Since 1960 Volume 86, Issue 26
Daily Titan
Monday March 17, 2008
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Their turn in Omaha CSUF makes NCAA tournament for first time in 30 years
BY ThE NUMBERS
By Michal Olszewski
Daily Titan Staff Writer
A few interesting parallels between the 1978 and 2008 Titans, our last two teams to go to the NCAA tournament.
sports@dailytitan.com
T
he Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team ended its 30-year NCAA tournament drought in dominating fashion, winning all three of their tournament games while playing from behind only once in the opening minutes of the championship game against UC Irvine. The Titans advance to the field of 65 where the team will play No. 3-seed Wisconsin Thursday in Omaha, Neb. “If we can hang with them on the front line, then who knows?” Titan Head Coach Bob Burton said.
3
The seeding of both teams in the conference tournament
8
The number of losses both teams entered the tournament with
3
The winning streak of both teams going into the tournament
5
Number of seasons under the belt for Coach Bobby Dye and Coach Bob Burton
29
Number of seasons between playing Cal State Los Angeles during regular season
6
Road to the NCAA
The Titans defeated UCI 81-66 in Saturday’s champioship game at the Anaheim Convention Center. After the game, Titan forward Kenneth Alexander didn’t waste any time to spread the news. “I’m calling my mom and my pops tell them how happy I am. We’re going to the dance, baby!” Alexander said. Josh Akognon was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring 23 points in another runaway game, following games against UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge. The team shot 53 percent from the floor against the Anteaters and shot over 51 percent in the tournament. Akognon averaged 22.3 points in the Titans’ three games and seemingly made a big shot every time the Anteaters went on a run. Robinson and Big West Regular
Photos By Ian Hamilton/Daily Titan Executive Editor Above: Titans Marcus Morgan, left, and Frank Robinson, center, embrace with former Cal State Fullerton center Justin Burns after the game against UC Irvine on Saturday. Top: Bob Burton cuts down the net for the 2008 Big West Conference championship. It’s been 30 years since CSUF has won the Big West and made it to the NCAA tournament.
Season Co-MVP Scott Cutley were also named to the All-Tournament Team. “They called PAGE 4 AND 5: it the 30-year More photos curse,” Robinson from Titan said, who was referring to the basketball’s lapse between historic 2008 NCAA TournaBig West Tourment appearances. “All year nament run. we talked about championships and we got both of them now.” The Titans fell behind for the first time in the tournament early in the game when they trailed 6-5. Just as they had done in the previous two
games, however, the Titans went on a run their opponent couldn’t counter. Fullerton scored the next nine points and rode the momentum the rest of the half, taking a 37-27 lead into the locker room. Cutley stepped up big in the second, scoring seven straight points to extend the lead to 17 points and seal the victory with three minutes remaining. “I feel lucky my family got to see this. I’m just overwhelmed and glad to give Fullerton a championship,” Cutley said. “I can’t even put it into words right now.” Burton said Cutley’s frontcourt mate Marcus Morgan was the key to the game. The senior recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds
and 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting. “It’s the best feeling in the world,” Morgan said about the win. “Now we’re just going to go to the NCAA Tournament and get our dance on.” The Anteaters were able to stay close at times because of the play of All-Tournament Team forward Darren Fells. The senior had 21 points and 10 rebounds and said his team gave its best effort, but the fatigue of four games in four nights may have been too much. “I’m just very proud of my team,” Fells said. “Everybody showed a lot of heart. I’m disappointed we couldn’t get the win, but overall I’m just proud of my teammates.” UCR guard Larry Cunningham
Advertisement
and Cal State Northridge forward Tremaine Townsend round out the All-Tournament Team. The Titans enter the NCAA Tournament having won six games in a row and 10 of their last 11 games. “People that haven’t played us outside of the Big West [let us] get our shots a little bit easier. The plays that we run are a little more effective,” Akognon said. “When we play these other teams, I feel they’re going to come off and not really respect us as much. They’re going to feel like this is an easy first round win and that’s when we’re going to come out and really step it up.” Daily Titan Sports Editor David Carrillo contributed to this report.
Both teams revolved around a six-man rotation SOURCE: Titan Media Relations
Titan Women
The No. 3 seed UC Riverside women’s basketball team ended any Cinderella hopes for No. 6 Cal State Fullerton in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament with a 59-47 win on Thursday at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Highlanders defense proved to be too tough for the Titans, forcing CSUF to shoot a meager 27 percent from the floor. Check out tomorrow’s paper for in-depth coverage of the game.