GAME 27
Cal State Fullerton at Hawai'i
Saturday, Feb. 25 | 9:00 p.m. PST
Honolulu, O'ahu | Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stream: OCSports.TV
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Audio: ESPN 1420
Series Record: Hawai'i leads 11-3
HONOLULU, O'ahu. ---Cal State Fullerton, winners of four straight games, hit the road Saturday as the Titans take on the Rainbow Warriors at the Stan Sheriff Center.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
Hawai'i | 9:00 p.m. | BigWest.TV
Saturday, Feb. 25 | Stan Sheriff Center
Fullerton has won six of its last seven games including a current four-game winning streak as they head to O'ahu. The Rainbow Warriors have not played since last Saturday, scoring a big 82-61 win over Cal Poly on the road. They have won five of their last seven games and are 10-8 at home this season including a 4-3 mark in Big West play. Hawaii's lone senior, Noah Allen, helped lead the Rainbow Warriors to the fifth best record in the conference so far. Allen leads the team with a 15.2 points per game average, which also ranks fifth in the Big West.
Head-To-Head:
The Titans and Rainbow Warriors will tangle for the 15th time on Saturday night, with Hawai'i dominating the series, 11-3. However, the Titans snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Rainbow Warriors earlier this season, their first win over Hawai'i since Nov. 16, 2008; a 90-76 victory in Honolulu in a non-conference tilt, four seasons before Hawai'i joined the Big West. It was also Fullerton's first win over Hawai'i ever in Titan Gym.
Last Meeting:
Cal State Fullerton recorded its first ever Big West Conference win over Hawai'i since it joined the conference in 2012-13 by a score of 67-64, Thursday night at Titan Gym. Lionheart Leslie led the Titans in scoring with 14 points and Davon Clare recorded his fourth straight double-digit rebounding effort against the Rainbow Warriors, pulling down a game-high 10 boards. Fullerton also held the Rainbow Warriors to just 34.4 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent (4-of-21) 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 298-391 all-time. The PCAA changed its name to the Big West Conference in the 1988-89 season and since then, the Titans hold a 195-288 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 56, UC IRVINE 54
Cal State Fullerton surged late and pulled out a nail-biter Wednesday night, edging first-place UC Irvine 56-54 in a Big West Conference tilt at Titan Gym. The Titans snagged their fourth straight win and sixth in the last seven games with a staunch defensive effort against the Anteaters, holding UC Irvine to 34.7 percent shooting from the field and forcing 15 turnovers that turned into 12 Titans points. Lionheart Leslie scored nine of his 11 points in the second half to go along with a couple of pivotal steals while Jackson Rowe pulled down timely rebounds late to push the Titans past UC Irvine for their first win over their Orange County rival since Feb. 9, 2012, snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Anteaters.
THE WILD WEST
Fullerton currently sits in the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Big West Conference Tournament. The Titans are just a one game back of UC Irvine and UC Davis for the top spot in the Big West. The No. 1 and No. 5 seeds are separated by just two games with No. 6 UC Riverside 4.5 games back of the top spot. Hawai'i, which is tied for the fifth best record in the conference, is ineligible for the Big West Tournament this year.
MOST IMPROVED
According to Friday's NCAA stats report, the Titans are currently ranked as the 33rd most improved team in the nation with three games left to play. Fullerton has four more victories than last season and eight fewer losses than 2015-16. The average difference of 6.0 ranks 33rd. Minnesota is currently ranked as the most improved in the nation with a 14.5 average as the Golden Gophers currently have 13 more wins and 16 fewer losses than last season.
GOING STREAKING...
During Fullerton's four-game winning streak, the Titans defense has been stellar as they have held opponents to 62.5 points a game and 42.1 percent shooting from the field. They have also forced 72 turnovers in the four games, an average of 18 per game. Tre' Coggins is averaging a shade over his season scoring average (17.4), averaging 17.5 points a game during the streak while Jackson Rowe is grabbing 9.8 rebounds a game during that stretch. Kyle Allman (11), Lionheart Leslie (10) and Rowe (10) have also terrorized the opposing offense with each having double-digit steals during the stretch.
...AND SNAPPING STREAKS
Cal State Fullerton has eliminated a pair of long and dubious losing streaks this season. Earlier this year, Fullerton defeated Hawai'i to snap a 10-game losing streak to the Rainbow Warriors. On Wednesday, the Titans eliminated another streak with a 56-54 win over UC Irvine, putting a halt to their 10-game losing streak to the Anteaters.
BIG WEST SUCCESS
The Titans eight victories so far in conference play mark the most wins in conference for Fullerton in the Dedrique Taylor era and the most Big West victories since the 2011-12 season when the Titans went 12-4 in the Big West to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
ROWE MAKING THE CASE
Freshman Jackson Rowe's first season at Fullerton continues shine and has the Toronto, Ontario native in serious contention for the conference's freshman of the year honor. Rowe currently leads the Big West in field goal percentage (56.1%) and is third in the conference in rebounding (7.0 rpg). He's also tied for fourth in the conference with four double-doubles, recording a 12-point, 12-rebound effort in Wednesday's win over UC Irvine.
TRUE GRIT
Cal State Fullerton's two-point victory over UC Irvine kept the Titans undefeated this season in games decided by four points or less. They are now 4-0 in those contests.
GRAND LARCENY
The Titans snagged eight more steals against UC Irvine in Wednesday's victory. Fullerton has now recorded 53 steals in its last six games, an 8.83 per game average. It was also the sixth time this season the Titans have recorded at least seven steals in a game.
TITANS TEAM RANKS
The Titans are second in the Big West Conference in blocks per game (3.9) and total blocks (101), defensive rebounds per game (26.81) and overall rebounding at 37.69 a game. Additionally, Fullerton is ranked third in the Big West in scoring average (73.9 ppg), second in field goal percentage (44.9%), and field goal percentage defense (42.1%).
PAINT BY NUMBERS
Cal State Fullerton has outscored its opponents 828-647 in the paint this season. The Titans have been outscored in the paint four times this season after UCR outscored them 32-20 on Feb. 16. Prior to that, Fullerton had not been outscored in the paint since Jan. 14 at UC Irvine.
ON DECK FOR THE TITANS
The Titans return home for their final home game of the season Thursday night as they welcome UC Santa Barbara to Titan Gym. It will also be Senior Night as the Titans honor their seniors: Tre' Coggins, Lionheart Leslie, Darcy Malone and Richard Peters.
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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