was selected the Big West Conference
Player of the Week last week after posting a pair of double-doubles in
victories at Texas-San Antonio and Louisiana-Lafayette. He averaged 15
points, 13 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2 blocks for the week. With three
double-doubles this season, he has moved into the Titans©^ career Top 12 list
with 8. He had five double-doubles and picked up another one against Cal
Maritime with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Marcus Crenshaw:
He started the first three games and averaged 18 points.
Playing considerably less minutes, he has averaged 6.5 points in the last
two games. He leads the team with 11 3-point field goals.
FRIENDLY CONFINES:
Under Coach Bob Burton, the Titans are 27-13 (.675) in
Titan Gym and have a modest 5-game winning streak alive.
NEW FRILLS:
Not coincidental to the recent home success, a squad of
cheerleaders was added to the home court ambience for last season. Along
with a flag carrier and a new student band, they join the entertainment
package headed by the six-time national champion dance team.
ROAD RECORD IMPROVING:
Under Coach Bob Burton, the Titans have made
dramatic strides as a road team. In the past two seasons plus this year
they are 22-18 away from Titan Gym. In the previous 10 seasons the combined
road record was 30-115.
WESTCHESTER CONNECTION:
Westchester High School, one of California©^s most
successful prep basketball programs in recent times, leaves a lot of flavor
on the Titans©^ roster. Current players Bobby Brown, Scott Cutley and Jarrel
Lake all played there while Titan Assistant Coach Marlon Morton was on the
WHS staff. Last year©^s team had two more former Comets in Jerard Moret (who
transferred to West L.A. College) and John Clemmons (eligibility expired).
ONLY ONE NEW STOP:
Lafayette, Louisiana, with its Cajundome is the only
stop on the Titans©^ basketball itinerary this year where the Titans have not
previously competed. Conversely, three new opponents are visiting Titan Gym
-- California Maritime, Bethune Cookman and Louisiana-Lafayette.
SURVEY SAYS:
Cal State Fullerton was a consensus third-place prediction at
the annual Big West Conference Basketball Media Day on Oct. 25. Both the
media and coaches polls had Fullerton behind Pacific and Long Beach State.
