OREM, Utah – Cal State Fullerton men's basketball lost its final non-conference matchup of the season on Saturday night at Utah Valley by a score of 87-78. Five Titans scored in double figures, a first for the season, but the team shot just 34.0 percent from the field and it wasn't enough to overcome the Wolverines' offensive effectiveness.
Utah Valley (11-5) had three starters score 20+ points, as Kenneth Ogbe scored a game-high 23 points. Akolda Manyang had 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks while Brand Randolph also chipped in 20 points, five rebounds and three assists.
In a free-throw battle where a total of 50 fouls were called during the game, CSF shot 39-47 (83 percent) from the stripe while UVU shot 30-36 (83 percent). UVU shot 40 percent (24-60) from the field and 38 percent (9-24) from beyond the arc and that was the difference in the game. The Titans shot 34.0 percent (18-53) from the field, their second-lowest mark of the season.
Junior guard Khalil Ahmad led Cal State Fullerton (7-5) in scoring with 18 points, including 14-14 from the charity stripe, which is the third-best free-throw shooting performance in a single game in program history. Junior guard Kyle Allman, Jr. scored 15 points and was 9-10 from the free-throw line, but the team's top two scorers on the year combined to shoot just 5-28 from the field.
Dime by @austen_acee and a reverse layup by @dee_clare5! Davon has tied his career high with 11 points. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/gebcSZJOKp
— Titans Basketball (@FullertonHoops) December 31, 2017
Redshirt sophomore guard Jamal Smith (10 points, five rebounds, one steal), sophomore forward Jackson Rowe (11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block, one steal) and sophomore forward Davon Clare (career-high 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block, two steals) also scored in double figures.
The squad begins Big West Conference play on Wednesday against UC Riverside at 7 p.m. PT in Titan Gym. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN3.
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