By Samantha Dabbs
For the Daily Titan

Video by Derek Opina

2008 US Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin speaks to a crowd of CSUF gymnastics supporters during yesterday’s Southern California College Preview at Titan Gym. Photo by Chad Uemera/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

Two teams, one goal, and 2008 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin brought Southern Californian gymnastics fans to Titan Gym during the Southern California College Preview on Sunday.

Cal State Fullerton and UCLA gymnasts gave the 1,152 fans a preview of their upcoming season’s routines, while Liukin emceed the event.

Vice President of Student Affairs Robert Palmer brought greetings from President Milton Gordon and showed his support by introducing Liukin to the audience.

Palmer said, “We will indeed do all we can to support these magnificent ladies.”

Due to budget cuts at CSUF, the Titan gymnasts were told that they would have to raise their entire budget, which is $280,000 by May, according to Titan gymnastics Head Coach Jill Hicks.

This left only two gymnastic teams in Orange County with one goal in mind – to save gymnastics at CSUF, said Hicks.

Along with the preview, Titan gymnastics held a luncheon before the event with Liukin and raised about $15,000.

Liukin heard of the event through Hicks’ close friend, UCLA Head Coach Valorie Kondos Field, and she jumped on board as soon as she could, said Hicks.

“I was able to accomplish my dreams and goals last year in Beijing at the Olympics, and I know not every girl’s dream is to go to the Olympics, but so many girls would absolutely love to compete for their college,” said Liukin. “You’re possibly taking away some little girl’s dream to compete for CSUF.”

Throughout the preview Liukin answered questions from the crowd, most of them from young aspiring gymnasts, but laughter shook the gym when a young male asked her if she had a boyfriend. The Olympian laughed as well and assured the crowd that she did not.

A gymnast at the Southern California College Preview performs on the balance beam. Photo by Chad Uemera/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

Kyla Ross, 2009 Junior National Champion, also showed her support and gave the audience a bar routine during the preview.

The two teams sat side by side next to the mats, cheering and supporting each other during each of their events.

“There was no fabrication of love and support here, it was all real, and I think everyone in this arena could feel it,” said Kondos. “It was literally two teams, one goal.”

Following the preview, the young gymnasts in the crowd rushed down and danced with the two teams to the Black Eyed Peas, “I Got a Feeling,” in celebration of the outcome of the event.

Shannon Kawada, a senior on the Titan gymnastics team said, “I think it’s truly amazing that another Southern California team can come and help us save Fullerton and just give us all of their support as well.”

In addition to this preview, CSUF gymnastics will hold another event in February to help raise money, according to Hicks.

“Our goal was not monetary for this event,” said Hicks. “It was to create a buzz in Southern California, and that we did.”

Sophomore forward Orane Chin skies up for a two-handed dunk. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team came out strong as they were able to easily beat the Tigers of Occidental 97-59 Saturday night at Titan Gym.

Junior guard Devon Peltier came off the bench and led all scorers with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field, including 5 of 9 from the three-point line.

“Coach gave the green light tonight and after making my first shot, every shot after that felt like water,” Peltier said.

Peltier added that they had better ball movement and ball pressure was the key to tonight’s win.

Junior center Bryce Webster contributed with 16 points, junior forward Jer’Vaughn Johnson added 13 points and senior guard Aaron Thompson added 8 points.

“We played good tonight. We accomplished a lot from the defensive side,” said Thompson.

Thompson added that they executed well and being able to play the bench built up a lot of the guys’ confidence.

Eight minutes into the game, the Titans went on a huge 13-0 run to take a  22-5 lead on the Tigers. The run was started by a three-pointer by senior guard Aaron Thompson.

The next possession down, junior center Bryce Webster had an easy layup, got fouled and made the free throw for a three-point play.

Johnson had a layup, sophomore forward Orane Chin knocked down a three-pointer and  Peltier capped off the run.

The Tigers tried to claw themselves back into the game, but CSUF kept scoring point after point. Eleven minutes into the half, everyone on the court had contributed to another streak; this time an 11-0 run.

Webster had a layup and Chin hit two free throws, then Johnson made a couple of free throws. Thompson hit a jumper, and following his score, Peltier knocked down a three-pointer to give the Titans a comfortable 38-12 lead with about 6 minutes left in the half.

The Titans’ thirst for points grew from another 11-0 run with 3 minutes left in the half, the lead ballooned up to 58-19 at the end of the first half.

Junior guard Robbie Robinson tries to make the reverse layup against Occidental. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The Titans as a team shot 21-30 (70 percent) from the field and 10-15 (67 percent) from the three-point line, compared to the Tigers who shot 7-22 (32 percent) and 1-4 (25 percent) from the three-point line.

Peltier led the Titans in points at the half with 14 on 5 of 6 attempts.

Johnson added 11 points, while Webster and Thompson each added eight points by halftime.

The Tigers’ leading scorer at the half was Eric Leider with seven points but he shot poorly from the field.

In the second half, the Titans started off by scoring the first six points to extend their lead to 44 points. The Titans just kept pouring it on and were able to maintain a huge lead in the first few minutes of the second half.

Titan Head Coach Bob Burton had the opportunity to play everyone on the bench and give them some minutes on the floor to be able to contribute to the huge lead.

This gave Burton a feel of what players he could insert off the bench when there is a close game in the future and to find out which group of guys can work together off the bench

“What we needed to do was play good defense and we did that tonight,” said Burton. “We had three goals going into tonight: play defense, run our fast break and to move the ball.”

Burton also added that they played together as a team and played good defense.

The Titans will travel to Logan, Utah on Dec. 21 for the Basketball Travelers’ Tournament for three games.

Sophomore guard Megan Richardson draws a foul on a BYU defender. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team was unable to come back from a deficit and lost 75-72 to the Cougars of Brigham Young University at Titan Gym Saturday night.

