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For the first time since 1978!!!

Titans earn spot in NCAA Tournament

CSF wins Big West title over UCI, 81-66, and automatic berth in the field.

By JANIS CARR

The Orange County Register

ANAHEIM- Cal State Fullerton's past finally caught up with its present Saturday.

Thirty years after the Titans' lone NCAA Tournament appearance, they are headed to this year's tournament after beating UC Irvine, 81-66, in the Big West Tournament championship game to earn the automatic bid.

The Titans (24-8) will find out today who and where they will play their first game when the NCAA Selection Committee announces the 64-team field.

Moments after the final buzzer, Fullerton fans, many who were not born when the Titans reached the Elite Eight in 1978, rushed the court to celebrate.

“It is so exciting for the players and the program and everybody involved,” Titans coach Bob Burton said. “It's been a long time coming. Now I hope we don't go out and embarrass ourselves.”

With former players sitting among the 4,234 at Anaheim Convention Center, the Titans revived the memories of when they won the old PCAA tournament and then defeated New Mexico and San Francisco before losing to Arkansas by three points.

“After 30 years, you start to wonder if it's ever going to happen,” said Steve Shaw, the center on the 1978 team. “It's so exciting for the players. These are memories you have for the rest of your life. To be here, watching certainly brings back memories.”

Forward Greg Bunch said the way Fullerton beat Irvine was reminiscent of the 1978 team's championship victory.

“As soon as the clock started ticking down, I absolutely got goose bumps,” Bunch said. “I'm excited for the players because these are memories you probably will never experience again.”

Frank Robinson called the Titans run through the tournament “incredible.”

“It's one thing to talk about winning the championship and another to go out and do it,” said Robinson, who scored 12 points.

Whether the Titans can win even just one tournament game is a debate for another day. This year's team was happy just to get past Irvine, which had won nine of its past 11 games.

But like their previous two meetings, the Titans used a combination of their outside shooting and Scott Cutley's defense to deflate the Anteaters. The 6-foot-5 senior forward scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and made life miserable in general for the Anteaters inside.

Center Darren Fells was the lone Anteater to score in double figures with 21 points. Patrick Sanders finished with 11 and Kevin Bland had two and Irvine shot just 37.3 percent overall from the floor.

“The key to beating them most definitely is to contain Fells and Sanders,” Burton said. “They are the best 1-2 punch in the league and you have to stop at least one.”

Burton was equally pleased with his team's offensive output. The Titans shot 52.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from outside. Josh Akognon led the Titans with 23 points.

Fullerton stretched a 10-point halftime lead to 17 points, 55-38, on a 3-pointer by Marcus Crenshaw.

The Anteaters made a brief run, scoring eight consecutive points to trim Fullerton's lead to 55-46 with 8:32 remaining.

Akognon then buried his third 3-pointer to quiet the Anteaters and the sea of yellow shirts in the stands. Fullerton then went on to score 11 of the next 12 points for a 69-51 lead with less than three minutes to play.

The Anteaters didn't allow Fullerton to reach their normal speed limits, slowing their transition and making them work for their baskets. The Titans, who came into the game averaging 83.7 points.

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Titans Are Going Dancin' Again!

81-66 Win Over UC Irvine Ends 30-Year Drought

March 15, 2008

Box Score

Anaheim, Calif. - For the first time in 30 years, the Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is "dancing".

Tournament Most Valuable Player Josh Akognon scored a game-high 23 points while seniors Scott Cutley and Marcus Morgan each tallied double-doubles on the night as the third-seeded Titans defeated fifth-seeded UC Irvine, 81-66, to clinch the 2008 Big West Conference Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in front of 4,234 fans on Saturday night at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Fullerton (24-8 overall) won only its second-ever Big West Tournament title - the last coming in 1978 when the Titans made their first and only NCAA Tournament appearance. The 24 victories are an NCAA school record and the win total ties the school's all-time record set by the 1961-62 squad that finished 24-7 overall, including the NAIA playoffs.

UC Irvine, which had won three games in three days, finished its season with an 18-16 overall record, becoming the lowest seed to reach the championship game since No. 6-seeded Cal State Northridge accomplished the feat in 2004.

Akognon hit 7-of-16 from the field and added five rebounds. Cutley finished with his ninth double-double of the year, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while Morgan netted his first double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds. Senior Frank Robinson also finished in double figures with 12 points.

