Cal State Fullerton Game Notes (PDF) | Homecoming Release
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team hosts Loyola Marymount on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before hitting the road again.
TOYS FOR TOTS TOY DRIVE
Bring a new and unwrapped toy to Wednesday's Basketball game and place it in an Athletics Staff or Coaching Staff bin, as these two teams are competing to see who can collect the most toys for bragging rights. By doing so, you will receive a General Admission ticket for each toy dropped off to our Men's Basketball Conference Home Opener on Saturday, January 12th at 6:00pm vs. UC Irvine, a rematch of the 2018 Big West Conference Tournament Final.
Can't make the game but you'd like to drop off a toy or two?! We've got you covered. From now until Thursday, December 13th at 2:00pm you can drop off a new and unwrapped toy to the Athletics – Titan House, located off Gymnasium Drive on campus, and receive a General Admission ticket for each toy dropped off to our Men's Basketball Conference Home Opener on Saturday, January 12th at 6:00pm vs. UC Irvine. – Thank you for your support of the Titans, today's youth, and Happy Holidays.
FROM THE TIP
• Cal State Fullerton returns to Titan Gym after a tough road trip for a two-game homestand against Cal Lutheran on Homecoming on Saturday and then hosts undefeated Loyola Marymount.
• Senior guard Kyle Allman, Jr., Allman tops on the squad and second in the Big West in scoring at 20.5 points per game. He's third on the squad in assists and tied a career-high against Wake Forest (Nov. 16) with eight helpers. The Brooklyn native has scored has scored 10+ in 26 of his last 27 games. Allman has scored 30+ six times over the course of this season and last season.
• Senior guard Khalil Ahmad, the Nov. 19 Big West Player of the Week, had a strong showing at the Myrtle Beach Invitational as he earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Over the three-game tournament he averaged 25.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals, including a 40-point outburst against Monmouth. He is second on the team and fourth in the Big West in scoring at 20.0 points per game. He's also first in the league and 17th in the nation in steals per game at 2.57.
• Ahmad became the 24th Titan in program history to score 1,000 points in a career after scoring 31 at UC Davis (Feb. 10, 2018). He has totaled 1,289 points in his career, the 10th-best mark in the program. Allman joined him in the 1K Club on Feb. 28 when he scored 23 points at CSUN (Feb. 16, 2018). He sits 1,225 points for his career, No. 13 all-time.
• Junior forward Jackson Rowe is rounding into form and has been very effective for the Titans thus far this season, doing a bit of everything on the floor. He is averaging 11.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He leads the team in both rebounds and blocks, and had a career-high four rejections against Monmouth (Nov. 18). He's shooting an impressive 60.0% (27-45) from the field and 76.9% (10-13) from the charity stripe. Rowe has played 146 minutes for the Titans this year and the team has out-scored the opponent by 56 points (+15.18 per 40 minutes) in that timeframe, the best mark on the team.
HOMECOMING | WOOLSEY FIRE DONATIONS
In between the two games fans can take part in the Homecoming pregame festival, which has an all new look and feel this year. Homecoming package includes general admission to the festival and both Women's and Men's Basketball games, a custom student designed T-shirt, meal voucher for an In-N-Out Burger, and non-alcoholic beverages.
The Tuffy Lawn, which is in front of Titan Gym, will be transformed into a Beer Garden featuring brews from Bootlegger's, along with live entertainment, games and more. All ages are welcome as we cheer on the women's and men's basketball teams in this doubleheader day. Homecoming package purchasers will be permitted to float between the gym and the festival throughout the women's and men's games.
Get all the information on the Homecoming festivities here.
Cal State Fullerton Athletics is also accepting donations on behalf of the Woolsey Fire victims at the men's and women's basketball games on Saturday for Homecoming. All of the donations that we receive will be sent to the victims.
LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN...AND EIGHT
Each of the three times the Titans have qualified for the NCAA Tournament it has been in seasons that end in 7-8. CSF went to the "Elite Eight" in 1977-78, played in the first round in 2007-08 as well as 2017-18. In both 2007-08 and 2017-18, CSF played UC Irvine in the Big West Tournament final and earned victories on both occasions.
