Cal State Fullerton 72, Portland 61--Fullerton finally...

Cal State Fullerton 72, Portland 61--Fullerton finally got its offense in gear in the final 10 minutes and won its fifth consecutive game this season in Titan Gym.

“We just didn’t have a whole lot of life,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “I don’t know whether it was the week off, or a week of finals or what.”

The Titans (5-3) were outrebounded by 17 and shot only 36% from the field in the sluggish first half.

But Fullerton elevated its defense in the second half, and improvement on offense seemed to follow. The Titans shot 56.3% in the second half to finish at 46.6%, and ended up with a 46-44 rebounding advantage.

Senior guards Chris Dade, the second leading scorer in the Big West Conference, was held to a season-low of 11 points.

Sophomore forward Ike Harmon and reserve center Matt Caldwell picked up the slack. Harmon finished with 17 points and six rebounds, and Caldwell scored 16.