Hawaii (17-7, 6-4) at Cal State Fullerton (8-15, 3-6)
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 | 6:00 PM
Titan Gym • Fullerton, Calif.
Game Coverage: Live Stats |Audio |Video | CSF Release 
UH Release
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Webcast: ESPN3
PXP: Tim Becwar
Analyst: Richie Schueler
Sideline: Rahshaun Haylock
Streaming Audio: www.FullertonTitans.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at www.fullertontitans.com
ON TAP: Cal State Fullerton snapped a three-game losing streak on Thursday, recording a 74-64 win over UC Davis. The Titans will look to make it two in a row on Saturday, hosting Hawai'i at Titan Gym as part of CSUF Homecoming festivities.
HOMECOMING:
Saturday, February 15
Titan Festival: 3 p.m. in front of Titan Gym
Homecoming has become an annual tradition at Cal State Fullerton for alumni, students and the community.
Bring your family and friends for a day of fun for Titans of all ages! The game against Hawai'i, which begins at 6 p.m., follows the Titan Festival.
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 updates during the 2013-14 season.
SCOUTING HAWAI'I: The University of Hawaii men's basketball team seeks an unprecedented fourth straight conference road win when it takes on Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. With an 87-76 win at UC Riverside on Thursday, the Rainbow Warriors remained in the thick of the Big West race, moving into a tie for third-place with Long Beach State and 1.5 games behind league-leaders UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. Hawai'i has won three straight road games and is looking for its fourth straight conference road win, something that has never been accomplished in more than 30 years of league play in the Western Athletic Conference and Big West.
HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. HAWAI'I: Cal State Fullerton and the Rainbow Warriors have played one another just six times dating back to 1983, and UH holds a 4-2 advantage. The Titans have lost three straight, and Fullerton's last win against Hawai'i was a 90-76 victory in Honolulu on Nov. 16, 2008.
LAST TIME OUT VS. HAWAI'I: Christian Standhardinger scored 18 points to lead five Hawaii players in double figures and a late 13-2 run erased a 10-point deficit to help pace the Warriors to a, 77-75, victory over host Cal State Fullerton in front of a raucous Titan Gym crowd of 3,978 fans on Feb. 2 in Fullerton.
THE SECOND LEG...SORT OF: Cal State Fullerton has completed half of its Big West Conference schedule, although the Titans played UC Riverside twice during the first leg, and Fullerton will pay Hawai'i twice during the second leg. The Titans have split season series with UC Davis and UC Riverside.
ROSTER STATUS: Cal State Fullerton currently has 16 student-athletes listed on its roster, with 12 players having seen game action thus far in 2013-14. Corey Walker and Moses Morgan must redshirt the season due to NCAA transfer rules. Freshman guard Hidde Vos and junior guard James Douglas are expected to redshirt the season.
INJURY UPDATE: Freshman Floris Versteeg will not be available this week due to a concussion.
EARLY SEASON NOTES: Head coach Dedrique Taylor earned his first win as a head coach after the Titans defeated Montana State, 84-55, in Bozeman, Mont., on Nov. 9...Taylor is the fifth Titan head coach to win his first game at Cal State Fullerton...Cal State Fullerton won its season opener against a Division I opponent for the first time since a 75-67 win at BYU on Nov. 22, 1996 (the 2007-08 season opener was played against CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners as the program was in transition to Div. I status)...Cal State Fullerton's 29-point victory at Montana State was its largest margin of victory on the road since an 81-50 win at Utah on Dec. 7, 2011.
NOTES FROM LAST WEEK: Last Saturday, for the first time this year, Cal State Fullerton shot a higher percentage (.421-.410) than its opponent and lost at Cal State Northridge…Alex Harris scored 27 points, knocking down seven three-pointers at CSUN last Saturday, setting career highs as well as Titan season highs...as a team, the Titans knocked down 12 three-pointers at CSUN, setting a season high…Fullerton's 23 made free throws and 37 free-throw attempts set season highs…Steve McClellan set career highs scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds at CSUN. McClellan's 15 rebounds also marked a Titan season high...for the first time this season, the Titans lost despite scoring more than 80 points, while allowing an opponent to score a season high 92 points...Cal State Fullerton snapped its three-game losing streak in Thursday's 74-64 win over UC Davis…for the third straight game Michael Williams and Alex Harris each eclipsed the 20-point threshold…Chris Collins scored a career-best nine points off the bench against the Aggies.
