FULLERTON, CA – Steve McClellan had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds and Josh Gentry posted a career high with 19 points Thursday night to lead Cal State Fullerton to its first Big West Conference victory of the season, 69-53, over CSUN.
The win snapped a 6-game losing streak for the Titans (9-13, 1-6) and kept them in the hunt for a post-season tournament berth. Moses Morgan added 11 points and leading scorer Alex Harris had 10 despite sitting out the first half.
Stephan Hicks had 16 points and Aaron Parks had 11 to lead the Matadors (6-18, 2-7), who shot only 36 percent from the floor. Fullerton shot 47 percent and won the rebounding battle, 37-28.
Fullerton led most of the first half but needed a 6-2 to finish the period for a 35-31 advantage. The Titans pulled away gradually in the second half with Harris supplying a clinching blow with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 59-41 lead with 9 minutes left.
"I felt we needed to get one win to get us over the hump," said Fullerton Coach Dedrique Taylor. "Hopefully it will give us some momentum going into the Homecoming game Saturday against UC Riverside."
Harris sat out the first half per coach's decision. He had started every Fullerton game since Dec. 1, 2013, a streak of 44 consecutive games.
Gentry took up the scoring slack in the first half with 13 points.
"This was a must have game and I'm a senior so I took the leadership role," said Gentry.
Sheldon Blackwell filled Harris' starting role and scored 8 early points.
CSUN leads the Big West in free-throw shooting percentage and helped its cause by hitting its first 13 before missing 4 of its last 6 down the stretch.
The Titans host UC Riverside Saturday at 6:05 p.m. for their annual homecoming game. CSUN travels to UC Davis.