Game 17
Cal State Fullerton at UC Irvine
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 20
Time: 7:30 p.m. (PT)
Location: Irvine, Calif.
Venue: Bren Events Center
TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket
Live Stats: UCIrvineSports.com
Series Record: UCI leads 52-49
THIS WEEK
Cal State Fullerton hits the road to Irvine, as the Titans take on the Anteaters on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. The contest will be televised live on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
Following the midweek affair, Fullerton plays host to Cal Poly on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. The Titans-Mustangs game will be televised on ESPN3.
TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
Cal State Fullerton students receive free admission to Titan home games with their Titan I.D. card.
Additional ticket information can be found by clicking HERE.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
UC Irvine | 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 20 | Bren Events Center
UC Irvine is riding a five-game winning streak which dates back to the start of January. The Anteaters are 15-5 overall and 4-0 in Big West Conference action. They are a perfect 7-0 when playing at the Bren Event Center. Luke Nelson and Mamadou Ndiaye are the team's leading scorers as the pair average 12.5 and 12.0 points per game. Ndiaye also lead the squad in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game, while adding a team-best 50 blocks.
Head-To-Head: In a series that has spanned 101 games, UC Irvine holds a slight edge in the all-time series with a 52-49 advantage. The Anteaters have won the last seven match ups with the Titans. Cal State Fullerton is looking for its first win over UC Irvine since February 2012 when the Titans defeated the Anteaters 100-94 in Fullerton.
Last Meeting: UC Irvine's Luke Nelson scored 15 points and Mamadou Ndiaye tallied 12 points and blocked six shots to lead the Anteaters to a 68-62 Big West Conference victory. Lanerryl Johnson led Fullerton with 21 points, while Alex Harris had 15 and Kennedy Esume added 10.
FOLLOW THE TITANS
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the men's basketball team has established its own Twitter presence @FullertonHoops.
LAST TIME OUT
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team out-shot Hawai'i and boasted five double-figure scorers including a double-double from Lionheart Leslie, but it wasn't enough to overcome 29 fouls and 18 turnovers as the Titans' upset bid against the top team in the Big West Conference fell short, 86-79, in overtime.
The Titans (8-8, 1-2 BWC) showed their capabilities by out-shooting the Warriors (15-2, 4-0 BWC) 45.8 percent to 43.3 percent from the field. However, Hawai'i held the edge in rebounding (34-29), assists (17-8), steals (10-6) and second chance points (10-4) as well as free throw shooting (86.2 percent to 79.5 percent) which proved to be the difference as 12 of the Warriors' 14 points in the overtime frame were off of free throws.
Freshman guard Khalil Ahmad led the Titans offensively with 19 points to set the tone for five double-figure scorers. He also grabbed three steals to lead the squad. Leslie added a career-high 17 points to go along with a career-best 10 rebounds to register his first double-double as a Titan.
Tre' Coggins and Kyle Allman Jr., each added 13 points in the game. The 13 points marked a new career-best for Allman Jr. Rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Titans was Jamar Akoh who turned in an 11-point effort. He also added six boards and three assists.
The Warriors had a pair of 20-point scorers in Isaac Fleming (23 points) and Stefan Jankovic (21 points). Roderick Bobbitt also contributed 14 points for Hawai'i to go along with a game-high six assists and three steals.
Throughout the game, the Titans and Warriors were in a fierce battle for the lead. Neither team held more than a two-possession advantage during regulation.
Each time the Titans took what looked to be the final lead of the game, the Warriors would counter. With just 26 seconds left to play, Leslie sunk both free throws to give Fullerton a four-point lead (71-67). Hawai'i's Sai Tummala would make a pair of his own free throws to pull within two (71-69) with just 15 seconds remaining. Kennedy Esume hit the back end of a pair of free throws to give Fullerton back a three-point lead, but Jankovic drained a three-pointer at the 10-second mark to even the score at 72-72 and force overtime.
In the five-minute overtime period, Cal State Fullerton committed six fouls and Hawaii converted on all 12 of its free throws to outscore the Titans 14-7 in the frame. Despite the Titans' efforts, the Warriors won the game 86-79 to push their winning streak to seven and remain undefeated in conference action.
ENTERING THE RECORD BOOKS
Redshirt junior guard Tre' Coggins etched his name into the Cal State Fullerton record books with a career-best performance against CSUN in which he poured in 41 points to rank second all-time in the single-game annals. He also went 17-for-17 from the free throw line to set a Big West Conference record. Coggins is the first Titan to reach 41 points since Josh Akognon did it against CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 13, 2008. With 41 points, Coggins now ties for second for most points scored in the CSF record single-game record book. He is tied with Akognon, who reached the feat twice in 2008, and sits behind Bobby Brown who tallied 47 points in 2006 against Bethune-Cookman.