“It was a good effort tonight by our team; the defense was better tonight,” said Titan Head Coach Marcia Foster. “Finishing the game and little mistakes are hurting us and not allowing us to close out games.”

The Titans were led by sophomore guard Megan Richardson, who had 24 points on 8 of 18 shooting, including 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.

Junior guard Lyndsey Grove added 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 5 from the three-point line.

The Cougars were led in scoring by junior guard Mindy Nielson who had 24 points.

“We played well tonight; (our) defense was OK,” Grove said. “Our mistakes have hurt us the last two games.”

The Titans had a run seven minutes into the game as freshman forward Mya Olivier capitalized on a Cougar turnover and had an easy score.

The next possession down, junior guard Ashley Richie knocked down a three-pointer and capped a 5-0 run for the Titans and gave them a 13-7 lead.

In the remaining 10 minutes of the first half, both teams had mini runs.

The Cougars were down by seven points, but they had a 6-0 run, lead by Nielson who started the run with making two free throws and then had a layup.

The Titans ended up hanging onto the lead and led at the half 29-28.

The Cougars were able to keep the game close due to poor shooting from the Titans.

Richardson and freshman guard Alicya Crisp lead CSUF at the half with nine and six points respectively.

Nielson led BYU with 10 points.

At the start of the second half, the Cougars came out motivated and in a one-minute span, they were able to knock down two three-pointers, one by junior forward Keilani Moeaki, and one by junior guard Jazmine Foreman, which gave them a 38-34 lead.

CSUF came back with a 6-0 run of their own, led by Crisp and a three-pointer by Grove.

The second half consisted of a cat and mouse game as both teams traded baskets, and neither team could gain a real advantage.

The most important run for BYU was when they were trailing 63-58 with 3:45 left in the game.

The run was facilitated by redshirt freshman forward Alexis Kaufusi, who had two easy layups.

CSUF took a one-point lead with 1:40 left in the game on a layup by junior forward Jenna Breite.

Sophomore guard Megan Richardson tries to shoot a floater over a BYU player. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The Cougars came down and junior forward Coriann Wood hit a huge three-pointer to give the Cougars a two-point lead with 1:22 left in the game.

Grove drove to the basket and was fouled. She calmly sank both free throws to tie the game at 67-67.

Nielson made another layup to give BYU a two-point lead with less than a minute left in the game.

On CSUF’s next possession, they were unable to score, so they had to foul junior guard Haley Hall.

Hall went to the free-throw line and was able to make the first free throw but missed the second.

Grove said that not being able to get the rebound on the missed free throw was an important possession, but no play makes or breaks the game.

The Titans were forced to foul again, and Foreman only made one of two free throws.

The Titans pushed the ball up the court, and Richardson was able to score on a layup to cut the lead to two with 11 seconds left.

Nielson then made two free throws and increased their lead to 73-69.

On the next possession senior guard Jasmine Scott knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to one with two seconds left.

The Titans fouled and Foreman was able to make both free throws.

The Titans’ last chance was on a desperation three-pointer by Richardson, which fell short.

“Obviously we tried to take the best shots,” Richardson said. “Defensive errors towards the end of the game hurt us.”

She added that the team is playing better overall and not making as many mistakes on offense.

The Titans will look to get back in the win column against Eastern Washington on Dec. 21 at Titan Gym.

Junior guard Lyndsey Grove defends an LMU player. Photo by Chad Uemera/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team played the Lions of Loyola Marymount University at Titan Gym Wednesday night, and they were unable to comeback from a deficit, losing 66-64.

The Titans were led by sophomore guard Megan Richardson, who had 17 points on 7 of 16 shooting, including 2 of 3 from behind the three-point line.

Junior guard Lyndsey Grove added 14 points on 6 of 13 shooting from the field.

The Lions were led in scoring by sophomore guard Alex Cowling on 9 of 13 shooting.

“It was a good effort; we played tough and made mistakes, and our shots were just not falling tonight,” Richardson said, adding that that they dug themselves into a hole despite playing better than the last game.

The first half was a game of cat and mouse as both teams traded baskets until the Titans had their own run with about 14 minutes left in the half as Grove hit a jumper and the next possession she made a lay-up.

Junior forward Katie Avila also scored on a lay-up during their 6-0 run, which cut the Lions lead to 16-12 with 13 minutes left in the game.

In the remaining 13 minutes, each team traded baskets and the Titans trailed 30-23 at the half.

The leading scorers for the Titans at the half were Richardson and Grove with six points each. The Lions were led by Cowling.

At the start of the second half, the the Titans went on a 8-0 run with three-pointers by Grove and junior guard Britt Peters in a one-minute span that cut the Lions lead to one.

CSUF took their first lead of the game two minutes into the half.

The Lions responded with four straight points to regain the lead at 36-31.

The Titans tried to get back into the game, but the Lions scored on almost every possession down as they took a seven-point lead with 12 minutes left in the game.

Junior guard Britt Peters leads a fastbreak against LMU. Photo by Chad Uemera/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

CSUF answered with a three-pointer by senior guard Jasmine Scott to cut the lead to four points.

They tried to stay close with an attempted run at the final minutes of the game, but losing 59-56

with 1:32 left in the game, the Titans turned the ball over and had to foul in order to extend the game.

They fouled Lions’ senior guard Lisa Helmers, who calmly knocked down two free throws to give the Lions a lead at 61-56.

The Titans pushed the ball up the court and Peters launched a three-pointer and junior forward Jenna Breite got the rebound and laid the ball in to cut the lead to three, with 46 seconds left to play.

Again, the Titans fouled and the pressure was on junior guard Renahy Young to make two free throws which she did and extended the lead back up to five.

CSUF took their final timeout and got a quick three-pointer by Scott and cut the lead to 63-61 with 21 seconds to play.

After the score, CSUF fouled and hoped Young would miss one of two free throws to make it a three-point game and give the Titans a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Young missed the first free throw and made the second to give the Lions a three-point lead.

