FULLERTON, Calif. – The Big West Conference announced the 2018-19 preseason poll on Thursday as well as the preseason all-conference team. Cal State Fullerton men's basketball was selected to finish second by the media with 183 points and also recorded four first-place votes. Senior guards Khalil Ahmad and Kyle Allman, Jr. were named to the six- man Big West Preseason All-Conference Team.
Cal State Fullerton won last year's Big West Tournament to advance to the NCAA's for the first time in 10 seasons. The Titans were also the eighth different team in eight years to hoist the tournament championship trophy, compiling their first 20-win season under head coach Dedrique Taylor. CSF returns four starters and 12 letterwinners in hopes of an encore performance. A pair of career 1,000-point scorers in Allman and Ahmad lead the charge. Allman earned All-Big West First Team accolades after leading the conference in scoring (19.5 ppg), while Ahmad was fifth at 15.1 points per game and an all-conference second team selection. The tandem has combined to score 2,251 points over three seasons. CSF also welcomes back honorable mention all-league performer JACKSON ROWE (12.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg).
UC Irvine was selected first by the media in the poll with 192 points and 10 first-place votes. UC Davis, the reigning Big West regular season champions, were selected third with 180 points and six first-place votes. UCSB was fourth (149 points, four first-place votes) and Long Beach State (116 points) was fifth.
KHALIL AHMAD, CAL STATE FULLERTON Senior • Guard • Corona, Calif.
2017-18
• Notched All-Big West Second Team accolades
• Big West returning career leader in points with 1,149
• Ranks No. 17 all-time at Cal State Fullerton in scoring
• Team went 9-1 when he scored 20 or more points, including career-high 34 points in win versus Utah Valley
• Finished No. 6 in Big West scoring at 15.1 points per game
KYLE ALLMAN, JR., CAL STATE FULLERTON Senior • Guard • Brooklyn, N.Y.
2017-18
• Earned All-Big West First Team recognition
• Named to National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 9 Second Team
• Most Valuable Player of Big West Tournament
• Led league in scoring average (19.5 ppg), total points scored (623), 30-point games (4) and 20-point games (17)
• Scored career-high 40 points on 16 of 19 shooting in win at Hawai'i
• Took 244 free throw attempts, the No. 10 mark in Big West single-season history
• Has scored 1,102 career points
The first chance to see the defending Big West Tournament Championships is on Friday at 7 p.m. PT for the Blue/Orange Scrimmage in Titan Gym. Admission is free to the public.
Taylor and the squad host San Diego Christian in an exhibition matchup on Saturday, Nov. 3 before opening up the regular season at Arizona State on Nov. 6.
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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.
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