Cal State Fullerton Game Notes (PDF) | Loyola Marymount Game Notes (PDF)

FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton men's basketball is back on the road to play at Loyola Marymount on Friday at 7 p.m. PT. The Titans will look to start a new winning streak on Friday and you can watch the game on TheW.TV.

FROM THE TIP
• The Titans had their five-game winning streak snapped at California last weekend but look to begin a new streak on Friday at Loyola Marymount. This is the 27th matchup between the two programs and both teams have 13 wins each in the all-time series. Four of the next five games are on the road for CSF.

• Junior guard Kyle Allman, Jr. is tops on the team and fourth in the Big West Conference in scoring at 17.5 on 50.5 percent shooting from the field. He's third on the team in assists at 2.0 per game (20 total) and is first on the team in steals with 12 (1.2 per game). Allman has scored 20+ points four times this season and 30+ points on two occasions. The Brooklyn native has scored in double figures in each of the last seven games.

• Junior guard Khalil Ahmad, the Big West Player of the Week on Dec. 11, is second on the squad in scoring at 15.0 points per game. He has been on a tear lately, scoring 24 points, 34 points and 21 points in each of the last three games. He is the team's most prolific three-point shooter at 24-61 (39.3%) from beyond the arc. Ahmad has made at least four three-point field goals in three straight games.

• Sophomore forward Jackson Rowe is third in the conference in field goal percentage at 60.0 (39-65). Rowe is one of three Titans to average double figures in scoring at 11.7 per game. He leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 per game and is tied for eighth in the league at 0.9 blocks per game. He is also shooting a remarkable 70.6 percent (12-17) from beyond the arc. 

• The Titans have one of the best defenses in the Big West Conference and rank very well in statistical categories such as opponent field goal percentage (41.3%, No. 85 mark in the nation, No. 4 in BWC), opponent three-point field goal percentage (30.0%, No. 37 in the country, No. 3 in BWC) and points allowed per game (68.5, No. 2 in BWC).

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22 AT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT || 7 PM PT
Series Record: 13-13

Home Record: 7-6

Away Record: 5-6

Neutral Record: 1-1

Current Streak: Lost Five

First Meeting: 1/22/72 at Loyola Marymount, L, 99-87

Last Meeting: 12/12/15 vs. Loyola Marymount, L, 82-70

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT NOTES
• The Lions are 5-5 this year and boast a 3-1 record at home. Head coach Mike Dunlap  is in his fourth year at the helm of the program. 

• James Batemon leads the team in scoring at 18.1 points per game, shooting 52% from the field and 77% from the charity stripe. He is in the top 50 in the nation in free throws made this season at 57 on 74 attempts. 

• The Lions are eighth in the country and first in the WCC in offensive rebounds per game at 14.60. 

• Eli Scott (12.9 ppg) and Steven Haney (11.4 ppg) are also double-figure scorers for the Lions.

SET THE TABLE
For CSF, Sophomore guard Austen Awosika is third on the team in rebounding at 50 per game and leads the squad in assists at 3.2. He has hauled in at least three rebounds in every game this season. He has assisted on a team-high 23.6% of his teammates field goals while he's on the court and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0, also the best mark on the team. Awosika also leads the team in +/- rating at +52. 

MOVE THE BALL
Head coach Dedrique Taylor has emphasized ball movement to the team and it is still a work-in-progress as the team is sixth in assists per game in the conference at 12.8. At this point in the season, the Titans average 15.7 assists in their six wins and only 9.0 in their losses.

CHARITY STRIPE
CSF entered The Wooden Legacy ranked 351st in the nation in free-throw percentage at 49%. Since then, the team has shot better than 70% in six of seven games, including two games greater than 84%. The Titans have shot 72.8% in their three wins and 62.4 in their four losses on the year. The squad is 5-0 when it makes more free throws than the opponent and 4-2 when it has more attempts.

TURNOVER WOES
Taylor has a whiteboard at practice that faces the court and a student manager tracks turnovers and deflections for each individual. It is a point of emphasis for him and the team as he mentions it after every game. The Titans average 15.0 turnovers per game and are still looking to cut that number down.

UPDATING THE RECORD BOOKS
Jackson Rowe and Kyle Allman, Jr. both had their names etched into the Cal State Fullerton record book after The Wooden Legacy over Thanksgiving weekend. Allman poured in a career-high 34 points against Georgia (Nov. 23), one of the best scoring performances in program history. Rowe tied a 37-year old school record for the best field goal percentage in a single game, as he shot 10-10 from the field against Harvard (11/26/17) for a career-high 25 points. 

Khalil Ahmad had one of the best scoring performances as well, tying Allman with 34 points of his own against Utah Valley (Dec. 9) with a career-high six three-point field goals. 

PICK YOUR SPOTS
The Titans have tried to pick their spots better in transition and slow the game down in order to get better shots and try to cut down on the turnovers. Taylor is still looking for the team to push the ball when they can but after 10 games, the team averages 70.0 possessions per 40 minutes (KenPom) which is 166th in the country.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Khalil Ahmad was named Big West Player of the Week on Dec. 11 for his play over the week of Dec. 4-10. Ahmad earned his first career Big West Men's Basketball Player of the Week award after helping Cal State Fullerton win its fourth and fifth straight games. The 6-4 guard averaged 29.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as the Titans defeated Portland (76-66) on the road and Utah Valley (91-83) at home. He poured in a career-high 34 points against the Wolverines, aided by a career-best six three-point makes in 10 attempts.  He shot 11-for-21 overall against Utah Valley. He scored 24 points at Portland, hitting on 8-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range.  He shot 58.8 percent (10-for-17) from distance for the week.

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.

FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans) and Snapchat (FullertonTitans). In addition, the basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonHoops) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonHoops).