GAME 21
Cal State Fullerton at UC Santa Barbara
Thursday, Feb. 2, 28 | 7:00 p.m.
Santa Barbara, Calif. | The Thunderdome
Live Stream: BigWest.TV
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Live Audio: FullertonTitans.com
Series Record: UCSB leads 45-37
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- Cal State Fullerton faces UC Santa Barbara for the first time this season when the Titans head to The Thunderdome on Thursday night.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
UC Santa Barbara | 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 2 | The Thunderdome
The Titans and Gauchos will meet for the first time this season. The Gauchos are one of two teams Fullerton has yet to play in Big West action this year. The Titans will face the other team, UC Davis, on Feb. 8 at Davis. The Gauchos are currently tied for 8th place in the Big West and have lost four straight and seven of their last eight games. Guard Gabe Vincent is currently ranked fourth in the conference in scoring at 15.1 points per game. He is coming off his second lowest scoring output this season, a nine-point effort in a loss at Hawai'i on Saturday night.
Head-To-Head:
The Gauchos lead the head-to-head series between the teams, 45-37. The Titans have lost five straight to UCSB and six of the last seven meetings. Fullerton's last win over the Gauchos came on Jan. 25, 2014 at Titan Gym, a 74-72 victory. In addition, the Titans are also just 14-25 all-time at Santa Barbara with their last victory in The Thunderdome coming on Jan. 10, 2009, a 62-58 victory.
Last Meeting:
Cal State Fullerton trailed for nearly 38 minutes, with its only lead vanishing 58 seconds into the game as the Gauchos cruised to an 80-62 win at Titan Gym. Tre' Coggins led all scorers with 24 points but Fullerton could not contain the UCSB offense as the Gauchos shot 55 percent from the field and 52 percent from beyond the arc. Fullerton was also outscored 30-20 in the paint and the Gauchos reserves outpaced the Titans bench, 37-11.
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 holds an overall record of 293-390 all-time. The PCAA changed its name to the Big West Conference in the 1988-89 season and since then, the Titans hold a 190-287 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.
LAST TIME OUT - CAL STATE FULLERTON 81, CAL POLY 71
Cal State Fullerton outrebounded Cal Poly and had five players score in double figures for the second time this season en route to an 81-71 victory over Cal Poly Saturday night at Titan Gym. The Titans swept the season series from the Mustangs for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Jackson Rowe, Khalil Ahmad, Lionheart Leslie, Kyle Allman and Tre' Coggins all recorded double-digit scoring games for the Titans, who are now 2-0 when five players score 10 or more in a game. Saturday night's game also had 1,024 in attendance at Titan Gym, a new home season high for Fullerton.
SO FRESH, SO CLEAN
Freshman Jackson Rowe recorded his first career 20-point game, dropping 24 against Cal Poly on Saturday night. Rowe also set new career highs in field goals (8) and 3-pointers (3) while tying his career best with four assists, which led the team. Rowe led the team in scoring for the first time this season and is now averaging 10.4 points a game this year, one of four Titans averaging double figures. In conference action, Rowe is second on the team at 11.1 points a game. Overall, Rowe is shooting 57.6 percent on the field to lead the Titans and rank second in the Big West Conference, just two tenths of a point behind Chima Moneke's 57.8 percentage at UC Davis. Rowe has started every game for Fullerton and is second on the team at 28.6 minutes per game. He also leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 per game, which ranks third in the Big West.
THE FOUR HORSEMEN
Cal State Fullerton currently has four players averaging double figures this season. Tre' Coggins leads both the Titans and the Big West Conference at 17.2 points per game. Khalil Ahmad is currently averaging 11.4 points a game through nine games played this season while Lionheart Leslie is at 11.1 points a game; a mark that ranks 16th in the Big West. Jackson Rowe's 24-point night on Saturday put him over the double-digit plateau as he is now averaging 10.4 points a game.
"KYLE-O TEN"
Sophomore guard Kyle Allman has been on a tear lately and continued his strong play with 13 points in Saturday night's victory over Cal Poly. Allman has recorded 10 double-digit scoring games this season after doing so four times in his freshman season. Since Big West play began, Allman has tallied 10 or more points in five of Fullerton's seven conference games. He's averaging 11 points per game in conference play and has attacked the rack relentlessly. Allman has gotten to the free throw line 41 times in Big West play, tied for sixth most in the Big West and the most attempts by anyone on the Titans. Lionheart Leslie's 30 attempts in conference rank second on the squad. Allman has made 30 of his attempts during conference play, which ranks seventh in the Big West.
SEND BACKUP
Cal State Fullerton's bench scoring continues to excel for the Titans this season. The Titans reserves outscored Cal Poly's bench, 22-17, in Saturday night's win. It marked the 13th time Fullerton's bench has outscored its opponent's reserves while they have tied the other team's bench twice. Overall, the Titans bench has outscored the opponent's bench 529-409 this season.
SET THE TABLE, WIN THE GAME
Fullerton had 16 assists on 25 field goals in Saturday night's victory over Cal Poly. The Titans also held the Mustangs to 12 assists on the night and are now 7-1 this season when they get more assists than their opponent in a game. The 16 helpers were tied for the sixth most in a game this season for Fullerton. Furthermore, the Titans have logged double-digit assists in five of the team's seven Big West games this season. Fullerton is currently averaging 13.5 assists a game; a mark that ranks fifth in the Big West Conference.
TITANS TEAM RANKS
The Titans are second in the Big West Conference in blocks (4.0) and total blocks (79), and defensive rebounds per game (27.75) and ranked third in overall rebounding at 38.20 a game. Additionally, Fullerton is ranked second in the Big West in scoring average (75.6 ppg), second in field goal percentage (45.7%), and third in field goal percentage defense (42.3%).
PAINT BY NUMBERS
Cal State Fullerton has outscored its opponents 660-507 in the paint this season. The Titans have been outscored in the paint just three times this season, the last time coming on Jan. 14 at UC Irvine.
ON DECK FOR THE TITANS
The Titans will continue their brief two-game road swing on Wednesday, Feb. 8 when they head to UC Davis to take on the first-place Aggies.
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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