2018 BIG WEST TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
The Titans won the league tournament for the third time in program history. In the quarterfinal round, the No. 4 seeded CSF defeated Long Beach State by a score of 76-74 with the Titans getting a defensive stop on the final possession to secure the win. In the semifinal matchup against No. 1 seed UC Davis, the Titans came back from a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat the Aggies 55-52. After two nail biters, CSF cruised to a 71-55 victory over UC Irvine in the final, leading for over 36 minutes of the game and played what head coach Dedrique Taylor called, the team's best game of the year. The trio of Allman, Ahmad and Rowe combined to score 145 of the 202 points CSF scored in those three games.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 VS. CAL LUTHERAN || 6 PM PT
Series Record: 1-1
Home Record: 1-0
Away Record: 0-0
Neutral Record: 0-1
Current Streak: W1
First Meeting: 12/04/64 vs. Cal Lutheran, L, 71-75
Last Meeting: 12/02/17 vs. Cal Lutheran, W, 86-58
CAL LUTHERAN NOTES
The Cal Lutheran men's basketball team returns four of five starters from a year ago, welcomes 10 new student-athletes.
Back for their senior year is Austin Cole, Kyle Ferreira and Michael Wadsworth. Cole and Ferreira were both named to the All-SCIAC Second Team last year. Ferreira led the team with 18.2 points per game and 7.0 rebounds. Cole averaged 17.3 points per game and shot 41.7-percent from the field, 40-percent from the three-point arc and 85.2-percent from the free throw line.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5 VS. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT || 7 PM PT
Series Record: 14-13
Home Record: 7-6
Away Record: 6-6
Neutral Record: 1-1
Current Streak: W1
First Meeting: 01/22/72 at LMU, L, 87-99
Last Meeting: 12/22/17 at LMU, W, 88-80
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT NOTES
LMU's 7-0 start can be attributed to a number of factors, including their ability to knock down free throws. Not only did a pair of free throws at the end of the Central Connecticut State game ensure victory, but the Lions rank fourth in Division I with an 81.1 percent shooting mark from the line this year.
No individual player in the country has made for free throws than senior guard James Batemon. Following his 11-for-11 performance on Saturday, Batemon ranks first in the NCAA with 53 makes. Batemon is shooting at a 88.3 percent mark this season, to go along with his league-leading 14 steals and second in the WCC 152 points scored. As a team, the Lions lead the West Coast Conference with 51 steals.
Mattias Markusson is the conference's second-best rebounder, with 64 boards. Following his double-double performance on Saturday, freshman Dameane Douglas has moved up to 11th in the WCC with 44 rebounds.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
For CSF, junior guard Austen Awosika is fifth on the team in scoring (5.7 points per game), first in assists (3.9 per game), second in blocks (7 total, 1.0 per game), third in steals (0.85 per game) and second in rebounding (5.3 per game). He led the team in the category last year and is tops on the team again this year in assist percentage (an estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals assisted while on the floor) at 22.0%.
FINDING THE RIGHT LINEUPS
The Titans are still early in the season and have dealt with key players missing some games early on but the Titans have found success with the quintet of Kyle Allman, Jr., Austen Awosika, Khalil Ahmad, Jamal Smith and Jackson Rowe. In 21:32 on the floor together, that group has a plus/minus of +25, scoring 58 points and allowing just 33.
UPDATING THE RECORD BOOKS
In addition to Khalil Ahmad and Kyle Allman, Jr. climbing the rankings of all-time points as a Titan, the duo have both added their names to the list of individual scoring performances in a single game this season. Ahmad scored 40 points against Monmouth (Nov. 18) and had a historic day, setting career highs in points (40), field goals made (13, on just 22 shots) and three-point field goals made (8). He is just the fifth Titan to ever score 40 points or more in a game, joining Bobby Brown, Tre' Coggins, Josh Akognon and Kyle Allman, Jr. Ahmad's 40 points was the highest point total ever in a men's basketball game at the HTC Center, breaking the previous record of 36 set by Quinton Wood on Dec. 13, 2013.
Allman scored 38 points at Hofstra (Nov. 21), tied for the seventh-best scoring performance in a single game in program history and just two points off his career-high. He knocked down a career-high eight three-point field goals, improving on his previous best of five.
Allman now has four of the top 30 scoring performances in CSF history while Ahmad has two.
ONLY TWO NEW FACES
The Titans just two newcomers to the squad this season in freshman guard Wayne Arnold and forward Amel Kuljuhovic. Arnold prepped at Dominguez High School in Compton while Kuljuhovic is a transfer from Lake Land College. Arnold is a high-level shooter he showed against West Coast Baptist when he scored 23 points to lead all scorers, including four three-point field goals. He is averaging 6.8 points and 14.2 minutes per game. Kuljuhovic has the size to work down low but can also stretch the defense with his jump shot. He is averaging 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game thus far.
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 (@FullertonMBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonMBB).
