LOS ANGELES – Cal State Fullerton men's basketball used a balanced scoring effort, stellar free-throw shooting and 29 points off turnovers to earn an 88-80 victory over Loyola Marymount on Friday night. Senior forward Arkim Robertson had a career night, posting career-highs in points (14), rebounds (13), assists (three) and he also had three blocks and a steal.
The Titans (7-4) used an 18-5 run to end the first half and give the team a 43-33 advantage at the break over LMU (5-6) and they would never surrender that lead. Despite recording a season-high 22 turnovers, the Titans scored 88 points, their third-highest total of the season. The team shot a season-high 57.1 percent from the field on 28-49 shooting and knocked down a season-high 26 free throws on 31 tries.
.@ArkimRobertson talks about his career night. He had career highs in points (14), rebounds (13) and assists (3). He also had 3 blocks and a steal. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/P7MYUUonMf
— Titans Basketball (@FullertonHoops) December 23, 2017
Junior guard Khalil Ahmad led the team in scoring with 25 points, marking his fourth straight game with 20 points or more. He shot 7-15 from the field and connected on all 10 of his free throws. Along with Robertson's 14 points, sophomore forward Jackson Rowe also scored in double figures with 19 points and sophomore guard Austen Awosika had 11 points. Awosika also chipped in three rebounds, five assists and tied a career-high three steals.
Junior guard Kyle Allman, Jr., the team's leading scorer on the year, impacted the game in other ways tonight as he hauled in five rebounds, dished out a career-high eight assists, tied a career-high three steals and scored nine points.
������ @austen_acee! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/Vs16m4Nhzk
— Titans Basketball (@FullertonHoops) December 23, 2017
Loyola Marymount was led by guard James Batemon who was the game's leading scorer with 29 points on 10-16 shooting. The Lions cut the CSF lead to six with just a few minutes remaining in the game but the Titans responded with a 7-0 run of their own to close out the victory.
The squad returns to action on Saturday at Utah Valley at 5 p.m. PT.
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