DOUBLE VISION
Freshman guard Khalil Ahmad recorded his first double-double of his collegiate career in an 88-56 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Ahmad tallied 15 points as he shot 60-percent overall (6-of-10) and led the squad with a career-high 12 rebounds. Last Saturday, senior center Kennedy Esume notched a double-double of his own as he registered a season-high 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds against Cal State East Bay. Most recently, Lionheart Leslie joined the double-double group notching his first double-double as a Titan against Hawai'i with 17 points and 10 rebounds - both career-highs for Leslie.
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
The Titans have had a pair of post players who have done their job cleaning up the glass. Senior center Kennedy Esume grabbed a career-high 19 boards in the season opener at Loyola Marymount and notched a double-double against Cal State East Bay with 14 rebounds to go along with 11 points. Not to be outdone by his teammate, sophomore forward Jamar Akoh pulled down 18 boards against Portland at the Far West Classic and did it again in conference play against CSUN. Akoh and Esume have recorded 92 and 94 rebounds, respectively, for an average of 6.1 and 5.9 rebounds per game.
TITAN TEAM NOTES
• Tre' Coggins leads the Big West Conference with a free throw percentage of 85 percent after connecting on 51-of-60 free throws this season.
• Lionheart Leslie recorded the first double-double of his Titan career with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Hawai'i - both of which are new career-highs.
• With just three conference games under his belt, Tre' Coggins already leads the league in scoring averaging 26.3 points per game.
• Kennedy Esume has gotten off to a solid start in conference action as the 6-foot-10 center leads the league with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game.
• The Titans have created a habit of getting to the free throw line, having averaged 35.5 attempts over the last four games. They registered season-highs in free throws made (31) and attempts (39) against Hawaii. CSF has shot 78.2 percent (111-for-142)from the line during that four-game stretch.
• Junior forward Rashard Todd has decided to leave the team.
• Redshirt senior guard Lanerryl Johnson has decided to leave the team.
BWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK - TIMES TWO
Tre' Coggins has been named Big West Player of the Week on two occasions this season. He and Hawai'i's Roderick Bobbitt are the only two players in the league who have earned the honor more than once this season.
Coggins collected his second honor after posting a career-best 41 points against CSUN to rank second in the Cal State Fullerton single-game record book, while becoming the first Titan in eight years to reach the 40-point plateau.
His performance was the first 40-point effort by a Big West player since Corey Hawkins of UC Davis in January 2013. Additionally, he is the first Titan to reach 41 points since Josh Akognon did it against CSU Bakersfield on December 13, 2008.
Coggins is now tied with Akognan for second for most points scored in the CSF single-game record book and sits behind Bobby Brown, who tallied 47 points in 2006 against Bethune-Cookman.
Additionally, Coggins tied a Big West single-game free throw percentage record as he connected on all 17 attempts. He is just the second player in league history to accomplish such a feat. He finished the week shooting 95.7 percent (22-of-23) from the free throw line.
HELPING HANDS
The Titans have done a soild job this season of playing as a team and sharing the assist duties. Leading the way for Cal State Fullerton is Lionheart Leslie with 37 assists on the year, while Tre' Coggins is second on the team with 28 helpers. As a team, the Titans have accumulated 179 assists for an average of 11.2 per game.
ADDITIONAL TV GAME
ESPN has selected Cal State Fullerton's men's basketball game against UC Riverside on Saturday, Jan. 30, as a wild card selection for broadcast. The 7 p.m., contest will be played at Titan Gym and broadcast live on ESPN3.
AIR TIME
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is scheduled to make a total of 10 television appearances during the 2015-16 season.
The breakdown includes seven appearances via ESPN3, two on the Pac-12 Network and one on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
BIG WEST BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT ALL-SESSION TICKETS ON SALE
All-session school reserved tickets will be available for $69.00. These seats will be located within a school's section and can be purchased through each institution's box office.
Premium all-session tickets located in the first four rows of seating will be available for $149.00. General admission all-session tickets are also available for $69.00. These seats can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster retail outlets, or by calling 800-745-3000.
Fans can call the Cal State Fullerton ticket office to purchase all-session tickets as well at: 657-279-CSUF.
The 2016 Big West Tournament will be hosted for the sixth straight year at Honda Center in Anaheim. The men's tournament begins on Thursday, March 10 at Honda Center with four quarterfinal games. The semifinals and championship games for both the men and women will take place Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12 at Honda Center.
Additional ticket information for the 2016 Big West Basketball Tournament is available at HondaCenter.com. For up to date team schedules and general information regarding the 2016 Big West Basketball Tournament, please visit BigWestTournament.com.
ON DECK FOR THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton returns to Titan gym to host Cal Poly on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. The contest will be televised on ESPN3.