CURRENT NOTES: Cal State Fullerton has utilized eight different starting lineups during the season...the Titans have lost seven straight road games...CSF has yet to win a Big West game on the road...the Titans have twice lost a halftime lead: at UC Davis (Jan. 18) and at Cal State Northridge (Feb. 8)...Fullerton has not led in a game eight times this year...CSF completed non-conference action with a record of 5-9......Fullerton overcame a 10-point deficit against Sacramento State on Dec. 21 – the largest deficit the Titans have overcome this year...Fullerton's 59-point total against Sacramento State marked its lowest in a win this year...the Titans are 5-0 when scoring over 74 points and shooting 50 percent or more from the floor...Fullerton has also come back twice this season from halftime deficits to win: at Pepperdine (Dec. 4) and vs. Sacramento State (Dec. 21)...Cal State Fullerton won its third straight Big West Conference opener following a 78-73 win over UC Riverside on Jan. 9. Against the Highlanders, five Titans scored in double figures - a first for Fullerton during the 2013-14 season.
HOT HAND: During Fullerton's last three games, junior Alex Harris has been averaging 23.0 points per game, shooting .500 from the floor. He has knocked down 14 three-pointers while dishing seven assists.
INDIVIDUAL MARKERS: Michael Williams has scored in double figures in a team-leading 23 consecutive games. Williams has scored at least 20 points on eight occasions this year. His eight assists against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25 also set a Titan season high.
Alex Harris scored a career-high 27 points in last Saturday's loss at Northridge, while also knocking down seven three-pointers - setting Titan season highs in both categories. He scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half against UCSB on Jan. 25, the most points a Titan has scored in a single half this year. Harris' 10 made free throws against UCR on Jan. 9 also marked a Titan season best as well as career high...Steve McClellan's 18-point, 15-rebound performance against CSUN on Feb. 8 marked the fifth Titan double-double of the season. Both marks were career highs for McClellan.
IN THE BIG WEST: Entering the week, Michael Williams' average of 16.5 points per game ranks seventh in the league, his 2.14 three-pointers per game rank sixth, and his three-point field goal percentage of .348 rates 10th...Alex Harris' 14.4 points per game rank 10th in the Big West, his 1.94 three-pointers per game rank eighth in the league and his 1.28 steals per game rank ninth in the conference...Steve McClellan's 6.3 rebounds per game rank ninth in the Big West, and his 2.36 offensive rebounds per game rank eighth.
WIN-LOSS COMPARISONS: In eight wins, the Titans have shot 49.8 percent from the floor while averaging 77.5 points per game. Also in those wins, Fullerton holds a 35.9-32.4 rebounding advantage and holds opponents to a shooting percentage of .391 and an average of 66.5 points per game.
In 15 losses this season, Fullerton is shooting a field goal percentage of .384 while averaging just 61.1 points per game while opponents average 73.0 ppg and shoot at a clip of .480. In addition, opponents outrebound CSF 36.5-33.5.
MORE COMPARISONS: The Titans have outscored opponents 628-610 in the paint this year as well as holding an advantage in bench points (435-422), but trail opponents in second chance points (226-240) and points off turnovers (312-344). In losses, the Titans have made just 301 trips to the free-throw line, compared to 386 opportunities for opponents.
ROOKIES: Freshman Sheldon Blackwell, a 6-foot-5 guard from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is second on the team totaling 49 assists while averaging 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Blackwell scored a career high 14 points at USC on Nov. 19 and dished a career-best six assists vs. Miami on Nov. 29. Freshman Joe Boyd, a 6-foot-9 forward from Scottsdale, Ariz., is averaging 2.9 ppg while adding 3.2 rpg. Boyd scored a career-high 10 points in Fullerton's 87-80 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 15, and recorded 10 rebounds at USC on Nov. 19.
NEWCOMERS: Cal State Fullerton senior Michael Williams is playing in his first year as a Titan after redshirting the 2012-13 season following a transfer from San Francisco. Williams has experienced immediate success, averaging a team-leading 16.6 points per game, scoring in double figures in 23 straight games. Williams has also scored at least 20 points on eight occasions this season. Junior Steve McClellan, in his first year at Fullerton after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe, is averaging a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per game, and has recorded four games with at least 10 rebounds.
AIR TIME: Currently, Cal State Fullerton has 12 men's basketball games scheduled to be broadcast this season. Still ahead, the Titans' Homecoming game against Hawai'i on Saturday will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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.
A NEW LOOK: Of the 16 players on Cal State Fullerton's roster, 10 had not suited up in a Cal State Fullerton uniform before the 2013-14 season.
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).
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.
2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Attracts Record Crowds: With the attendance for the final four games of the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy being 6,007 for the competition at Honda Center on Dec. 1, the three-day event over Thanksgiving weekend attracted a record 14,982 fans for the in-season college basketball tournament near Disneyland. The Dec. 1 total of 6,007 was a single-day record The 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy featured a Marquette vs. San Diego State championship game at Honda Center. Other schools in the event were Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, College of Charleston, Creighton, George Washington and Miami. With the first four sessions of the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy being played November 28 and 29 at Titan Gym on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, the final four games were combined into one session at Honda Center. The two days of action at Titan Gym drew 3,831 on Thanksgiving Day and 5,144 on Nov. 29.The previous tournament attendance record for the three days of competition at the Anaheim Convention was 14,212 set in November 2009.
