Titans Fall Victim to New Mexico State : College basketball: Aggies roll to 106-74 victory. It’s Cal State Fullerton’s worst home defeat in 22 years.

FULLERTON — The frustration had been building for New Mexico State.

The Aggies started the season as a clear favorite to win a third consecutive Big West basketball championship, and they were ranked as high as 19th in the nation in mid-January. But two losses in the last three games dumped them out of the top 20 and left them two games behind conference-leading Utah State.

That put Cal State Fullerton in the wrong place at the wrong time Thursday night. New Mexico State was in a bad mood and the Aggies took it out on the Titans, 106-74. It was Fullerton’s most decisive loss at home in 22 years and the biggest margin of defeat since the Titans were beaten by Nevada Las Vegas, 99-65, in the conference tournament in 1987.

The 1,171 in Titan Gym also saw the biggest winning margin between the teams in a series in which 17 of the 23 games have been decided by eight or fewer points. The largest margin previously was 17 points.

“It was a complete breakdown on our part,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said. “It was a heavyweight against a bantamweight tonight.”

The Titans committed 29 turnovers and were overwhelmed by New Mexico State’s fast break. The Aggies had seven players scoring in double figures with guard Rodney Walker and reserve forward Crafton Ferguson each getting 19 points.

“The whole purpose in the way they play defense is to create havoc, and if you don’t show poise, you play right into their hands,” Hawking said. “The turnovers created the transition baskets, and they had them on numerous occasions.”

The Aggies (15-5) bounced back to 6-3 in the Big West while Fullerton (6-12) fell to 4-6 in the conference.

“We knew we had to come out and get it tonight,” said Walker, who hit eight of 12 shots from the floor and had four steals. “It was do or die. We got our fast break going and we’re good when we can force the tempo.”

Only a 25-point performance by Titan center Winston Peterson kept it from being even more one-sided. Peterson was nine for 13 from the floor, helping keep Fullerton’s shooting at a respectable 44.8%. Guard Chris St. Clair had 14 points and reserve Dave Harrison added 10.

The fast break helped the Aggies shoot 63.9% in the second half, and they finished at 58.8% for the game.

“We were trying to get ourselves back in the race,” New Mexico State Coach Neil McCarthy said. “Our kids played hard, and we were able to get a lot of open-court steals and breaks. Hopefully, this will get us going again.”

Hawking said he wasn’t surprised New Mexico State bounced back strong after recent losses to Pacific at home and at Nevada.

“Quality teams always bounce back,” Hawking said. “They lost at Santa Barbara and then they came back and spanked Long Beach. They’re a talented group and Neil does a good job of coaching them.”

Fullerton got off to a sluggish start, scoring only three points in the first 6 1/2 minutes and falling behind by 12 points. New Mexico State led, 27-14, with eight minutes left in the first half before the Titans finally showed some life offensively.

Peterson, who had 15 points in the first half, scored six consecutive points and 10 in one stretch to bring the Titans back.