Darren Fells scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Anteaters, who were looking to make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Michael Hunter and Patrick Sanders also finished in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Titans trailed for the first time in their last four games when UCI's Patrick Rembert scored the first basket of the game. Fullerton trailed by a single point at 6-5 before exploding for nine straight points to take a 14-6 lead six minutes in. The Titans led by as many as 13 points in the first half as Akognon hit three free throws with :04 remaining, but Hunter banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to bring the deficit back to 10 points at 37-27 at halftime.

Cal State Fullerton, which lost only twice when trailing at halftime this season, wasn't about to make it three as the Titans went on a 12-3 run after the Anteaters had closed the gap to single digits to build an 18-point advantage and they never looked back.

A 12-4 run by UC Irvine late in the half brought the Anteaters back to within 10 points, scoring on seven of nine trips down the court, but a dunk by Morgan sparked a 5-0 run to close out the game as the Titans became the first No. 3 seed to win the tournament since Utah State did it in 2003.

Fullerton shot 53 percent from the field for the game to UCI's 37 percent and the Titans held a 36-31 advantage on the boards.

2008 BIG WEST ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton (Most Valuable Player) Scott Cutley, Cal State Fullerton Frank Robinson, Cal State Fullerton Darren Fells, UC Irvine Tremaine Townsend, Cal State Northridge Larry Cunningham, UC Riverside
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Cal State Fullerton advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1978

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—With former great Greg Bunch in attendance, Cal State Fullerton earned its own place in the record books by returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 30 years.

Josh Akognon had 23 points to lead the Titans to an 81-66 victory over UC Irvine to win the Big West Conference championship on Saturday night.

Bunch, a member of the 1978 team that lost in the Elite Eight in Fullerton’s only previous NCAA appearance, spoke to the Titans earlier in the season

For Akognon, it was his omission from the all-conference first team that spurred his breakthrough performance during the league tournament. Akognon, a transfer from Washington State, was selected the tournament MVP after leading Fullerton in scoring for the third consecutive game.

“It feels absolutely great,” Akognon said. “Being named second team all-league was motivation.”

Scott Cutley, the co-Big West player of the year, had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Titans (24-8). He was one of several players that went bodysurfing among a sea of jubilant orange and blue fans that stormed the court to celebrate.

During Cutley’s two seasons at Kent State, the Golden Flashes reached the NIT, but not the NCAA tournament.

“This is unbelievable,” said Cutley, who transferred to Fullerton after his sophomore season. “I’ve been waiting for this since my freshman year in college.

“I’m just thrilled I got to do it my senior year and hopefully we can keep things going.”

The Titans shot 52.7 percent while making their fourth appearance in the conference title game and first since 1985.

Darren Fells had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Irvine (18-16). The Anteaters, seeking their first NCAA berth, were making their third appearance in the conference championship game and first since 1994.

Fells had four points during Irvine’s 8-0 run that pulled them as close as 55-46 but Akognon responded with a 3-pointer that halted the Anteaters’ momentum.

Irvine led twice in the opening 4 minutes before the Titans pulled away by using an aggressive defense that forced the Anteaters to take rushed and contested shots. Irvine made just 34.6 percent of its field goals in the first half and shot 37.3 percent for the game.

“The defensive effort was really good throughout the whole game,” Fullerton coach Bob Burton said.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Cal State Fullerton scratches a 30-year itch

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Titans beat UC Irvine, 81-66, in Big West tournament final to clinch their first NCAA bid since 1978.

By Chris Foster, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 16, 2008

Cal State Again. That's who.

It has been three decades since Cal State Fullerton took a glass-slipper stroll through the NCAA basketball tournament, reaching the Elite Eight and enduring "Cal State Who" comments while beating two ranked teams.

The Titans' small fan base, those who were working on B.A. degrees at the time, can now show their AARP cards at the door for Fullerton's follow-up visit to the tournament next week.

The Titans took their fans down memory Saturday night with an 81-66 victory over UC Irvine at the Anaheim Convention Center in the Big West Conference tournament final, sending them to the NCAA tournament for the first time since they took Arkansas to limit in a 1978 regional final.

"They called it the 30-year curse," Fullerton guard Frank Robinson said. "We ended it at 30 years. Thirty years ago those guys made a name for themselves. They got there. We got it back."

