Feb. 15, 2011

Goleta, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

UPCOMING:
Wed., Feb. 16 -- at UC Santa Barbara, The Thunderdome (6,000), 7:05 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 19 -- at Idaho State (ESPNU Bracket Buster), Reed Gym (3,040), 4 p.m. MST
Sat., Feb. 26 -- Cal Poly SLO, Titan Gym (4,000), 8:05 p.m. - ESPNU-TV

IN A NUTSHELL: The Titans (9-16, 5-7) have lost four of five since their only successive wins of the season. They must bounce back from back-to-back heartbreak losses at home to UCR and CSUN to go for a sweep of UCSB (13-10, 6-6), which lost in Titan Gym on Jan. 22, 63-58. Fullerton is only 2-12 away from Titan Gym and the Gauchos are 7-3 at home. Saturday's ESPNU BracketBuster foe, Idaho State, won in overtime at home, 90-88, and will take an 8-16, 4-8 record into a Wednesday game at first-place Montana.

AUDIO: Most Titan games can be heard live on the internet. Listeners may access the CSF Athletics home page at www.fullertontitans.com and follow the links. Mel Franks will handle the play-by-play at UCSB but there will be no coverage at Idaho State.

VIDEO: ALL non-televised Big West Conference home games can be viewed on computers via BigWest subscription TV. Fullerton's Feb. 26 home game vs. Cal Poly SLO has been moved to 8 p.m. to accommodate an ESPNU national telecast.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP:
No. Name Ht. Yr. ppg a/rpg Quick Notes
G 21 Perry Webster 6-1 Jr. 8.5 5.1a Leads BWC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.35:1); 3-for-5 treys vs. UCR
G 3 Devon Peltier 5-11 Sr. 13.1 1.8r Leads BWC in free-throw percentage at .905; 14th in nation thru 2/6
F 15 Orane Chin 6-7 Jr. 12.3 5.8r His play has been Titans' bellwether for last 7 games: 3 good, 4 poor
F 0 Andre Hardy 6-6 Jr. 12.2 9.2r Leads team with 4 double-doubles and a rebound shy of three others
C 12 Jer'Vaughn Johnson 6-6 Sr. 14.5 6.3r Had best game of career with 22 points, 13 rebounds vs. Long Beach on 1/19
OFF THE BENCH:
G 11 Roger Guardia 6-4 Sr. 2.3 2.1r Season-high 14 pts. vs. USD, made all four 3-point attempts; started at UofA
G 13 Isiah Umipig 6-1 Fr. 7.3 1.3r Led team in scoring vs. UCI on 2/3 with third 19-point game of season
G 14 Orlando Brown 6-1 Jr. 4.2 2.9r Back-to-back outstandings efforts in losses to UCR and CSUN w/ 27 pts.
G 32 Eric Williams 6-3 Sr. 1.3 1.3r Walk-on played solid 19 minutes including all of overtime in win at UCR
C 33 Sedric Martin 6-6 Jr. 2.8 1.8r Scored 13 points in first start of season at USC
F 45 Steve Jurich 6-7 Jr. 2.8 1.9r Got third start of season vs. Occidental

HOW YOU SAY IT: dee-VAHN pehl-tee-AY &\#149; Steve JUHR-itch &\#149; OHR-uhn Chin &\#149; Roger GWAHR-dee-uh &\#149; eye-ZAY-uh YOO-muh-pig

LAST GAME: The Titans endured a second consecutive heartbreak loss, losing to Cal State Northridge, 70-68, in eerily similar fashion to the previous loss by virtually the same score (70-69) to UCR. The Matadors overcame a late 8-point lead with a banked-in 3-pointer aiding the cause. This time it was a high-arcing 3-pointer by Josh Greene with 24 seconds left that put Fullerton behind. The Titans then missed their final three shots including a putback layup attempt just before the buzzer by Andre Hardy.

THE COACH: Bob Burton is 132-108 in his eighth season at Cal State Fullerton and career. He has the most victories at the Div. I level and trails only Alex Omalev (139-176 in 12 years) all-time. Burton's winning percentage of .550 trails only Bobby Dye (.583, 109-78). He is 9-8 vs. UCSB including 3-4 at The Thunderdome.

ABOUT THE GAUCHOS: The pre-season conference favorites are 6-6 in league play after a 66-63 loss at UC Irvine on Saturday. Orlando Johnson (21.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and James Nunnally (16.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg) rank Nos. 1 and 3 in the Big West in scoring and 7-footer Greg Somogyi is No. 1 in blocked shots at 1.78 per game.

SERIES HISTORY: UCSB leads it, 37-34, but Fullerton won the first meeting this season in Titan Gym on Jan. 22, 63-58.

ROAD STRUGGLES: Under Bob Burton, the Titans had made dramatic strides as a road team before this year's 2-12 effort. They are 60-64 (.484) away from Titan Gym (includes 11-15 on neutral floors) from 2004-05 through the present. For the previous 10 seasons (1994-95 thru 2003-04) the combined road record was 30-115 (.207). With a 3-11 mark in his first season (2003-04), Burton's total CSF road record is 63-75 (.457).

