FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton men's basketball earned its first Big West Conference win of the year on Thursday night as the squad defeated UC Riverside by a nice score of 69-61. Senior guards Kyle Allman, Jr. and Khalil Ahmad led the team in scoring with 21 and 14 points, respectively.
The Titans closed the first half on a 5-0 run to take a 32-31 lead at the break. After UC Riverside's first bucket to regain the lead on the first possession of the second frame, the Titans responded with a bucket of their own and did not trail for the remaining 19 minutes of the game and led by as many as 15 with just over a minute left to play.
The Titans shot 50.0% from the field (23-46), the highest mark of the season against a DI opponent. The team also hit 10 three-point field goals (on 22 tries), the most in a game since Nov. 21 at Hofstra. CSF struggled at the charity stripe, hitting just 13-20 (65.0%).
Allman hit four three-point field goals on the night, all in the first half, on his way to 21 points (7-11 FGA, 4-8 3FGA, 3-6 FTA) while also dishing out a team-high four assists. Ahmad scored 14 while also contributing four rebounds, two assists and a game-high three steals.
.@oh_snaap25 followed that up with a lob to @JacksonRaw and then another 3! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/7Str4IlKol
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 18, 2019
The team's nine turnovers and 12 team fouls marked season-lows against DI opponents as well.
Fullerton resumes conference action on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT at Long Beach State.
.@CSFCoachTaylor on tonight's win over UC Riverside. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/zQvEnJtSO8
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 18, 2019
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