SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team could not overcome a poor-shooting first half in a season-opening 89-72 loss at Santa Clara on Friday night at the Leavey Center.
After shooting 21.7 percent (5-of-23) in the first half, the Titans (0-1) returned to the floor shooting a clip of .486 (17-of-35) in the second period, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 17-point halftime deficit.
Cal State Fullerton was paced by junior guard Lanerryl Johnson's 19 points as the newcomer knocked down three 3-pointers. Three additional Titans finished in double figures with senior Moses Morgan chipping in 16 points including three buckets from long distance while Alex Harris poured in 12 points as the senior guard also converted three shots from beyond the arc and dished out four assists.
Sophomore Joe Boyd added 12 points and led the Titans with seven rebounds.
Santa Clara (1-0) guard Brandon Clark scored a game-high 31 points on 7-of-17 shooting adding seven rebounds while nearly shooting perfectly from the free-throw line at 15-of-16.
Denzel Johnson added 15 points, draining three 3-pointers, while Matt Hubbard chipped in 11 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Titans trailed 39-22 at the half after Fullerton knocked down just five field goals in the first 20 minutes while turning the ball over on eight occasions. In contrast, the Broncos shot 48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the first half and knocked down seven three pointers.
In the second half, the Titans shot 48.6 percent from the floor and drained seven buckets from long distance.
For the game, Santa Clara scored 22 points off Fullerton's 14 turnovers. Fullerton trailed 62-45 with 10:08 to play, but used a 14-4 run to cut the Broncos' lead to 66-59 at the 7:32 mark.
The Titans trailed 70-63 with 5:46 remaining, but Santa Clara ended the game on a 19-9 run.
The Titans remain on the road and will travel to New Mexico for a 6 p.m. PT tip-off against the Lobos on Sunday. UNM has won three consecutive Mountain West Conference championships.
Notes: The Titans trail the all-time series with Santa Clara 1-2…Cal State Fullerton holds a record of 23-32 in season openers dating back to the 1961 season…the Titans are 18-23 against Division I opponents in season openers, but only 6-24 on the road overall…in season openers against current teams in the West Coast Conference, the Titans are 4-5…five student-athletes made their official Cal State Fullerton debut: Moses Morgan, Lanerryl Johnson, Jamar Akoh, Kennedy Esume and Temjae Singleton.