Junior forward Jenna Breite receives instructions from Head Coach Marcia Foster. Photo by Chad Uemera/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

With no timeouts left, the Titans pushed the ball looking for a three-pointer to tie the game but were unable to get someone open at the three-point line.

Richardson drove to the basket looking to score, got fouled and went to the line.

Richardson missed the first free throw and made the second to cut the lead to two.

The Titans fouled again and Lions’ sophomore guard Candice Nichols knocked down both free throws to give the Lions a four-point lead with four seconds to play.

Grove knocked down a jumper when the game was almost over.

“One play never makes or breaks a game. Our goal is to be better the next game,” Grove said.

Grove added that they wanted to win but were pleased with their performance last night.

After the game, Titan Head Coach Marcia Foster said, “I loved my team’s effort. Loyola Marymount is a good team, and our goal is to be better every time we play.”

Foster also added that their next game versus Brigham Young University is going to be tough.

Freshman guard Alicya Crisp attempts to shoot over a University of San Diego defender. Photo by Chad Uemera/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

By Juan Saucedo
Daily Titan Staff Writer

Home sweet home wasn’t so sweet for the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team last night.

Despite the fact the Titans (3-4) couldn’t wait to be in front of the home crowd after playing six straight road games to start the season, CSUF played a game of cat and mouse the entire time against the University of San Diego in their home opener.

When the Titans eventually caught up to the Toreros, CSUF failed to hold onto a slim lead down the stretch, resulting in a 64-58 non-conference loss at Titan Gym.

“It’s a tough frustrating loss, but I thought our effort was there, and we played tough in the second half,” said Megan Richardson, a sophomore shooting guard, who had a game-high 15 points for the Titans. “We were down 12 (points) at halftime, and we battled back but our shots didn’t fall.”

The Toreros (5-5) jumped to an early lead at the start of the game by going on an 8-2 run in the opening five minutes after the Titans opened the match with a quick basket.

The Titans answered with a three-pointer by junior point guard Lauren Chow, which cut the deficit to 8-5.

Chow then injured her right leg and had to be carried off the court by her coaches.

With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, senior guard Jasmine Scott made a three-pointer that tied the game 12-12 for the Titans.

The Toreros responded by going on a 17-4 run in the last 10 minutes of the first half, and CSUF trailed 29-16 at halftime.

The Titans had 13 turnovers in the first half and shot 26 percent (6 for 23) from the field and 22 percent (2 for 9) from the three-point range.

CSUF then came out and began to chip away at the lead in the second half.

The Titans capped a 14-3 run with 10 minutes left in the game, cutting the lead to 42-39.

CSUF junior guard Britt Peters hit a three-pointer with eight minutes left in the game to cut the deficit to 44-42 for the Titans.

After a USD turnover, junior guard Ashley Richie’s three-pointer gave the Titans a 45-44 lead.

Junior guard Lyndsey Grove then made two free throws, which made it 47-44 for CSUF.

The Titans had a 54-49 lead with 4:45 left in the game.

Richardson made two free throws to give the Titans a 56-51 lead with 4:13 left.

Dominique Conners then made a jumper for the Toreros that cut the lead to 56-55. USD took a 57-56 lead with a heavily contestant lay-up.

Conners made two free throws with 1:05 left, giving USD a 61-58 lead.

With 28 seconds remaining, Richardson missed a three-pointer that could have tied the game. The Titans fouled USD’s Emily Hatch, who made one of two free-throws.

Richardson then missed another three-point shot, and the Titans fouled USD one more time, ending the scoring.

Richardson said she felt confident about taking the shot, but the plan was to get in the hands of Peters, who went 3 for 5 from the three-point range.

CSUF Head Coach Marcia Foster, who is in her first year with the Titans, said she liked how her team adjusted in the second half even though Chow wasn’t in the game.

“We don’t want to be out toughed in our home court. We’re competitive, and we want to compete,” Foster said.

After the game, Chow held back tears as she stepped out of the locker room with her right knee bandaged.

Chow said she doesn’t know what happened to her leg and that she’s going to wait for the coaches to assess the injury before jumping to a conclusion.

Scott said she felt good that the team battled back and made a game of it even though they failed to rally.

“The game plan was to pretty much play our game, run the court. We’re a fast paced team, and we did that but we did it in spurts,” she said. “We could have done it probably throughout the game, and we should have done it.”

Scott finished with seven points and five rebounds while Peters had 11 points for the Titans. Overall, the Titans shot 30 percent (18 for 60) from the field and 29 percent (7 for 24) from the three-point range in the game.

The Toreros had four players in double figures.

CSUF will play three more games at home, starting with Loyola Marymount on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Titan Gym.

The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team traveled to Nacogdoches, Texas on Friday to play two games in the Etech Lumberjack Classic.

The Titans opened the weekend against the Bears of Central Arkansas and lost 69 – 49.

“We had an 11-day layoff, and we were rusty; poor scheduling was a factor in tonight’s game,” said Titan Head Coach Bob Burton.

Central Arkansas junior guard Jared Rehmel led all scorers in the game with 18 points on 5 of 7 shooting and junior guard Chris Poellnitz contributed with 16 points.

Redshirt junior center Bryce Webster and junior guard Devon Peltier led the Titans with eight points each, but they shot poorly from the field.

“(We had) no energy coming into the game, or in warm ups, which was a factor in this game,” said Peltier.

“Jacques Streeter had the flu and wasn’t able to play and Gerard Anderson had the hand injury,” Burton said. “That hurt us not having them in the game because they are our team leaders.”

The Titans struggled to score in the first half, as they had a cold shooting night from the field and tried for a lot of three pointers that didn’t go in. 

The Bears took advantage of this and went on an 11 – 0 run to take a double-digit lead.

Peltier ended the run by hitting a three-pointer with three minutes left in the half.

In the first half the Titans shot 25 percent from the field with a score of 23 points, while the Bears shot 48 percent, scoring 38 points.

