A Titan Tradition Continues in Loss at Utah State

Four Cal State Fullerton Titans played here for the last time Thursday night, and they were part of the 11th consecutive Fullerton team to leave with a loss.

Not just a loss, but an 86-61 defeat to Utah State, a team that had lost six games in a row and learned last week that Coach Kohn Smith’s contract will not be renewed after the season.

A team that pulled a 45-point turnaround after losing to the Titans by 20 at Fullerton last month.

“We were blown out,” said Fullerton Coach Brad Holland, whose team fell behind by 18 in the first 10 minutes and dropped to 11-6, 6-4 in the Big West Conference. “They played as well as we played poorly.”

Utah State (7-11, 4-6) outrebounded the Titans, 51-27, and made 10 of 16 three-pointers, shooting 62.5% from beyond the line against a team that was holding opponents to 29.6% from beyond the line.

Fullerton shot 40% from the field and made only 19 of 32 free throws.

Two Titan starters scored season lows. Forward Kim Kemp finished with three points, center Sean Williams had five.

Aaron Sunderland, Bruce Bowen, Williams and Kemp became the latest Titans to finish their careers without winning in Logan, but they have plenty of company. No Fullerton team has won in Logan since 1982, when Leon Wood was a sophomore.

The Aggies’ arena, the Spectrum, is at an altitude of 4,688 feet and held 5,773 fans Thursday. Holland, making his first visit, didn’t see players gasping for air, he only saw them playing without effort.

Sunderland finished with 22 points, but he found himself on the bench quickly after letting Aggie guard Jay Goodman get open to make four three-pointers in four attempts a little more than four minutes into the game.

“It’s something about this air, this Utah snow,” Sunderland said. “It’s just like any other place, it’s just Utah. The last 10 years we couldn’t win here. Now it’s 11. So. . . . “

Nobody wants to say it’s a hard place to play, but until they win, their words won’t wash.

Goodman’s three-pointers helped give the Aggies a 16-6 lead, and his fourth started an 11-0 run. He finished with 17 points and 10 assists and made five of six three-point shots.

Carlito DaSilva, an erratic reserve center, scored 10 points in less than four minutes, and finished with 14.

“We had no inside defense,” Holland said. “There was no inside defense, no outside defense, no nothing.”

And, once again, no victory here.