FULLERTON, Calif. --- Cal State Fullerton will look to bounce back after a road loss in San Diego on Wednesday when the Titans host Southern Utah on Saturday night at Titan Gym.
TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
Cal State Fullerton students receive free admission to Titan home games with their Titan I.D. card.
STUFF A BUS
Bring a toy for the ABC7 Spark of Love toy drive and receive an exclusive Titan Athletics poster.
PARKING FOR HOME GAMES
Parking for games played Mon-Thurs. is $8. Permit machines located in lots A, D, G, S and on the ground level of the parking structures accept Discover, MasterCard, and Visa, only. The machines located in surface lots accept $1 & $5 bills only. Parking can also be purchased online by visiting the Cal State Fullerton Parking and Transportation website. Daily permits are valid in student lots and parking structures, unless restricted. After 4pm daily permits are valid in College Park Faculty/Staff. After 6pm daily permits are valid in Lots A Faculty/Staff, E Faculty/Staff, C-West, and C-East. Parking for Fullerton games played on weekends (Fri.-Sun) is free after 5 p.m. Friday through the weekend. Please plan accordingly when attending an athletic event at Cal State Fullerton.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
Southern Utah | 6 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10 | Titan Gym
The Titans will close the week at Titan Gym as Southern Utah comes to visit for the first time since Dec. 17, 2007; a 99-63 Titans victory. The Thunderbirds lost to Loyola Marymount, 75-68, on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Head-To-Head:
The Titans and Thunderbirds will face off for the seventh time on Saturday. Fullerton has yet to lose to Southern Utah since the teams first met back on Dec. 28, 1968.
Last Meeting:
Cal State Fullerton upended the Thunderbirds in Cedar City, Utah last season, 80-66 on Nov. 24, 2015. Tre' Coggins and Khalil Ahmad each poured in 20-plus as Fullerton earned its third straight win to start the 2015-16 season 3-1.
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 and Instagram presence: @FullertonHoops.
LAST TIME OUT - SAN DIEGO 82, CAL STATE FULLERTON 77
Cal State Fullerton guards Tre' Coggins and Lionheart Leslie combined for more than 40 points for the second time this season, but it wasn't enough as the Titans fell to the Toreros, 82-75, on Wednesday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Coggins got going early by scoring seven of first eight points for Fullerton before he led his team on a 15-4 run to give CSUF a 20-16 lead with under 11 minutes left in the first half.
Austen Awosika gave the Titans a nice boost off the bench as he scored the final four points of the half to finish the first half with four points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Richard Peters also made an impact on the defensive end of the floor in the first half as he collected two blocks (season-high) along with two rebounds and two points.
Jackson Rowe and Coggins combined for 18 of Fullerton's 30 points in the first half and kept the Titans in striking distance as they only trailed the Toreros by one at the break, 31-30. CSUF had a strong showing on the defensive end of the floor in the first half as they held San Diego to 37.5 percent shooting from the field and only let the Toreros get to the foul line three times.
Fullerton finished the game with three players in double figures (Coggins, Leslie and Rowe) and saw a nice performance from Awosika off the bench. The true freshman grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, while collecting two assists, two steals, one block and eight points.
In the second half, Cameron Neubauer led the Toreros on a 21-10 run to start the half and extend the USD lead to 12, but the Titans answered back as they went on a 10-3 scoring run of their own to cut the deficit to five with 11 minutes left. However, Neubauer stayed hot and knocked down another three, followed with a layup to give the Toreros their biggest lead of the night, 65-52.
Needing a late run, Leslie put the Titans on his back as he scored 11-straight points to put Fullerton right back in the game, trailing by five with 27 seconds left.Unfortunately, San Diego knocked down key free throws down the stretch and Leslie's 21 point second half performance wasn't enough as the Titans fell to the Toreros on the road, 82-75.
BY THE NUMBERS - TRE' COGGINS
Redshirt senior Tre' Coggins logged his fourth game of 20-plus this season, scoring 23 at San Diego on Wednesday. He currently leads the Titans in scoring at 20.4 points a game, which also tops the Big West Conference and is also 49th in the nation. Coggins has made 28 3-pointers this season, which is the second most in the Big West and 29th most in the nation. Coggins also leads the conference and is 24th in the country in minutes per game, averaging 36.07 per game.
AWOSIKA CRASHES THE BOARDS
Freshman Austen Awosika grabbed a career high nine rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench on Wednesday at San Diego.
BLOCK PARTY
Cal State Fullerton recorded a season-high seven blocked shots on Wednesday at San Diego. Jackson Rowe and Richard Peters each matched season-highs with two blocks apiece as five different Titans registered a rejection against the Toreros. Rowe has now recorded two blocks in three straight games and leads the team with nine overall this season, which is the sixth most in the Big West. As a team, the Titans are registering 4.1 blocks a game and have logged 37 overall, both of which are tops in the conference.
DROP IN THE BUCKET
Cal State Fullerton is currently averaging 74.4 points a game, a mark that ranks second in the Big West behind only CSUN (80.6). The Titans are also second in the conference in field-goal percentage (46.1).
CHARITY STRIPE WOES
The Titans have attempted 243 free throws this season, a mark that ranks first in the conference and 22nd in the nation. Fullerton has made 163 free throws which ranks second in the conference and 40th in the country but the overall 67.1 free throw percentage ranks seventh in the conference.
ON DECK FOR THE TITANS
The Titans will play just once next week following Saturday night's game against the Thunderbirds. Fullerton will travel to Omaha to face the Mavericks, a team that beat Fullerton 83-73 on Nov. 30 at Titan Gym.