Cal State Fullerton at Montana State
Saturday, November 9, 2013 | 3:30 p.m. (PT)/4:30 p.m. (MT)
at Bozeman, Mont.
Worthington Arena (7,000)
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Video | MSU Audio| CSF Release    | MSU Release

SERIES RECORDS
Overall: MSU leads 4-3
Titan Gym: 2-0
at Worthington Arena 1-3
neutral: 0-1

CATCH ALL THE ACTION

Television: None

Streaming Video: Streaming video will be available at www.BigSkyTV.com.

Audio Webcast: www.kmmsam.com

Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at www.statbroadcast.com

TICKETS: Single-game tickets for all home games can be purchased online at www.FullertonTitans.com as well as in person or by calling the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Ticket Office at (657) 278-2783 from the hours of 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. On gamedays, tickets can be purchased one hour prior to tip-off at the Titan Gym ticket box office.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @FullertonHoops for daily updates during the 2013-14 season.

QUICK PREVIEW: Cal State Fullerton returns to the floor following a 14-18 campaign, including an eighth-place finish in the Big West Conference with a league record of 6-12. The Titans will be blending a new group of players as Fullerton returns just two starters and welcomes eight newcomers to the squad, including five freshmen.

Junior guard Alex Harris is the top returning scorer for Cal State Fullerton after averaging 10.5 points per game last season. Sophomore guard Jared Brandon also returns to the floor after playing in all 32 games last year, and starting the final seven contests of last year.

Senior forward James Johnson is also slated to return after averaging 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 27 starts a year ago, along with fellow returnees Marquis Horne (6.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Chris Collins (1.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg). In addition, senior guard Michael Williams (San Francisco) and junior forward Steve McClellan (Louisiana-Monroe) will return to action after redshirting the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS: Montana State welcomes back nine lettermen and six players with starting experience for the 2013-14 season.

Three veterans return in the backcourt. Marcus Colbert spent much of 2012-13 as the starting point guard, while Antonio Biglow and Michael Dison each bring expansive offensive portfolios to the floor. All three can score from the perimeter, and all three have the ability to distribute and play at different tempos.

Inside, center Paul Egwuonwu and power forward Flavien Davis return as starters, with Blake Brumwell, and Danny Robison adding strength off the bench. Ryan Shannon redshirted a season ago, and he and returning junior Eric Norman bring an outside-in presence to the forward spot.

Montana State's true freshman guard Stephan Holm scored a game-high 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting in his Bobcat debut, an 88-63 exhibition win over Dickinson State in Bozeman. Holm also hit four of his five three-point attempts, grabbed a couple of rebounds, and ended up with a steal.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. MONTANA STATE: Montana State leads the all-time series against the Cal State Fullerton, 4-3, and the Bobcats hold a 3-1 advantage in Bozeman, Mont. The last time the Titans and Bobcats squared off, Fullerton defeated Montana State, 80-66, on Feb. 18, 2012 at Titan Gym. Isiah Umipig scored 24 points and Sedric Martin came off the bench for 13 points and a career-high seven rebounds to lead Cal State Fullerton to an 80-66 win over Montana State in the Sears Bracket Buster series of non-conference games.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. THE BIG SKY: Montana State is one of two teams from the Big Sky Conference that the Titans have on the 2013-14 schedule. Fullerton has a date with Sacramento State on Dec. 21 at Titan Gym. Fullerton's record against Big Sky opponents is 35-36, and just 9-24 on the road.

SEASON OPENERS: Cal State Fullerton has a record of 22-31 in season openers, including just a 6-22 mark on the road in season openers. In season openers on the road (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2013), the Titans gave lost seven straight, and Fullerton's last season-opening road win was a 75-67 win at BYU on Nov. 22, 1996. Fullerton last opened the season against a member of the Big Sky Conference, suffering a 77-60 loss at Northern Arizona on Nov. 21, 2003. Fullerton's last season-opening win was an 118-68 win against Redlands on Nov. 11, 2011.

EXHIBITION RECAP: Led by returners Alex Harris and Jared Brandon, Cal State Fullerton's offense ran on all cylinders as the Titans defeated Redlands, 108-77, in an exhibition game at Titan Gym on Nov. 2. 

Harris led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 10-of-12 from the floor as his only two misses were from three-point range (2-of-4). The junior guard also found his way to a game-high 13 rebounds.

Brandon poured in 20 points on a 7-of-9 shooting performance, while also knocking down 6-of-8 from the free-throw line, dishing four assists and grabbing three steals.

In his first action as a Titan, Josh Gentry added 19 points off the bench on a 7-of-10 shooting performance.

As a team, Fullerton shot an astonishing 56.6 percent (43-of-76) from the floor.

Ten of the 11 players that saw action for Fullerton got on the scoreboard. Michael Williams and Chris Collins finished the game with nine points apiece.

A NEW ERA BEGINS: Former Arizona State associate head men's basketball coach and long-time college assistant Dedrique Taylor was appointed the 11th men's basketball head coach in Cal State Fullerton history, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced on April 3, 2013.

"I think Dedrique is a perfect fit for the Cal State Fullerton program," Donovan said at the time. "His ties to Southern California will help us immensely in our recruiting efforts and his experience in a major conference like the Pac-12 will serve him well in helping bring our program into the upper echelons of the Big West Conference and compete for championships."

"I would like to thank Jim Donovan and the selection committee for believing in my vision for Titan Basketball," Taylor said. "My coaching journey has brought me to a place I call home, and I value that immensely. I look forward to positively impacting the lives of the young men that are currently in the program and the lives of future Titans as well. Together we will represent Fullerton with pride."

REPLACING OFFENSE: Cal State Fullerton lost 60 percent of its scoring from last season with the departure of seniors Sammy Yeager (15.8 ppg), Kwame Vaughn (18.4 ppg) and D.J. Seeley (17.9 ppg).

Junior Alex Harris averaged 10.5 points per game last season, but averaged 14.3 points per game over the final eight games of the year, including a season-best 22 points at Cal Poly on March 9, 2013. 

EIGHT IS GREAT: What a difference a point makes. Cal State Fullerton was a stellar 8-2 in 2012-13 when scoring at least 80 points compared to just 6-16 when scoring 79 points or fewer.

NINETY IS NICE: Fullerton's 95 points in its win at UC Davis on Jan. 24, 2013 marked the sixth time in 14 victories last year that the Titans eclipsed the 90-point plateau. Fullerton averaged 86.2 ppg in its 14 victories last season while holding opponents to just 70.2 ppg in those contests. 

TITANS IN THE NBA: Former Cal State Fullerton men's basketball player Josh Akognon became the 12th former Titan to appear in the NBA on April 10, 2013 playing four minutes and scoring two points to go with an assist for the Dallas Mavericks in their 102-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center.

Akognon, who played two seasons for Fullerton from 2007-09, became the first Titan to appear in an NBA game since Bobby Brown (2003-07) competed for the New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009-10 season. 

DIRECTV WOODEN LEGACY: Tickets for the seventh annual Wooden Legacy, a multi-team collegiate basketball tournament are currently on sale.  Eight teams are competing in the highly anticipated event: Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, College of Charleston, Creighton, George Washington, Marquette, Miami and San Diego State.

The tournament will be held at two sites over the 2013 Thanksgiving weekend, with the opening two rounds being played at Cal State Fullerton November 28 & 29, and four placement contests featuring the championship game Sunday, December 1 at Honda Center. 

All-session tickets and individual tickets for Championship Sunday are available at www.ticketmaster.com, via phone at (800) 745-3000, and all Ticketmaster outlets, and at the Honda Center Box Office.