UNLV Upset Buoys Titans’ Prospects

One night.

The Cal State Fullerton basketball team was fading fast, having lost three in a row and six of nine. What once were postseason tournament hopes were turning to thoughts of another kind: Which goes best with March Madness on television--pizza or Chinese take-out?

Then the Titans stunned No. 16 Nevada Las Vegas on Saturday, 84-83, and, while postseason play is still about as far away as Finland, the Titans are at least feeling better as they prepare for their Big West Conference tournament opener against Cal State Long Beach at 9 p.m. Friday.

“If we would have lost to UNLV, it would have been a different thing,” Coach Brad Holland said. “We had to find ourselves.

“This gives us momentum. This gives us a lift. To beat a ranked team and feel like we can play with anyone on a given night. . . . “

One night; things change.

Still, the Titans have two things going against them entering the tournament:

* No depth. The Titan starters figure to play many minutes against Long Beach and, should they slip past the 49ers, will probably be worn out Saturday. And, the 9 p.m. start won’t give Fullerton much turnaround time.

“If we were able to go on in the tournament, that’s where it can hurt you,” Holland said. “I don’t anticipate it hurting us Friday unless we get in foul trouble or suffer an injury.”

* The locale. Of all the teams Fullerton could have played in the tournament, the Titans had to pick the club from the host city. Although the 49ers played in their on-campus gym this season, you can bet that the Long Beach Arena will be boisterous Friday night.

“It’s definitely the least neutral for Long Beach,” Holland said. “It’s not their home court, but they have players in their program who have played there. Hopefully, we’ll get one or two practices in the arena.”

The Titans plan to practice there on Thursday and then conduct a shoot-around Friday.

“Everyone knows what (the 49ers are) capable of,” Holland said. “They’re capable of beating (then-No. 1) Kansas at Kansas. They’re capable of great things.”

Of course, Long Beach will feel some heat, too. The 49ers are in serious danger of blowing what once was a certain NCAA tournament invitation. Now, Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg, who figures his team at least has a National Invitation Tournament bid locked up, is being forced to make sure his team is not wound too tightly going into the tournament.

“That’s a possibility, but it’s something I have no control over,” Greenberg said. “My goal for the kids is to have fun. This should be the greatest time in their lives.

“No matter what, we’re going to be in some postseason tourney. So let’s play hard and enjoy it.”

And now for the postgame statistics from Fullerton’s 84-83 victory over No. 16 UNLV:

* One cup of water, landed.

* One citation, issued.

* One fan, upset.

* One Rebel coaching staff, angry.

It seems that an unidentified UNLV assistant was hit with a cup of water as he was walking off the court, and, rumor had it, he was going to press charges.

“I don’t believe so,” UNLV Coach Rollie Massimino said during a Big West tournament coaches’ conference call on Monday. “I don’t believe so.”

Massimino, who Saturday night called Fullerton’s crowd control an “utter disgrace,” said on Monday he didn’t have anything to add.

“That’s done,” he said. “That’s done and over.”

The citation was issued to a fan who threw a knife up to another fan, who was hanging on one of the rims intending to cut down a net.

“We didn’t catch the guy who was trying to cut the net down--he got away,” said Bill Huffman, campus police chief.

Huffman said campus investigators have talked to the fan who threw the water at Massimino’s assistant and that they have also talked to a fan claiming to have been assaulted by a UNLV coach.

No charges have been filed, according to Huffman.

Bill Shumard, Fullerton athletic director, said he telephoned an apology to his UNLV counterpart, Jim Weaver, on Monday and that he will attempt to reach Massimino today. Massimino was recruiting and unavailable on Monday, Shumard said.

“We all understand the reason,” Shumard said. “It was a great victory over a top-notch team. The fans were jubilant, but that doesn’t give us an excuse to act that way.”

Former UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian has a few thoughts on parity in this year’s Big West Conference race:

“I get a kick out of it when I read some coach saying that this is the toughest the league has ever been,” Tarkanian said. “They’re full of . . . .”

To Tarkanian, the most talent in the conference was during the 1982-83 season, when it was still the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.

“I think that was the toughest the league has ever been,” Tarkanian said. “Fresno State won the NIT, Cal State Fullerton went to the NIT, Utah State went to the NCAA tourney that year and played a hell of a game against Lute Olson’s Iowa team. . . .

“Fresno beat Michigan State and Oregon State, and when they got to New York, beat DePaul.

“If I’m not mistaken, (UC) Irvine had a good team that year, too (the Anteaters finished 16-12).”

UNLV, the conference champion, was eliminated from the NCAA tournament that year by eventual national champion North Carolina State, 71-70, in the second round. And Utah State did suffer a close loss to Olson’s Iowa team, 64-59.

In the NIT, Fullerton lost in overtime at Arizona State, 87-83, but Fresno State won the NIT title, defeating Texas El Paso (71-64), Michigan State (72-58), Oregon State (76-67), Wake Forest (86-62) and DePaul (69-60).

And so the secret to the Fullerton women’s basketball team’s stunning victory over UC Santa Barbara comes out: Banana splits.

The Titans laced up their sneakers and reported for practice on Friday, only to be told to step into Coach Deborah Ayres’ office.

There, they ate banana splits and watched game films.

“Ice cream kind of makes everything better,” Ayres said.

Apparently so. The Titans went out the next day and defeated UCSB, 68-64, for the first time in three years.

Now, they set their sights on UNLV, their first-round opponent in the Big West Conference tournament on Wednesday.

Leon Wood, playing for Lyon, finished the regular season as the fourth-highest scorer in the French Professional League by averaging 21 points. He also ranked third in assists, averaging 5.1. Lyon is now in the playoffs.

“It’s a little different,” Wood said. “It took me more than half of the season to adjust. I hadn’t seen a zone defense in a long time. And in the second half of the season, I saw a box-and-one every game.

“They’re treating me like I’m Michael Jordan or somebody.”

Wood, who said he feels stronger than ever, led the conference in three-point attempts and is thinking of attempting to rekindle his NBA career.

“NBA teams are looking for three-point shooters,” he said. “Who knows?”

Titan Notes

Big West Conference tournament reminder: As a result of the coaches’ vote last spring, teams will be reseeded according to conference standings after Friday’s opening round. For example, if eighth-seeded UC Irvine upsets No. 1 New Mexico State on Friday and No. 2 Nevada Las Vegas wins, Irvine will have to play UNLV on Saturday. . . . The Titans remained seventh in Baseball America’s poll this week. . . . First baseman D.C. Olsen and designated hitter Adam Millan were named to the Oscar Mayer Classic All-Tournament team on Sunday. . . . The Fullerton softball team, ranked fifth nationally at the start of the season, finished fourth at the University of Arizona’s tournament over the weekend. The Titans are 5-7. . . . Ara Ishkhanian, a reserve offensive lineman at Fullerton, was picked in the third round of the Canadian Football League draft by Hamilton.