SEATTLE – Cal State Fullerton shot 50 percent from the floor but it was not enough as the Titans fell at Washington, 104-88, Thursday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Tre' Coggins led the way for the Titans (2-1) with 23 points while Jackson Rowe posted his third straight double-digit scoring game with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Lionheart Leslie added a season high 15 points, 12 of them in the second half. He also recorded four steals, tying his career high. Austen Awosika poured in 11 in 28 minutes off the bench.
Freshman Markelle Fultz recorded a game-high 35 points for the Huskies (1-1), leading an offense that had five players in double figures and shot 61 percent from the floor. David Crisp scored 17 and Matisse Thybulle added 15 on the night.
Coggins came out scorching hot, hitting his first six shots including five from beyond the arc for 17 points in the first 8:11 of the first half. He finished the first half with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 5-for-6 from 3-point land.
As Coggins went, so did the Titans in the first half as they led for much of the first, leading by as many as six at one point thanks to 12 Huskies turnovers in the first 20 minutes and scoring 19 points off those mistakes.
But with the Titans ahead 29-26, the Huskies went on a 10-4 scoring run including an 8-1 spurt to take a two-point advantage and then followed that with a 10-2 run to eventually take a 53-42 lead at the break.
But the Titans fought back right out of the locker room in the second half, outscoring the Huskies 21-11 in the first 6:05 of the period to tie the game at 63. It was 68-68 before Washington surged ahead for good thanks to a 10-0 run, eight of those points coming on free throws. The Titans went 6:11 without a field goal after Coggins hit a three to tie the score at 68 and the team never recovered.
Fullerton will head to Las Vegas to face UNLV Saturday night at 7 p.m. from the Thomas and Mack Center.
Notes: Kyle Allman led the Titans with five assists on the night, tying his career high… Fullerton forced 17 turnovers and scored 23 points off those Huskies miscues… The Titans were outscored 39-32 in the paint and outrebounded 36-19 on the night… As a team, Fullerton recorded 14 more assists on 27 makes. This season, the Titans have 56 assists on 91 makes. They are averaging 18.67 assists per game and have assisted on 62 percent of their shots… The Titans are now 1-3 all-time against Washington.