Webster led the Titans in scoring with seven points, with most of his points coming from the free throw line.

Peltier added five points and redshirt sophomore forward Orane Chin contributed four points in the half.

In the second half, the Titans tried to find a way to get back into the game with senior guard Aaron Thompson leading a 6 – 0 run with a jump shot. 

A layup by redshirt junior forward Jer’Vaughn Johnson and a jumper by junior guard Eric Williams cut the lead to 46 – 31.

That was as close as the Titans got to try to come back from a large deficit like they did in their previous game against New Mexico State.

“A factor of tonight’s game was having a layoff and the loss of our mental leaders out on the court,” Thompson said.

“One thing we didn’t do tonight was play hard and we didn’t play together,” Burton said.

After a tough loss the night before, the Titans tipped off Saturday against Stephen F. Austin and lost 62 – 61 on a last-second foul call.

“We played a good game tonight, it was a dogfight from the start,” Peltier said. “Unfortunately, the referee made a bad call to cost us the game.”

The Titans came out slow in the beginning of the game and the Lumberjacks took advantage and went on a 9 – 0 run to take an early 11 – 2 lead.

The Titans did not give up and they retaliated by going on a 7 – 0 run led by Streeter’s three-pointer and a layup by Webster.

CSUF took its first lead of the game on a three-pointer by Peltier, with about eight minutes left in the first half.

“All I wanted to do tonight is provide a spark off the bench and get some attention to help the team win the game,” Peltier said. 

The Titans trailed 30 – 25 at halftime, as they were able to get themselves back into the game with great leadership from Streeter and Thompson.

Thompson led the Titans in the first half with six points.

In the second half both teams came out strong and were trading baskets, as the Titans kept the game close throughout.

The game came down to the final seconds when Streeter drove to the basket and was fouled with four seconds to play and then headed to the free throw line for a chance to put the Titans in the lead.

Streeter calmly knocked down both free throws to give the Titans a one-point lead.

The Lumberjacks took a timeout and put the ball in the hands of junior guard Denzel Barnes, who took the ball the length of the court and drew a blocking foul on Johnson when they collided.

Barnes then stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws.

“In my 40 years of coaching, that was the most unbelievable call I have ever seen,” Burton said. “We deserved the win tonight after Streeter hit the two free throws; we thought we had the game wrapped up.” 

Senior guard Will Harris led the Lumberjacks with 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

Johnson led the Titans with 13 points and was perfect from the line.

Streeter, Thompson and Peltier all had 11 points each.

“We played a good game overall,” Thompson said. “With a few mistakes, the game was there for the taking.”

Eight high school students and two community college athletes plan to help the Cal State Fullerton baseball team add depth in every position on the diamond by signing national letters of intent for the 2011 season.

The group of signees includes two infielders, five pitchers and three utility players, which could play in the infield or outfield as well as pitch, according to the CSUF athletics Web site.

The Titans’ coaching staff was poised to build on the 2010 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 5 nationwide by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, by committing the players to the program during the early signing period that ran from Nov. 11 – Nov. 18.

CSUF will have another opportunity to address any other needs for the 2011 season during the late signing period that takes place from April 14, 2010 – Aug. 1, 2010.

List of players who singed with Cal State Fullerton:

* Christian Coronado, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound right-handed pitcher from Hemet High School
* Nicholas Hurtado, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound left-handed pitcher from Corona Santiago High School
* Michael Lorenzen, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound outfielder and right-handed pitcher from Fullerton High School
* Christian Meza, a 6-foot, 180-pound left-handed pitcher transferring from Santa Ana College
* Alex Palsha, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-handed pitcher from Danville San Ramon Valley High School
* Bijan Rademacher, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound outfielder and left-handed pitcher from Anaheim Hills Canyon High School
* Joe Terry, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound second and third baseman transferring from Cerritos College
* Vincent Velasquez, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound shortstop from Pomona Garey High School
* Chad Wallach, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound third baseman and right-handed pitcher from Moreno Valley Calvary Chapel High School
* Grahamm Wiest, a 6-foot, 175-pound right-handed pitcher from San Juan Capistrano JSerra Catholic High School

Daily Titan Asst. Sports Editor

(Video by Derek Opina)

Senior forward Gerard Anderson throws down a dunk during the Titans' 68-65 upset over the UCLA Bruins. Photo by Chad Uemura/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

In a double-overtime thriller, the Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team escaped with a 68-65 upset victory over 11-time NCAA national champion UCLA.

Sophomore guard Jacques Streeter made one of two free throws to put the Titans up by three with 12 seconds to go.

CSUF sealed the win after UCLA senior guard Michael Roll missed a three-pointer with five seconds left in the second overtime.

“It feels great, I think I’m a little numb right now,” Titan Head Coach Bob Burton said. “I’m just more relieved than happy right now.”

Senior guard Aaron Thompson scored a career-high 22 points and tied his career-high in rebounds, with nine.

“Coach was telling me to knock it down and that’s what I did,” Thompson said.

Senior forward Gerard Anderson filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals, including a monstrous dunk with four minutes left in regulation that had the Titan bench roaring.

When asked about the win, Anderson said, “It really hasn’t set in yet, but about this time tomorrow it’s going to feel real good.”

Sophomore guard Malcolm Lee and Roll led the Bruins with 17 points apiece.

Senior forward Nikola Dragovic, the lone starter from last season’s Bruin squad, was only 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

The game tipped off at 9 p.m. PST as the first game in ESPN’s 24-hour College Hoops Season Tip-Off special.

CSUF recorded its first victory against UCLA, after going winless in their first nine meetings, which were all at Pauley Pavilion.

“Not many teams come in here and beat UCLA, so it’s big for us,” Streeter said. “It’s a real big statement that we wanted to make.”

The Titans were not intimidated one bit in this David and Goliath matchup, as the Bruins looked more like the former than the latter.

