Win Smells Sweet to Titans’ St. Clair

FULLERTON —  Less than two minutes into the game, Cal State Fullerton guard Chris St. Clair was sprawled on the floor dazed and his nose bleeding from a collision with UC Santa Barbara’s Bakir Allen.

A few minutes later on the bench, St. Clair had doubts if he’d even be able to return to the game.

But return he certainly did.

St. Clair, with his nose packed with cotton, scored a career-high 23 points Saturday night to lead the Titans to a 74-60 victory over UC Santa Barbara in the regular-season men’s basketball finale in front of 1,158 at Titan Gym.

“When it first happened I thought I was out for the night,” St. Clair said. “Then I was a little surprised when the trainer told me I could go back in as quick as he did.”

St. Clair, Chris Dade, and Ali Nayab, a senior playing his final home game, combined for 56 points. Dade had 18 points and Nayab 15, along with seven assists and six rebounds, to lead Fullerton to its second victory in a row.

The Titans are 13-13 (6-10 in the Big West) going into this week’s conference tournament. Santa Barbara (12-14, 7-9) lost on the road for the seventh time in eight conference games.

Santa Barbara Coach Jerry Pimm was especially impressed with St. Clair’s effort.

“He’s really a tough kid,” Pimm said. “He gets a bloody nose and plays 25 minutes and still gets that many points. That’s really something.”

St. Clair made his first three-point shot before he was hurt, then came back to connect on two of three three-point attempts in the first half. St. Clair made six of nine three-point shots for the game and seven of 12 from the field.

“I knew that if he could play he would, but I had to wait to see what the trainer said,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “I know he left a puddle of blood on the floor. He played a heckuva game.”

Hawking thought Dade’s defensive performance against high-scoring Raymond Tutt also was a key to the Titan victory. Tutt, one of the nation’s leading scorers, finished with 23 points. Hawking was concerned it might be more, and Tutt was held in check late in the game.

“Ali also played a great floor game,” Hawking said. “That was a great way for him to finish his career at home. He put the ball on the mark with his passes all night, and led the fast break. We got some easy baskets off the break, primarily because of his good play on the transition game.”

Fullerton shot 47.1% from the field to 40% for Santa Barbara. The Gauchos made two of 12 three-point shots. “We knew three-point shooting was one of their strengths,” Hawking said, “so I guess we did well on that.”

The Titans also had a 35-30 rebounding advantage with DeVaughn Wright getting 11. “It’s been an adjustment for our inside players without John Williams, but he and Mark Richardson have been stepping up,” Hawking said.

St. Clair sparked an 11-point Titan run when he came back with slightly more than seven minutes left in the first half. The Titans led, 34-25, at halftime and were up by 13 early in the second half. The Gauchos made one run to cut the lead to two, and the Titans led by only five points with 5 1/2 minutes left.

At that point, Nayab and St. Clair each made three-point shots and Richardson dropped in two free throws to turn back Santa Barbara’s last charge. Nayab also made four consecutive free throws in the final 1 1/2 minutes.