SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @FullertonHoops for updates during the 2013-14 season.
2014 RECAP: Cal State Fullerton's 2013-14 campaign came to a close on March 13, when the Titans suffered a 66-56 to Long Beach State in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament held at the Honda Center. Fullerton completed the year with a record of 11-20 overall as well as a 6-10 mark in Big West play, which secured CSF the No. 6 seed at the Tournament.
BIG WEST ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: Cal State Fullerton senior guard Michael Williams was named Big West Newcomer of the Year and received all-league second team honors, while junior guard Alex Harris was named honorable mention it was announced by the league office on March 10.
Williams was the third Titan honoree to be tabbed Newcomer of the Year in the four years the award has existed. The 6-foot-2 guard started all 31 regular season games and scored at least 10 points in all of them.
As the team's scoring leader at 17.4 points per game, Williams produced a dozen performances of 20 or more points.
In Big West games only, Williams averaged 19.7 points per game – second only to Big West Player of the Year Alan Williams (20.3 ppg).
Harris completed the season averaging 15.6 points (9th Big West), 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He led the Titans in scoring on 11 occasions during the season, and also recorded eight 20-point efforts.
RECORD BOOK UPDATE: Michael William's 198 three-point field goal attempts rank eighth in singe-season history...Fullerton's 20 rebounds in an 86-66 loss to then 25th-ranked Marquette set a new Titan single-game low...Fullerton's 145 steals in 2014 set a new single-season low...Sheldon Blackwelll's 61 assists rank sixth in single-season history for freshmen. Blackwell's .444 field goal percentage (59-of-133) ranks 10th in Fullerton freshman history.
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.
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.
In addition, of the 12 student-athletes who played during the 2014 season, only five had played in a Titan uniform before as CSF welcomed five newcomers and two returning redshirts.
HOME SWEET HOME: Cal State Fullerton completed the 2014 season with a winning record of 8-6 at Titan Gym, but a struggling mark of 3-12 on the road and a record of 0-2 at neutral site games.
Fullerton opened the season with an 84-55 victory at Montana State on Nov. 9, and went on to defeat Pepperdine, 78-64, on Dec, 4 in Malibu. Following Fullerton's win over the Waves, the Titans lost seven straight road games until defeating Cal Poly, 67-59, on Feb. 20 in San Luis Obispo. The win over the Mustangs marked Fullerton's only Big West road win of the year.
Fullerton's seven-game road losing streak was its longest since a 13-game road losing streak during the 2001-02 season from Nov. 7, 2001-Feb. 28, 2002.
Fullerton averaged 70.1 points per game at home and 67.1 points per game on the road.
BIG WEST PLAY: Cal State Fullerton completed the first half of its Big West Conference schedule with a record of 2-6, although the Titans played UC Riverside twice during the first leg, and Fullerton played Hawai'i twice during the second leg. Fullerton finished the second half of conference play with a record of 4-4.
The Titans split season series with UC Davis, UC Riverside, Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State, but were swept by UC Irvine and Hawai'i .
Cal State Fullerton won its third straight Big West Conference opener following a 78-73 victory over UC Riverside on Jan. 9. Against the Highlanders, five Titans scored in double figures - a first for Fullerton during the 2013-14 season.
EARLY SEASON NOTES: 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 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.
AT THE BIG WEST TOURNAMENT: Cal State Fullerton has an overall record of 22-34 (.393) at the Big West Tournament, and the Titans have lost five in a row dating back to 2010.
THE LAST TIME: The Titans, who suffered a 92-83 overtime loss at Cal State Northridge on Feb. 8, played in their first overtime game since an 83-77 win at UC Riverside on Jan. 8, 2011.
SEASON FIRSTS: With a pair of wins over Cal State Northridge (82-81; Feb. 27) and Long Beach State (84-76; Mar. 1), the Titans won back-to-back Big West Conference games for the first time during the 2013-14 season, and clinched Fullerton a spot in the Big West Tournament...in Cal State Fullerton's loss to the Matadors on Feb. 8, for the only time this year, the Titans shot a higher percentage (.421-.410) than their opponent and lost...in the Titans' 82-81 win over the Matadors at Titan Gym on Feb. 27, Cal State Northridge never held a lead in the game. For the first time this season, Cal State Fullerton led from start to finish.
SEASON HIGHS: Fullerton overcame a 14-point deficit in its 84-76 win over Long Beach State on March 1 - the largest deficit the Titans overcame in 2014. In addition, the Titans shot a season-best 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the floor against the 49ers.
SEASON BESTS: Alex Harris knocked down seven three-pointers at CSUN on Feb. 8, setting a career high and Titan season high. As a team, the Titans knocked down 12 three-pointers at CSUN, setting a season high. In addition, Fullerton's 23 made free throws and 37 free-throw attempts set season highs at Northridge. Steve McClellan set career highs scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds at CSUN. McClellan's 15 rebounds also marked a Titan season high.