CSUF started out with big-game jitters, with two traveling violations and a couple of missed shots around the basket.

Senior guard Aaron Thompson attempts a three-pointer against the UCLA Bruins. Photo by Chad Uemura/Daily Titan Staff Photographer

They settled down by jumping to an early five-point lead after a Thompson three-pointer.

The Bruins crept back into the game but Anderson attacked the basket at will on his way to nine first half points.

With two more traveling calls, and redshirt juniors Jer’Vaughn Johnson and Bryce Webster both picking up their second fouls, Streeter sliced and diced his way to the basket to tie the game at 15-15.

Johnson and Webster combined for 22 of the Titans’ 53 rebounds, including six important offensive rebounds.

The crucial play of the first half was Anderson’s steal and two-handed jam off of a careless UCLA inbounds play right after Thompson sunk two free throws.

The crowd was relatively quiet after the score and the Titans led the Bruins at halftime, 33-27.

CSUF came out of the locker room with the same assertive attitude, which prompted UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland to call a timeout just two minutes into the second half.

After a sweet dime from Streeter, redshirt sophomore forward Orane Chin flushed a baseline dunk to give the Titans their largest lead of the game, 43-33.

Lee was then helped off the court in obvious pain, and the Bruins went on a 9-0 run with freshman forward Reeves Nelson scoring six crucial points.

A Roll three-pointer with less than eight minutes left in regulation gave the Bruins their first lead since leading 21-19.

Senior forward Gerard Anderson celebrates after stealing an inbounds pass and dunking the ball. Photo by Chad Uemura/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

With both teams trading baskets in the last couple minutes of the second half, the game came down to UCLA sophomore guard Jerime Anderson with a floater that rimmed out right as the buzzer sounded.

In overtime, the Titans did not make any field goals but relied on three free throws to offset Roll’s three-point basket.

With four seconds left in the first overtime, the Bruins had another chance to win it, but Lee missed a three as time expired.

In the second overtime, Streeter made a momentum changing step-back three pointer over UCLA senior forward James Keefe to make it 65-60, in favor of the Titans.

“I saw that I had a big guy on me so I wanted to capitalize on that, and I went after it,” Streeter said.

The Titans’ use of a 1-2-2 zone defense was the difference in the second half as they dared the Bruins to beat them from the perimeter.

The Bruins could not take advantage, as they shot 17 percent from three-point range, including a combined 2 of 12 in three’s in both overtimes.

“[The win] gives us a lot of exposure, we were picked seventh in our league and now it’s a wake-up call to all the teams in our league,” Streeter said. “It’s a big step for our program.”

For the Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton’s wrestling team was defeated by the Arizona State University Sun Devils 37-4 Sunday at Titan Gym.

It was the Titans’ second loss of the weekend after they were beaten by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Saturday.

The Sun Devils won nine of the 10 matches that took place, although some went down to the wire.

The highlight for the Titans was freshman Dylan Klink’s victory in the 197-pound division.

The matches began with the 165-pound division with freshman Blake Ginsberg representing the Titans. He lost to ASU’s Kyle DeBerry by a fall in the second period.

After three matches, the Sun Devils raced to a 13-0 lead with their opening victory backed up by point decision wins in both the 174 and 184-pound divisions.

The Titans needed a victory to stay in the match, and it was provided by Klink.

Klink led the entire match and after an impressive final period, won the match 10-1. This gave CSUF a win by major decision and brought the score to 13-4.

What made the victory even more exceptional was that Klink was wrestling up a weight class in the 197-pound division. 

“It’s more difficult to go up a weight class, so it’s good to win,” Klink said.

Although he said it wasn’t his hardest opponent, he was glad to get his first personal victory of the season after losing his match on Saturday.

The most nail-biting clash of the afternoon followed Klink’s win in the heavyweight division when the Titans’ Kurt Klimek went up against the Sun Devils’ Erik Nye.

After trailing early, Klimek fought back to 3-2 in the final period before taking down Nye as the buzzer sounded.

 The referee ruled the take down no good, which proved decisive with ASU securing a 16-4 lead at the halfway mark.

The 125-pound division saw CSUF junior Andre Gonzalez up against ASU junior Anthony Robles.

The one-legged Robles, who finished fourth at the NCAA wrestling championships earlier this year, beat Gonzalez and won by technical fall.

Titan Assistant Coach Risto Marttinen said it was hard for Gonzalez to adapt for the match, but he “got a lot of good pointers,” by going against a talented wrestler.

The 141-pound division featured a tough encounter between CSUF’s Adin Duenas and ASU’s Chris Drouin.

Although Drouin went on to win the match 7-5, the lead changed at various stages in the contest.

Duenas, a junior who led 2-1 after the first period, took the score to 5-5 midway through the final period.

Drouin proved too strong with a takedown in the final minute, which was enough to secure victory.

With ASU leading 30-4, the meet was already decided with two matches still to be played.

The Sun Devils won both of these to take the final score to 37-4 in favor of ASU.

Titan Head Coach Dan Hicks looked on the bright side after the meet, saying that next week’s Fullerton Open at Titan Gym will be the perfect opportunity for his team to get some match practice.

“Some guys battled really well, but we’ve got to develop every week,” Hicks said.

CSUF’s next duel meet is against San Francisco State on Dec. 11.

Daily Titan Staff Writer

It’s November again, and the smell of turkey will soon fill the air along with the sounds and sights of college basketball playing on the television.

The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team will provide an appetizer tonight for those hungry for college hoops when the Titans face UCLA at 9 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion, tipping-off ESPN’s second annual 24-hour college basketball marathon.

As the Titans attempt to impress college basketball pundits and fans nationwide, the team is eager to start the journey toward improving on last year’s 15-17 overall record (7-9 in the Big West).

Yet, the Titans’ chances at defeating power-house UCLA haven’t seemed better.

The Bruins haven’t looked anything like the team they were for the past two seasons, which were highly-ranked and in contention for the national title.