SECOND-HALF FADES: The Titans are only 7-5 after leading at the half. Only two of those wins were "easy." On Dec. 4 vs. USD, the Titans led by 2 at the half and pulled away in the final 10 minutes. On Dec. 18, a 5-point lead over Occidental was expanded to 16 points 8 minutes into the second half. The other five brought on "nervous time."
&\#149; at USD on Nov. 1, the lead was 55-48 with about 7 minutes to play before USD had a 10-0 run to lead, only to eventually miss three shots in the paint to regain the lead in the final five seconds and then miss a trey at the buzzer to tie
&\#149; vs. Pacific on Dec. 30, the Titans led, 51-39 with 5:16 remaining only to go scoreless until Devon Peltier's tie-breaking, lucky bounce 3-pointer with 00.4 on the clock
&\#149; at UCR on Jan. 8, the lead was 73-68 with six seconds to go but UCR tied it on a 3-pointer and two foul shots stemming from a technical foul for a "sixth" timeout
&\#149; vs. Long Beach on Jan. 19, Fullerton saw all but 2 points of a 10-point lead disappear in the final 44 seconds
&\#149; vs. UC Irvine on Feb. 3, CSF saw all of a 10-point halftime edge disappear before beating UCI with a 17-11 finish
The five losses after leading at the half:
&\#149; vs. Central Michigan on Nov. 12, a 4-point lead became a loss when the Chippewas hit a trey at the buzzer
&\#149; at Montana on Nov. 30, a 6-point lead fell to a 52-point second half for the Grizzlies
&\#149; at Portland State on Dec. 12, a 5-point lead swelled to 11 before the Vikings rallied to take the lead in the final minute
&\#149; at Cal Poly on Jan. 13, a 10-point lead grew to 12 before a 3-pointer fueled rally by SLO, which took the lead for good with 1:28 to play
&\#149; vs. CSUN on Feb. 10, a 10-point lead grew to 14 before a 3-pointer fueled rally by CSUN, which took the lead for good with 0:24 to go
Fullerton is 2-11 when trailing at the half, rallying only vs. Cal State Bakersfield and at UC Riverside.

TITAN PLAYER THUMBNAILS:
Orlando Brown - has played his best two games of the season back-to-back... had 11 points on 5-for-5 at the line and 2-for-3 at the arc and total FGs on Feb. 5 vs. UC Riverside... had season-high 16 points on 5-for-6 FGs and 3-for-4 at both arc and FT line on Feb. 10 vs. CSU Northridge... ... playing time had diminished with the arrivals of first Jer'Vaughn Johnson and later Andre Hardy... he played total of 42 minutes in back-to-back games vs. UoP and at UCI but only 25 minutes total over the next 4 games... started first 8 games of the season... twice has grabbed 9 boards in a game... usually guards opponents' top scoring threat... scored 11 points vs. Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 27 and 10 in Bakersfield on Jan. 25... hit a big trey in the second half vs. Long Beach on Jan. 19.

Orane Chin - team's fortunes have ridden on his shoulders the last seven games... Big West Player of the Week (Jan. 17-23) for his efforts in wins vs. Long Beach State and UCSB but struggled following week on the road, averaging 3.5 points on 3-for-17 (.176) shooting in losses at Bakersfield and Long Beach... bounced back on Feb. 3 with double-double and pivotal 3-point play with 33 seconds to go vs. UCI but then was 2-for-8 FGs for only 8 points and 1 rebound vs. UCR on Feb. 5 and failed to score vs. CSUN on Feb. 10... was one rebound shy of a double-double in the win over the 49ers on Jan. 19 with 12 points and 9 rebounds... on Jan. 22 he led team with 18 points vs. UCSB, scoring 11 unanswered points late in the first half to erase an early UCSB advantage and his free throws at 3:15 put the Titans ahead to stay, 51-50... scored career-high 32 points at Portland State on 13-of-22 shooting (4 of 7 treys)... made the Rainbow Classic all-tournament team, averaging 22.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

Roger Guardia - has played only 7 minutes in last 7 games, all at Long Beach... after 6 scoreless games, scored 6 first-half points at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 15... he averaged 19 minutes over five games between Nov. 30 to Dec. 18 but has played a total of only 83 minutes in last 13 games... grabbed 9 rebounds at Montana and against USD had 14 points including 4-for-4 from 3-point line... started at Arizona.

Andre Hardy - in 13 games since returning from ankle surgery is averaging just under a double-double at 12.2 ppg and 9.2 rpg... scored what proved to be the winning bucket vs. Long Beach State on Jan. 19 with layup for 88-82 lead with 13 seconds remaining... after a rusty first half vs. Montana on Dec. 22 (in first game action since March, 2009, in the NCAA Tournament for Oral Roberts), had 11 points and 8 rebounds after intermission to post only the third double-double (11 pts., 11 rebs.) by a Titan this season... almost did it again vs. UC Davis with team-high 19 points and 9 rebounds in a starting role and had 17 points and 9 boards vs. Pacific before being ejected for "fighting" with 2:57 to play... missed game at UCI but came back with second double-double (14 pts., 10 rebs.) at UCR on Jan. 8 and had a third with 12 points and 10 boards at Cal Poly on Jan. 13... just missed again with 12 points, 9 rebounds on Feb. 3 vs. UC Irvine... had fourth DoubleD with 19 points and 12 rebounds vs. CSUN on Feb. 10.

