Junior guard Derick Andrew scored a career-high 25 points and Ralphy Holmes
added 21 points and a game-high 9 rebounds Thursday night to pace Cal
State Fullerton to a 70-54 Big West Conference victory over Cal State
Northridge.
The win snapped a 4-game losing streak for the Titans, now 6-12, 4-4.
Ian Boylan scored 23 points and Curtis Slaughter had 12 for the Matadors,
who fell to 9-9, 3-5 and saw their 3-game winning streak ended.
Fullerton stretched a 27-23 halftime lead to 48-33 with 10 minutes to
play. The lead was still 12 at 3:45 when the Matadors hit three consecutive
3-point field goals to draw within 54-51 with 3:05 left. But Holmes made
a baseline drive and Andrew got a bucket and two free throws off a pair
of steals to trigger a 16-3 finish interrupted only by Justice Graham's
3-pointer at 0:55.
Andrew's previous scoring best was 17 points vs. Sacramento State on Dec.
15, 2001. He had 15 points in the first half tonight
With the win, the Titans surpassed their overall victory total of each
of the past two seasons and four Big West Conference wins is the most
in a season since the 1998-99 team was 7-9.
The Matadors' biggest lead of the game was 6 points at 14-8 after a 12-2
run erased Fullerton's early 6-2 lead.
fNorthridge shot only 37 per cent from the floor and committed 18 turnovers.
Fullerton shot 50 per cent and committed only 10 turnoverfs. CSUN won
the rebounding battle, 34-32.
Fullerton hosts Pacific on Saturday night while Cal State Northridge visits
UC Riverside.