UCLA also hasn’t dominated its opponents during their two preseason games. The Bruins barely squeezed past Concordia, 62-61, and then defeated Humboldt State, 74-57, relying on their starting five for most of their points in the matches.

On the other hand, the Titans have shown that they have depth that may serve them well tonight against the Bruins.

CSUF started the season by defeating Cal State Los Angeles, 69-58, in an exhibition game and then routing Hope International University, 93-57, in the season-opener.

The Titan’s performance against HIU stands out because the bench combined to score 51 points, which is more than half of the team’s scoring.

Orane Chin led all scorers with 18 points, coming off the bench for the Titans.

Andy Newman, associate coach, said after the HIU game that the Titans had a well-rounded performance.

Jer’Vaughn Johnson, a 6-foot-6-inch, 240-pound redshirt junior power forward, said the players on the bench will definitely improve the team’s depth at every position.

“I think we have five guys on the bench that could be starters anywhere else,” he said.

Gerard Anderson, a 6-foot-6-inch, 205-pound senior small forward, said he feels good about the team getting a chance to showcase its talent during the televised game.

Anderson, who’s in his second year as a starter, said he has been preparing more mentally than anything else. He said he’s currently taking a mental toughness class that’s helping him change his approach to the game.

“I feel that the mental part is the most important part of the game,” he said.

Anderson said the team is taking things one step at a time by focusing on one game at time and not getting too ahead of themselves.

“We’re not really worried about it,” he said. “We don’t want to feel like we’re playing a bigger team, like … we’re playing UCLA. We just want to go in there and get a ‘w.’”

Johnson, a junior who’s playing his first year as a starter, said he has been trying to get back in basketball shape during the off-season because he sat out last year.

He said he’s approaching the UCLA game like any other game, adding that he’s not worried about playing in front of a large crowd. He feels the team can handle it.

“Hopefully we could get rid of the pre-game jitters before the game,” he said, adding that he will be listening to Lil’ Wayne to get pumped up.

He said Head Coach Bob Burton has been getting the team familiar with the Bruins’ offense, so they will know how to defend against it.

“Right now our biggest strength is rebounding and defense,” he said.

The Bruins were a good defensive team last year as well, Johnson said.

However, he said he likes the team’s chances due to the fact that the bench players could help slow down the UCLA offensively.

“We practice hard, and we’ve done a lot of conditioning,” Johnson said.

Anderson said he feels that this year’s team has a better shot at making a run at a Big West Conference title.

“(Coach Burton’s) philosophy is: If we can deal with him, then we could deal with anything,” Anderson said. “He brings a lot of energy during practice … a lot of emotion, a lot of fire, just to keep us going.”

“Every day we try to have a hard practice,” he said.

—————————————————————————————————–

ESPN’s College Basketball Marathon Television Schedule (Pacific times)

9 p.m. – Cal State Fullerton at UCLA on ESPN

11 p.m. – San Diego State at Saint Mary’s on ESPN

1 a.m. – Northern Colorado at Hawaii on ESPN

3 a.m. – Monmouth at St. Peter’s on ESPN

5 a.m. – Drexel at Niagara on ESPN

7 a.m. – Clemson at Liberty on ESPN

9 a.m. – Northeastern at Siena on ESPN

11 a.m. – Arkansas-Little Rock at Tulsa on ESPN

1 p.m. – Temple at Georgetown on ESPN

2:30 p.m. – Binghamton at Pittsburgh on ESPN2

3 p.m. – TBD (NIT) at Duke on ESPN

4 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Texas Tech women’s game on ESPNU

4:30 p.m. – Arkansas vs. Louisville on ESPN2

5 p.m. – Gonzaga at Michigan State on ESPN

5 p.m. – Northern Illinois at Illinois on ESPN360.com

6 p.m. – Duquesne at Iowa on ESPNU

6:30 p.m. – Connecticut vs. Texas women’s game on ESPN2

7 p.m. – Memphis vs. Kansas on ESPN

8:30 p.m. – TBD (NIT) at Arizona State on ESPN2

NOTE: All the games, except for the Duquesne at Iowa and the women’s game between Tennessee and Texas, will be streamed live on ESPN360.com.

By Cesar Gonzalez

Daily Titan Staff Writer

Junior guard Jamel McGuire drives to the basketball against Hope International. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team opened up their 2009-10 season with an impressive victory 93-57 against Hope International University on Saturday at Titan Gym.

Redshirt sophomore forward Orane Chin led all scorers with 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

“It felt good to win tonight. Everything was flowing tonight; the ball was moving pretty well,” Chin said.

Chin said they are getting better defensively as a team and that the teams are going to have problems with their up-tempo game.

Junior guard Devon Peltier, senior guard Aaron Thompson and redshirt junior forward Jer’Vaughn Johnson each contributed 10 points in the game.

Junior center Bryce Webster had eight points in the game. “Our main plan was that we’re trying to figure things out and see how the team is going to mesh,” Webster said.

Webster also added that they wanted to execute and play tough defense and was pleased with their result.

The Royals were led in scoring by junior guard Brian Tollette who had 15 but shot poorly from the field.

The Titans from the start had a three minute stretch where they went on a 9-0 run to extend their 9-8 lead to 18-8, forcing the opposing team to take an early timeout.

In the run, the Titans were led by Chin who had four points; Peltier added five points in the run, including a three pointer that forced the Royals to call a timeout to try to stop the Titans’ momentum early in the game.

As the first half progressed, the Titans had a four minute stretch where they went on an 8-0 run to extend their 18-13 lead to 26-13, which gave them a comfortable and double digit lead in the game.

Thirteen minutes into the game, the Titans found a way to start another run in the half by going on a 7-0 run in a span of two minutes, in which the Royals had trouble scoring a basket.

At the half, the Titans as a team shot 21-34 (62 percent) from the field and 60 percent from the three-point line, compared to the Royals who shot 11-26 (42 percent) and 25 percent from the three-point line.