Jer'Vaughn Johnson - only returning starter from last year...strained knee ligament in early practice session; released to practice again on Nov. 18 and debuted with 13 minutes off the bench at USC on Nov. 24... has been most consistent Titan player... ranks close second in Big West to CSUN's Lenny Daniel (.588) in field-goal percentage at .579... went 6-for-7 at Bakersfield on Jan. 25... was 6-for-8 on Feb. 3 vs. UCI 4-for-6 vs. UCR on Feb. 5 and 6-for-10 vs. CSUN on Feb. 10... had arguably best game of Titan career on Jan. 19 vs. Long Beach, one point and one rebound shy of his career highs with 22 points and 13 rebounds in 34 minutes against the athletic 49ers... made all 7 shots and all 5 free throws in 19-point game at Portland State before fouling out with 1:16 to play... has shot only .400 (18 for 45) vs. twin-towered USC, Montana and UCSB but is at .632 (96 for 152) against all others.

Steve Jurich - has not played in past seven games and has played total of only 35 minutes vs. Big West competition... averaged 8 points and 2.5 rebounds in two starts in Hawai'i before back problem sidelined him... came off the bench at San Diego and played 21 minutes with 5 points and 5 rebounds... had season-high 7 rebounds at Montana... started again vs. Occidental.

Sedric Martin - had 8 points in 7 minutes of play at Long Beach State on Jan. 29... had season-high 5 rebounds in 11 minutes at UC Irvine on Jan. 5 after not playing at all in two previous games... got 5 more boards at Cal Poly on Jan. 13... got first start at USC and made 6-of-9 shots against the Trojans' twin 6-10 towers and scored 13 points... hit two free throws at 3:39 to tie Hawai'i game at 70-70.

Devon Peltier - has managed only 21 shots over last 4 games to average 7.5 points... but was "go-to" man down stretch vs. UCR, scoring 6 points in final 6 possessions (Brown also scored and 2 offensive foul calls)... failed to start (discipline) for first time vs. CSUN on Feb. 10... leads Big West in free-throw percentage at .905... began week No. 14 in the nation... 35-for-37 (.946) at the line in Big West play... hit game-winning trey in final second to beat Pacific on Dec. 30... led the Titans with 15 points at USC and 20 at Montana and in between was most of the Titans' offense in the second half at San Diego, scoring 14 of his career and game-high 24 points... led team with 19 at Arizona, making 4 of 6 treys.

Isiah Umipig - started vs. CSUN on Feb. 10 and had 8 points... posted solid back-to-back games vs. Long Beach on Jan. 29 (12 points on 5-for-10 FGs) and vs. UCI on Feb. 3 (19 points on 6-for-11 FGs)... had similar back-to-back breakout performances a month ago... led desperate rally at UCI on Jan. 5 by scoring 16 points in final 6 minutes for season-high 19 points (5-of-5 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs)....started for injured Perry Webster at UCR on Jan. 8 and scored 19 again including 7 in first 4 minutes of second half to almost erase 8-point deficit and then back-to-back buckets in final five minutes when UCR had pulled within a point... "saved the game" for the Titans per Coach Burton vs. Occidental... came off bench to score 13 of his then season-high 15 points before intermission.

Perry Webster - leads Big West in assists (4.36 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.35 to 1.0 (122 to 52) despite 17 assists vs. 21 turnovers over last 5 games... led team with 15 points on Feb. 5 vs. UCR including back-to-back treys 24 seconds apart for 52-44 lead at 13:19... clutch down stretch at home vs. Long Beach and UCSB, scoring 7 points in 9-4 CSF run that produced 83-74 lead at 0:55 vs. the 49ers and hitting trey to beat the shot clock for 58-50 lead over UCSB at 0:35... after scoreless game at USC came back for season-high 17 points vs. Cal State Bakersfield and matched that vs. Occidental... matched it again -- all in the second half -- at CSUN on Jan. 15... had 10 assists in double-double with 10 points at Portland State... scored only 5 points at San Diego but they turned a 58-55 deficit into a 60-58 lead on back-to-back possessions (2 free throws and a trey around his steal).

Eric Williams - walk-on played solid 19 minutes on Jan. 8 in win at UC Riverside and made big trey in second half vs. Long Beach State... has not played in last 5 games... got season-high 5 points at CSUN on Jan. 15... got first career start at San Diego as Titans went "big," starting him (6-3) in place of 6-1 Umipig, who had started against Montana State... hit first trey of season vs. Occidental... started again on Dec. 28 vs. UC Davis.

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