Fullerton players were able to savor the moment after getting the Anteaters down and keeping them there. Scott Cutley, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds, stood near midcourt extending his index finger while dribbling the ball as the clock ran down. When time expired, a mass of Fullerton fans swept over the Titans players, some looking old enough to have done the same in 1978.

"It's a lot to absorb right now," Fullerton Coach Bob Burton said while being jostled and congratulated by fans. "There is so much to take in and I'm still in game mode. I'm still thinking we could lose this game."

The Titans (24-8) could have played all night and still come out on top. A 7-0 burst gave them a 14-6 lead six minutes into the game and they stayed ahead for the rest of the half. They led by as many as 13 points and by 37-27 at halftime.

Josh Akognon, named the tournament's most valuable player, had 23 points, 15 in the first half. The Titans shot 52.7% from the field for the game.

The Anteaters had to play one more tournament game than Fullerton, which tied for the regular-season title. They appeared to wear down by the end of Saturday's game.

"Our guys gutted it out for four days," Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said. "They gave everything they could."

The Anteaters (18-16) shot 37%, though the Titans had as much to do with that as fatigue.

"Last year, we lost [in the tournament] because of our defense," Cutley said. "It feels good to win because of our defense."

Irvine's last gasp was a rally that cut a 17-point Fullerton lead to 55-46 with eight minutes left. But the Anteaters then made only three field goals during a five-minute stretch that ended with Cutley scoring on a layup and adding a free throw for a 71-54 lead.

That left Irvine unfulfilled again. After 31 years, and 890 games as a Division I team, the Anteaters still haven't made it to the NCAA tournament.

The Titans, meanwhile, were able to dust off memories of 1978. Fullerton upset New Mexico, which had Michael Cooper, and San Francisco, which had Bill Cartwright, before losing to fourth-ranked Arkansas, 61-58.

"We knew all about that," Robinson said. "We talked about it a lot this year. They did something special 30 years ago. We wanted to work hard and achieve the same thing."

The same thing?

"They won two games in the tournament," Robinson said. "The way we're playing defense right now, who knows?"

chris.foster@latimes.com

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Ten years gone, I have never been more proud to be a Titan alum! We will probably lose in the first round, but who cares right now?

Just one more win- The battle of Orange County

Tournament: Cal State Fullerton rolls past Northridge, 83-68

March 14th, 2008 · Post a Comment · posted by abalderas

Josh Akognon netted 24 points and was one of four Cal State Fullerton players to score in double figures as the Titans beat Cal State Northridge, 83-68, in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament on Saturday.
The victory set up a showdown between Fullerton and UC Irvine, which beat UC Santa Barbara in the other semifinal game.
Akognon set the tempo with 19 points in the first half, helping the Titans build a 20-point lead.
Northridge got to within 10 points (55-45) when Jonathan Heard scored on a layup with 13:22 left in the game but the Titans hit the switch and pulled away again.
The last time the Titans played in the conference championship was in 1982, when they lost to Fresno State. Their only championship came in 1978.
Scott Cutley added 17 points for the Titans, while Frank Robinson and Ray Reed scored 15 and 11, respectively. Robinson also had 11 rebounds to complete a double-double.

another library story-from Yahoo

Yes, I'd like to renew this, please...

Tue Mar 11, 1:21 PM ET

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A Finnish library-goer apparently thought 'better late than never' and quietly returned a book on loan for more than 100 years to a library in Vantaa, in southern Finland.

The library had long since lost track of the loan but welcomed back to its collections the bound copy of a 1902 volume of Vartija, an active religious monthly periodical at the time.

"We are unclear when exactly it was borrowed and who returned it. There weren't any documents with it," librarian Minna Saastamoinen told Reuters.

"There is an old note attached to the book which says there is a fine of 10 pennies a week for late returns," she added.

The library sticker inside the cover, and the old-fashioned handwriting on it, showed the book was last officially loaned out at the beginning of the last century, she said.

Finland is known for a comprehensive library network with more than 900 libraries for its 5.3 million inhabitants. In 2006, each Finn on average visited a library 11 times and borrowed nearly 20 books.

The periodical was borrowed such a long time ago that the Korso branch of the Vantaa library, where the tome was finally handed in, did not even exist when the book was borrowed.

Who works for your Easter Bunny?

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