FULLERTON, Calif. — Cal State Fullerton men's basketball came up just short versus UC Santa Barbara Thursday night at Titan Gym in its Big West Conference opener, falling 66-58. The loss moves the Titans to 6-7 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
"I thought in the second half the ball started to move a little more," said Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor. "We started to loosen up their defense more and get some easy looks. UC Santa Barbara is a really good basketball team with a lot of depth. When it came down to crunch time they stepped up."
Fullerton led 56-55 after a pair of Max Jones free throws with 1:31 to go but couldn't quite hold on, as the Gauchos finished the game on an 11-2 run to seal the win. The Titans gave up a season-high 21 turnovers to Santa Barbara's 11 but outrebounded the Gauchos 33-22.
Jalen Harris led Fullerton with 19 points and three rebounds, while Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 10 points and four boards. Vincent Lee chipped in a near double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds and Jones added nine points and six boards.
The Titans found themselves trailing 42-31 with 13:34 left in the second half before they started to claw their way back, with a Harris jumper and Grayson Carper corner triple cutting their deficit, 42-36. Vincent Lee got a basket to fall and Garrison Wade nailed a three to then bring Fullerton within two, 47-45, with 7:14 left.
Harris hit a pair of free throws and Lee added one to then give the Titans the lead, 48-47. Harris then scored four straight before four free throws from Jones gave Fullerton the 56-55 lead with 1:31 left.
.@jalenh2 finishing strong ��#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/vHLFk9RHCO
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) December 30, 2022
But the Titans couldn't quite capitalize, as the Gauchos hit their free throws down the stretch and used an 11-2 run to seal the win.
UC Santa Barbara got out to a 28-15 lead in the first half before the Titans clawed their way back into things, with Harris getting a driving layup to fall. Lathaniel Bastian hit a pair of free throws and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. drilled a three-pointer with 31 seconds left in the half to bring Fullerton within five, 30-25, heading into the locker room.
Harris paced the Titans with seven points in the first half, going on to score 19 in the game for his ninth double-figure scoring output on the season. Wrightsell Jr. and Jones each had five points in the first period, with Wrightsell Jr. also going on to record double figures in scoring for the ninth time this season.
Fullerton remains at home to take on CSUN on Saturday, December 31st. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT.
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