Feb. 26, 2011
Fullerton, Calif. -
Cal Poly's David Hanson scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to offset a 19-point, 17-rebound effort by Cal State Fullerton's Jer'Vaughn Johnson Saturday night as the Mustangs held on for a 75-70 Big West Conference victory over the Titans.
Cal Poly (15-13, 10-5) got 17 points from Shawn Lewis and 10 points and 8 rebounds off the bench from Will Donahue to complete a season sweep of Fullerton (9-19, 5-9). Devon Peltier scored all 19 of his points in the second half and fueled a Fullerton rally that cut a 17-point deficit to 4 with 2:23 to play. The loss was the fifth in a row for the Titans, the longest losing streak in the 8-year tenure of Coach Bob Burton while the second-place Mustangs snapped a 2-game losing streak in which Hanson was 0-for-10 at the 3-point line.
Hanson matched the 25 points he scored in a 58-54 win over CSF in San Luis Obispo on Jan. 13. He made 6 of 11 3-point tries, Dylan Royer came off the bench to hit 4-of-6 and the Mustangs finished 12-of-27. Donahue hit the first trey of his career to beat the shot clock at 12:00 for a 55-43 lead.
Fullerton led in the early going with its biggest margin at 19-15 at 8:25 of the first half after an Isiah Umipig 3-pointer. But Cal Poly went on a 12-2 run to take the lead for good and finished the half with an 18-9 surge for a 33-28 lead. The Mustangs hit treys on their first three possessions of the second half for a 42-31 lead and they stretched it out before the Fullerton rally from a 66-49 deficit to 69-65 at 2:23. From there Cal Poly got 6 of 8 free throws from Lewis to offset two Fullerton buckets in the final 5 seconds.
"It's easy to play from behind but it's not easy to win," said Burton. "It's really frustrating. To get in such a hole and then get excited and almost come back. I'd like to see that intensity from the beginning.
"It's been that kind of a year. If you are good, you come from behind and cut it to six and then cut it again. We just didn't get over the hump.
"Hanson and Lewis are a terrific 1-2 punch. They are really good. Hanson had some great shots. He's tough against a zone. When we went to a man, Lewis beat us off the dribble and lived at the line (11 of 15 free throws)."
Seniors Johnson, Peltier and Eric Williams played their final games in Titan Gym. Johnson's 17 rebound were a career high. Fullerton finished its home schedule with a 7-5 record, losing the final three.
Fullerton is tied for seventh place with UC Riverside in the Big West standings, two games ahead of ninth-place UC Davis. The Titans finished the season on the road -- at Pacific and Davis -- while the Aggies host Cal State Northridge and the Titans.