Alex Harris' 29 points vs. Hawai'i on Feb. 15 marked a career best as well as a Titan season high, which was matched by Michael Williams' 29-point effort at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 22. Williams scored 23 points in the second half at UCSB, also a season best for any Titan in a half this year. In addition, his 12 made field goals on March 1 against Long Beach State set a Titan season high. Williams' 14 made free throws at Cal Poly on Feb. 20, set a career high and Titan season best.
Marquis Horne's four blocks at Cal Poly set a Titan season best as well as career high for the senior.
The crowd of 3,017 for Homecoming vs. Hawai'i on Feb. 15 was Fullerton's largest home crowd of the year.
TEAM NOTES: Cal State Fullerton used 11 different starting lineups during the season. Fullerton did not lead in a game 10 times this year...on Feb. 15 vs. Hawai'i, the Titans lost their fourth halftime lead of the year....CSF completed non-conference action with a record of 5-9...the Titans were 7-0 when scoring over 74 points and shooting 50 percent or more from the floor...Fullerton came back three times during the season from halftime deficits to win: at Pepperdine (Dec. 4), vs. Sacramento State (Dec. 21) and vs. Long Beach State (March 1).
THE LAST EIGHT: Fullerton completed the second half of Big West action with a record of 4-4. During that stretch, the Titans averaged 71.6 points per game and shot 44.7 percent from the floor while knocking 53 three-pointers. Michael Williams led the Titans averaging 20.8 points per game during that stretch followed by Alex Harris (18.0 ppg).
ROAD WOES: The Titans' 67-59 win over Cal Poly on Feb. 20 snapped a seven-game road losing streak as Fullerton won its first and only Big West road game of the year. The Titans also won in San Luis Obispo for the first time since Feb. 24, 2010. The Titans averaged 67.1 points per game on the road (3-12, 1-7 Big West) compared to 70.1 ppg at Titan Gym (8-6, 5-3 Big West).
TEAM LEADER: Michael Williams led the Titans in points (538; 17.4 ppg), three-pointers (71) and assists (76) during the season. He recorded double figures in all 31 games, including 12 20-point performances. In addition, Williams led the Titans in scoring on 18 occasions and led Fullerton in assists 13 times.
His eight assists against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25 set a Titan season high, and on Feb. 20 at Cal Poly, his 14 free throws set a Fullerton season high as well as career best. On Feb. 22 at UCSB, Williams scored a season high 29 points while knocking down a season-best five three-pointers. Williams scored 23 points in the second half at UCSB, also a season best for any Titan in a half this year.
SHARP SHOOTER: A Big West Conference honorable mention pick, Alex Harris appeared in 27 games making 26 starts as one of Fullerton's main offensive options. Harris finished second on the team in points per game (15.6), which also ranked ninth in the Big West. His 1.26 steals per game led the Titans while ranking seventh in the league, while Williams' 54 three pointers (2.0 per game) ranked second on the roster and seventh in the Big West. He recorded 22 double-figure scoring games, including eight 20-point efforts. Williams led the Titans in scoring on 11 occasions, in rebounds five times and in assists on 13 occasions. He ended the season scoring double figures in Fullerton's final 17 games
IN THE BIG WEST: Michael Williams ranked in the top-10 of four Big West statistical categories: points (17.4 ppg; 5th), three-point field goal percentage (.359; 8th), three-pointers per game (2.29, 3rd), minutes (34.61; 2nd). In Big West games only Michael Williams' 19.7 points per game ranked second in the league, while his 2.56 three-pointers per game also rated second. Junior Alex Harris averaged 17.7 ppg in Big West games only ranking fifth in the league, and his 2.56 three-pointers per game in Big West games ranked second.
IN THE PAINT: Junior Steve McClellan averaged 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while senior Marquis Horne averaged 8.1 ppg while also knocking down 25 three-pointers. In Fullerton's last five games, Horne has averaged 12.2 ppg shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and knocking down six three-pointers.
WIN-LOSS COMPARISONS: In 11 wins, the Titans shot 50.3 percent from the floor while averaging 77.5 points per game. Also, Fullerton held opponents to a shooting percentage of .407 and an average of 68.0 points per game.
In 20 losses this season, Fullerton shot a field goal percentage of .384 while averaging just 62.0 points per game. Opponents averaged 73.3 ppg and shot at a clip of .489. In addition, opponents outrebounded CSF 35.8-33.2.
AIR TIME: Cal State Fullerton had 15 men's basketball games broadcast this year. The Titans posted a 2-13 record in games that were broadcast during the 2013-14 season.
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.