Ceballos Has Game-High 37 in Titans’ Intrasquad Game

FULLERTON —  Cal State Fullerton’s basketball team, struggling and uncertain a year ago, put on a solid and confident exhibition in an intrasquad game Wednesday night at Titan Gym.

The starters, in Blue, took a 57-29 lead at halftime before the lineups were shuffled. The Blue team eventually defeated the Orange, 103-74.

Cedric Ceballos, a first-team Big West Conference forward last season, scored 37 points, and guard Mark Hill, the Titans’ second-leading scorer last season, had 26.

Among newcomers, freshman Aaron Wilhite, a 6-foot-7 forward, scored 16 points; junior guard Dareck Crane had 13; freshman forward Bruce Bowen had 12, and sophomore forward Agee Ward, ineligible last season under Proposition 48 guidelines, had 11.

Fullerton struggled in its intra=squad game last season, with only 10 players available less than a week after George McQuarn suddenly resigned as coach. John Sneed, an assistant under McQuarn, replaced him and is beginning his second season.

“You think of last year’s intrasquad game--it was almost an embarrassment for us,” Sneed said. “I think we showed how much further along we are.”

Fullerton, which has been picked to finish from second to fourth in the Big West, played with the pressing, running style that evolved last season.

Sneed said he was particularly impressed with his team’s passing.

“I thought we played very unselfish ball,” Sneed said. “There was some good passing. That was a problem sometimes last year, passing and shot selection.”

The Titans must replace one starter, forward Derek Jones, and appear likely to start a smaller lineup that moves Ceballos to power forward and brings in senior Van Anderson and his defensive skills at small forward. Anderson had 14 points Wednesday.