GAME 17
Cal State Fullerton at UC Irvine
Saturday, Jan. 14 | 5:00 p.m.
Irvine, Calif. | Bren Events Center
Live Stream: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Live Audio: KUCI Radio
Series Record: Fullerton leads 52-51
IRVINE, Calif. --- Cal State Fullerton looks for its third conference win and second straight on the road Saturday night as the Titans travel to Bren Events Center to take on UC Irvine, which is undefeated in Big West play.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
UC Irvine | 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 14 | Bren Events Center
The Titans face the Anteaters on the road Saturday with the game set to air on ESPN3. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. The Anteaters are coming off a 66-62 victory on the road at UC Santa Barbara. They were led by Jaron Martin and Luke Nelson with 14 points apiece and held on after the Gauchos whittled down a 10-point Anteaters lead to just two with 1:33 left. It was UC Irvine's fifth straight victory and the Anteaters are currently one of two teams (CSUN) that are unbeaten through three conference games.
Head-To-Head:
The Titans lead the all-time series against UC Irvine, 52-51, but have lost nine straight games to the Anteaters. Fullerton's last win over UC Irvine came on Feb. 9, 2012; a 100-94 win at Titan Gym. Fullerton swept the season series that year, scoring a 92-84 win at Irvine on Jan. 21, 2012.
Last Meeting:
Cal State Fullerton had four players score in double figures and led by six at halftime but the Anteaters outscored Fullerton 60-35 in the second half and cruised to a 96-77 win at Titan Gym. The Anteaters shot 76 percent (19-for-25) in the second half including 9-for-11 from beyond the arc.
TITANS AND CONFERENCE PLAY
Cal State Fullerton is in its 43rd season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association/Big West Conference and hold an overall record of 292-387 all-time. The PCAA changed its name to the Big West Conference in the 1988-89 season and since then, the Titans hold a 189-284 record. Fullerton won regular season titles in 1975-76 (PCAA) and 2007-08 (Big West) and conference tournament championships in 1977-78 (PCAA) and 2007-08 (Big West). From 1967-74, CSF played in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and posted a 24-36 mark.
ON THE AIR
Saturday night's game at UC Irvine will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Trent Rush (PXP), Brad Holland (Analyst) and Sanaz Tavassol (sideline) on the call. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m., which was changed from the original 7 p.m. start time when the 2016-17 schedule was released. The Titans will make a total of 10 television appearances during the 2016-17 season. The breakdown includes seven appearances via ESPN3, one on the Pac-12 Network, one on Fox Sports Prime Ticket and one on the Mountain West Network.
LAST TIME OUT - CAL STATE FULLERTON 87, CAL POLY 74
Tre' Coggins posted a season-high 34 points to lead a Titans offense that had four players score in double figures as Cal State Fullerton defeated Cal Poly, 87-74, Thursday night at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The win was Fullerton's (8-8, 2-1) first victory away from Titan Gym. The Titans shot 64.4 percent as a team against the Mustangs (5-11, 0-2), which was also a season best.
LIGHTS OUT
Senior Tre' Coggins sank a career high 11 field goals en route to 73.3 percent shooting including a 6-for-7 night from beyond the arc in Thursday's win at Cal Poly. He was perfect at the free throw line, going 6-for-6 and added a pair of rebounds, one assist and one steal. Coggins' 11 makes were the most by a Titans player since Lanerryl Johnson sank 11 shots at UC Riverside on Jan. 8, 2015 en route to 29 points. Coggins is currently averaging 19.7 points per game, which leads the conference and is 47th in the country. He's also averaging 3.43 3-pointers made per game, which leads the Big West and is 14th in the country.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO IMPROVE ON PERFECTION?
Khalil Ahmad was flawless offensively at Cal Poly, going 5-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 7-for-7 from the free throw line to finish with 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Ahmad was the first player to be perfect from the field with at least five makes since Steve McClellan went 5-for-5 at Sacramento State on Dec. 11, 2014. In his five games this year, Ahmad has made three starts and is averaging 13.4 points per game in 24.4 minutes of action, shooting 24-for-43 (55.8 percent) from the field and 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range. He's reached double figures in three of the five games.
GOING DOWNTOWN
The Titans found their stroke from beyond the arc on Thursday night at Cal Poly, shooting 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) against the Mustangs. The outburst came after struggling with the 3-point shot in the first two Big West games. Fullerton shot just 6-for-27 (.222) from 3-point land combined against Hawai'i and CSUN.
BLUE MAN GROUP
Cal State Fullerton picked up its first win away from Titan Gym wearing their road blue uniforms at Cal Poly. The Titans had gone 0-6 combined in road and neutral site games prior to Thursday. The team had averaged 72 ppg in those contests but allowed 83.7 points a game before scoring the 87-74 win in San Luis Obispo.
ON THE DOUBLE
Jackson Rowe notched his third double-double of the season on Thursday night, scoring 12 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. He is currently ranked second in the conference in the category behind Chima Moneke of UC Davis, who has recorded seven double-doubles on the year. Rowe is also ranked third in the conference in overall rebounding, pulling down 6.7 per game including 2.2 offensive rebounds per game, a mark which ranks second in the Big West.
FEELING IT
Cal State Fullerton shot 64.4 percent (29-of-45) from the field on Thursday night, the best mark by a Titans team in head coach Dedrique Taylor's tenure at Fullerton. It was also just the fourth time the team has shot better than 60 percent in a game since 2009. The Titans did it twice in the 2012-13 season, shooting 64.9 percent (37-of-57) on Nov. 17, 2012 against Southern Utah and then 60.7 percent (34-of-56) at Texas Southern on Dec. 16, 2012. The Titans all-time record is 68.2 percent, set on two different occassions: Nov. 25, 1983 vs. McNeese State and Feb. 3, 1990 vs. Utah State. The Titans shot 30-for-44 from the field in both of those games.
HALFWAY THERE
The Titans have not trailed at the half in their three Big West games so far this season. They led Hawai'i by two in the opener and held a seven point edge over CSUN before the Matadors mounted a second-half comeback at Titan Gym. On Thursday, Fullerton led by four before starting the second half on a 9-0 run to pull away from the Mustangs. Overall this season, the Titans are 7-3 when leading at halftime and just 1-5 when trailing.
TITANS TEAM RANKS
The Titans lead the conference in blocks per game (4.0) and are second in total blocks (64). The Titans also lead the Big West and are ranked 11th nationally in defensive rebounds per game, pulling down 29.95 per game. Overall, the Titans are second in the conference in rebounding at 39.13 a game, just a shade back of UC Santa Barbara (39.14). The Titans also rank 57th in the country. Additionally, Fullerton is ranked second in the Big West in scoring average (77.3 ppg), field goal percentage (46.9 %), and field goal percentage defense (40.5%).
PAINT BY NUMBERS
Cal State Fullerton has outscored its opponents 540-399 in the paint this season. The Titans have been outscored on the inside just twice through 16 games.
ON DECK FOR THE TITANS
The Titans will return home on Wednesday, Jan. 18 to face UC Riverside at Titan Gym. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
THE 3-POINT CONFERENCE PICK 'EM PLAN FOR $33
Reserved Seats for 3 conference games of your choice, which can include premium games vs. Long Beach, UC Irvine, and Santa Barbara, and what's even better is you get to pick YOUR seats!!! Purchase your seats by clicking HERE or by calling the Titan Athletics Ticket Office at 657-278-2783.
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