The Titans led the Royals 53-29 at halftime.

Chin led the Titans in points at the half with 16 on 7 of 8 shooting.

Johnson, Webster and Thompson each had eight points apiece at halftime.

The Royals’ leading scorer at the half was Tollette who had 10 points.

In the second half, the Titans started a mini run which eventually died down.

The Titans took over the game after the first half and in the second half, they just kept pressuring the Royals into turnovers.

Senior forward Papa Guisse dunks the ball with authority. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The Titans kept getting easy baskets and were playing a fast up-tempo game the whole night.

After having maintained a huge lead in the second half, Titan Head Coach Bob Burton had the opportunity to be able to play everyone on the bench and allow them to contribute to the scoring.

This gave Burton an opportunity to find certain rotations between certain players and see which group is capable to stay on the floor and be able to maintain a big lead.

“It was a great start for us to win the first game. We played hard tonight, and Chin was outstanding tonight; he gave us a big lift coming off the bench,” Burton said after the game.

Burton also added that they’re going to be playing a team with great tradition in their game against UCLA on Monday night.

“It’s terrific for our program to play a team like UCLA and a great opportunity to see what the real deal is,” Burton said.

The Titans will take on the Bruins of UCLA Monday night at Pauley Pavilion at 9 p.m.; the game will be televised on ESPN.

For the Daily Titan 

A Cal Poly SLO wrestler takes down a CSUF wrestler in a match. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

Unranked in the preseason, the Titans lost to No. 26 Cal Poly San Louis Obispo, 26-13, on Saturday at Titan Gym.

It was the season opener for both teams. Kicking off the wrestling season for the Titans was Todd Noel, wrestling in the 174-pound division against Ryan DesRoches.  

Holding a deadlock for the first 45 seconds, Noel started to gain momentum, earning a takedown in each of the first two rounds. DesRoches would go on to make two takedowns of his own and three escapes, winning 7-4.

Mustang sophomore Ryan Smith took on Titan freshman Dylan Klink in the 197-pound match. 

Smith took control of the match early, earning two takedowns, with Klink responding with two escapes.  

In the second period, Smith quickly took down Klink, flexing his power with three more takedowns and holding tight to a 10-4 lead. 

Playing escape artist, Klink managed two more escapes in the third period, but it was not enough to overcome Smith, who had surged ahead by 10 points, winning the match 16-6.

The first action for ranked individuals came in the heavyweight division, as CSUF junior Kurt Klimek, ranked 33 in the nation, was pitted against Cal Poly SLO sophomore Lenny Romero.

This was not their first meeting. Klimek had a history of facing Romero, beginning when he was a high school sophomore.

Taking Romero down halfway through the first period, Klimek shifted momentum in his favor for the second period, which he began with a booming takedown of Romero.  

Though Romero was able to escape a lunging Klimek in the third round, he was unable to hold off for long, as Romero was corralled and again overpowered by Klimek, who easily won the match 10-2.

Despite being a ranked wrestler, Klimek had not felt any additional pressure in trying to win the match. On the contrary, it made him work harder and focus on the task at hand.

“It (being ranked) only put pressure on me to work harder,” Klimek said after the match. “I have a really good guy who comes and works with me and got a game plan for today. The guy I wrestled with, I’d wrestled about a month ago, so I knew what he was going to try to do. He came at me hard for the first minute, so I just weathered the storm.”

A Cal Poly SLO and CSUF wrestler tangle up during a match at Titan Gym. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer.

The highlight of the match came in the lightest division of the day, as 125-pound CSUF wrestler Andre Gonzalez took on Micah Ferguson, who have also squared off against one another in previous years.

After earning a 2-0 lead on a takedown, control slipped away from Gonzalez, who fell behind 4-2. Wrapped up by Ferguson in the second period, Gonzalez escaped his arms and evened the match with a takedown of his own.

  “The second round I avenged myself,” Gonzalez said. “I told myself to stick to the game plan. I’d been working for this match for a couple of weeks, so I kept telling myself, ‘Stick to the game plan. Stick to the game plan.’”

As the final seconds of the period ticked away, Gonzalez overtook Ferguson, pinning him as the crowd roared its approval and teammates cheered on the sidelines, a gesture that Gonzalez appreciated.

“It was exhilarating to have the crowd backing me up, screaming for you,” he said.

Pronounced the winner, Gonzalez leaped into the arms of Assistant Coach Risto Marttinen.

Head Coach Dan Hicks was quick to describe Gonzalez’s pin as one of the highlights of the match.

“That was the first time he had beaten him,” Hicks said. “I’m really proud of him.”

The lone match in which there were two ranked individuals was found in the 141-pound weight class, with CSUF’s Adin Duenas, ranked 25, and Cal Poly SLO’s Filip Novachkov, ranked 16, took to the mats in one of the more anticipated battles.

 Both wrestlers exploded out of the gate, but it was Novachkov who earned the first takedown.  

After a crafty flip by Duenas, Novachkov was again able to record another takedown. Duenas closed the gap to 7-5 in the second period, but Novachkov took control in the third round, earning five more points and winning 12-7.  

In the final match of the day, representing Cal Poly SLO, Steven Vazquez took on CSUF’s Clayton Schuelke in the 165-pound bout. Vasquez was quick in recording two takedowns, although Schuelke responded to both takedowns with escapes.

Schuelke’s escapes were not enough to stack up to Vasquez though, as the Mustangs had six takedowns in his 13-6 victory.

Hicks felt that the Titans had opportunities to win and wasn’t pleased that they failed to capitalize.

“I wasn’t too happy with a couple of the guys who had a chance to win but didn’t wrap it up,” Hicks said. “I think we had a chance to win, and I was real disappointed that we let it slip off.”

Daily Titan Staff Writer

The Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball team could not find a victory on senior night, as the Titans were swept 3-0 by Big West rival UC Irvine on Friday night at Titan Gym (23-25, 19-25, 22-25).

