Prince’s Shot Beats Fullerton

SANTA BARBARA —  UC Santa Barbara was missing its top three-point shooter Monday night, but that didn’t keep the Gauchos from defeating Cal State Fullerton, 65-62, with a three-point shot.

Guard Danee Prince, who replaced injured Lelan McDougal in the starting lineup, made a three-point shot with six seconds left to give Santa Barbara the Big West Conference victory before 3,722 in the UCSB Events Center.

McDougal was held out of the game because of headaches from a concussion in practice. McDougal, averaging 18.7 points and shooting 50% from three-point range, also is expected to sit out UCSB’s next game against UC Irvine.

Prince, however, came through under pressure after Fullerton had tied the score at 62-62 on Chris Dade’s jump shot with 38 seconds remaining. Prince finished with eight points.

Mark Flick helped make up for McDougal’s absence with 24 points. Flick had been struggling and had made only five of 21 shots in the last two games and had been below-par for the last five.

The victory lifted the Gauchos to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while the Titans dropped to 2-9 and 1-2.

Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said he expected either Prince or Flick to take the shot at the end. “We came into the game keying on both of them,” Hawking said.

The Titans managed to get off a last-second shot just behind the three-point arc by Dade, but it hit the rim and bounced away.

“Our guys can’t compete any harder than that,” Hawking said.

Fullerton had four players in double figures, led by John Williams and freshman Mark Richardson with 13 apiece. Chuck Overton had 12 and freshman Kenroy Jarrett 11.

Fullerton led, 22-17, midway through the first half, but at that point the Gauchos scored 13 points in a row, seven from Flick, to take a 30-22 advantage before Richardson broke the streak with a rebound basket. Santa Barbara went on to a 33-28 lead at the intermission.

The Titans tied the score at 56-56 with 4:42 left when Overton stole the ball and drove for a layup.

A three-point play and a later free throw by Williams gave Fullerton a two-point edge before Kealon Wallace scored to tie the game with 1:48 to play.