The Titans fought back the next night to sweep Cal State Northridge (26-24, 25-19, 25-18) in their second conference road win of the season.

“We know what UCI had,” said Assistant Coach Vinh Nguyen after the game. “We watched their film. We just couldn’t do it tonight.”

Reigning Big West player of the week, freshman middle blocker Kayla Neto had 13 kills and hit .312 in the loss to UCI and nine kills the next night to beat CSUN.

“They prepared for us,” Neto said. “They had two up on us on every hitter, so we had to make do with what we had and hit around them. It was just an off night, and they dug everything. They were just positioned really well.”

Senior middle blocker and team captain Alex Wolnisty finished her last home game with eight kills in 20 attempts with no errors, hitting .400.

Senior outside hitter Devon Bukoski finished with five kills and hit .286.

“Alex had a great night,” said Head Coach Carolyn Zimmerman. “She did everything she was capable of doing, and Bukoski hit .286. We couldn’t have asked her to do any more. She did great tonight.” 

UCI (21-6, 10-4) came out on fire to take a 9-3 lead. The Anteaters covered what seemed to be every inch of the court.

The Titans only earned one point on a side out with the other two resulting from UCI service errors.

The Titans (16-11, 7-7) called a timeout and UCI earned an ace on their very next serve, but the Titans won four points in a row, including an ace by sophomore setter Andrea Ragan.

The Titans eventually tied the game at 15-15 and took the lead 22-21 only to give the lead up and lose the first set 23-25.

The second set saw more of the same from the first as the Titans dropped the first seven points to the Anteaters, but after two UCI service errors and kills from Neto and sophomore outside hitter Torrie Brown, the Titans eventually tied the game up 11-11.

UCI pulled away toward the middle part of the set and easily won 25-19, in a set where the Titans never led and tied the score once.

“We’re going to have to watch a lot of film,” Neto said. “They’re going to show us all the things we could have done, like hit the low seems. There was so much there we couldn’t take advantage of tonight.”

The third set was the closest of the match, and the Titans took an early 3-1 lead, they’re biggest of the match to that point.

Fullerton continued to battle, digging potential kills from the UCI front line that continually bombarded the Titan defense with powerful kill attempts.

The Titans seemed in control of the fourth set until UCI went on a 6-0 run to take the lead 22-21 in the closing moments of the fourth.

UCI’s momentum could not be stalled as they took four of the last five points to come behind and stun the Titans with a 9-1 run to take the set 25-23 and win the game 3-0.

“(I’m) just extremely disappointed we didn’t compete,” Zimmerman said. “The girls can say what they want. When you let the opponent go on a 9-1 run, the story tells it all. We played careful, and we didn’t play to win.”

The Titans will face the Anteaters in their next match on Nov. 20 at UCI.

Recap of the 2009 season for both mens and women’s soccer. Do you disagree with our rankings? Post a comment to let us know what you think!

Erin Saddler has been leading by example for the Titans all season since her move from middle blocker to outside hitter. Photo Courtesy Titan Media Relations.

For the Daily Titan

Junior Erin Saddler continues to lead the Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball team to victory, recording 19 kills on Saturday night to help the Titans win their third match in a row, including its 15th match of the season.

This is only the sixth time in the university’s history that it has accomplished that feat.

The 20-year-old business major from Bellflower, Calif., is currently on an athletic scholarship for her volleyball skills.

It all started in seventh grade when she got involved with club volleyball, playing two years with Specifit then moving on to the club team Mizuno out of Long Beach while also playing at Downey High School.

Even though she has not always been the star of her team, for Saddler, the personal success comes in a close second to her team doing well on the court.

Saddler was a scholar athlete at Downey High School and earned the Stauffer Athletic Scholar Award all four years.

In 2006, as a senior, Saddler earned CIF Southern Section First Team honors, and she was also named to the Long Beach Press Telegram Dream Team.

Junior Cami Croteau, who has played four years alongside Saddler, one on Mizuno and three years at CSUF, said, “Erin is smart on the court and is very team-oriented, but she is also very humble and always fun to be around.”

Saddler explained that she enjoys volleyball because it is a team-oriented sport.

“Everyone has to contribute and play their hardest,” Saddler said. “It leads to the greatest victory.”

Saddler attributed much of her success to her parents, Joseph and Rachelle Saddler, saying, “They are very supportive and have only missed two away tournaments.”

She has two older brothers, one of whom played boy’s volleyball at Downey High School but did not pursue a collegiate career.

Saddler said that after the boy’s high school coach saw her brother play it piqued an interest about her.

As a Titan freshman in 2007, Saddler was a middle blocker and only started in eight matches.

However, she was able to put together a solid freshman year, playing in all 111 games and went on to start in 28 of 32 matches her sophomore year.

Junior outside hitter Erin Saddler celebrates with her teammates during a home game at Titan Gym. Photo Courtesy Titan Media Relations.

Now in her third year for the Titans, she has found a new home playing outside hitter and has become more versatile as an all-around player, able to be put in other positions if necessary.

Women’s volleyball coach Carolyn Zimmerman said there is much more to Saddler besides talent and just using her brain out on the court.

“First of all, Erin’s height, at 6 feet 3 inches tall, is something that cannot be coached,” Zimmerman said. “She sees a lot of angles for different shots, and she is extremely dedicated to making herself a better player and the team. She is very moldable and open to criticism which is not always easy for a player to hear and handle.”

Saddler’s other accomplishments, besides being a full-time student, include a bronze medal at the Junior Olympics in 2005 and silver medals in 2006 and 2007.

When Saddler doesn’t perform well, she is the first one to want to watch tapes of herself and improve and prepare for future matches.

Most of Saddler’s career highs were in 2008 and much of the Titans’ success this season can be attributed to her play.

Although the future is uncertain, the coaches are excited about her progress and feel she will only get better.