Weekly Release (PDF)

Cal State East Bay at Cal State Fullerton
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 | 7:00 PM
Titan Gym • Fullerton, Calif.

Seattle at Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2014 | 6:00 PM
Titan Gym • Fullerton, Calif.

THIS WEEK
On a three-game winning streak, Cal State Fullerton (6-7) returns to Titan Gym on Tuesday to host Cal State East Bay at 7 p.m. Fullerton will close non-conference action on Saturday as Seattle returns to Titan Gym in a 6 p.m. contest.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
Cal State Fullerton's 7 p.m. contest against the Pioneers on Tuesday is the third of a four-game homestand for the Titans which also includes Seattle at 6 p.m. on Saturday.Cal State Fullerton students receive free admission to Titan home games with their Titan I.D. card.Additional ticket information can be found by clicking HERE.

QUICK NOTES
• Cal State Fullerton enters Tuesday's game on a three-game winning streak, the longest for the program since winning four consecutive games from Dec. 13-29, 2012.
• The Titans have eight newcomers this year. Of the 16 players on Cal State Fullerton's roster, 11 had not played in a game for the Titans prior to the 2014-15 season.
• The Titans' +1.2 rebounding margin ranks third in the Big West Conference as Steve McClellan (7.3 rpg) and Joe Boyd (5.6 rpg) lead the Titans on the boards.
• Fullerton has used four different starting lineups this year, but the Titans are 3-1 with Alex Harris, Moses Morgan, Josh Gentry, Joe Boyd and Steve McClellan in the starting lineup.
• Alex Harris, who has started the last four games at the point guard position, has scored in double figures in seven straight games.
• Steve McClellan has led the Titans in rebounding for six straight games, and with 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Dec. 22, he recorded his third double-double of the season and the sixth of his career.

NOTES FROM LAST WEEK
Cal State Fullerton is now on a three-game winning streak, the longest for the program since winning four consecutive games from Dec. 13-29, 2012…on Monday, Dec. 22, sophomore guard Jordan Mason made his first appearance in a Titan uniform against Texas A&M Corpus Christi as he transferred to Fullerton following the fall 2013 term…the Titans scored a season-high 82 points against the Islanders…Alex Harris' 29 points vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi set a new season high for the senior guard as well as matching a career best…Harris' 23 points in the second half were the most for a Titan in a single half this year...the Titans' 22-point margin of victory vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills on Dec. 18 was its largest of the season, and the largest since an 84-55 victory at Montana on Nov. 9, 2013.

Cal State East Bay | 7:00 p.m. | Tuesday, Dec. 30 | Titan Gym
Cal State East Bay (3-6, 1-2 CCAA), an NCAA Division II opponent from the California Collegiate Athletic Association, travels to Titan Gym on Tuesday. The Pioneers will be the second CCAA opponent for the Titans this season as Fullerton previously defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 72-50, on Dec. 18 at Titan Gym. Cal State East Bay has dropped four of its last five, and Fullerton will be the Pioneers second Division I opponent of the season after the CSUEB suffered an, 80-51 loss at Pacific on Dec. 3.
Head-To-Head: Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series against Cal State East Bay, 3-0.
Last Meeting: Cal State Fullerton recorded a 92-73 victory over Cal State East Bay (formerly Cal State Hayward) on Dec. 27, 1963 in Bishop, Calif.

Seattle | 6:00 p.m. | Saturday, Jan. 3 | Titan Gym
Seattle (6-6, 0-0 WAC) will host UC Davis on Tuesday at Key Arena before traveling to Cal State Fullerton to play the Titans on Saturday. The Redhawks have played two opponents from Fullerton's 2014-15 schedule this year, defeating San Jose State, 54-38, on Dec. 13, while also recording a 66-47 win over Sacramento State on Dec. 21. The Titans finished with a 1-1 record against those opponents. In addition, Seattle has four Big West members on it schedule. The Redhawks defeated CSUN, 70-58, on Nov. 29 in Seattle but suffered an 87-46 loss to UC Santa Barbara at UCSB on Dec. 4. The Redhawks play the Aggies and Titans this week. Seattle averages 65.4 points per game led by former Titan Isiah Umipig's clip of 17.0 ppg.
Head-To-Head: Saturday will mark the  fourth meeting between the Titans and Redhawks. Seattle leads the series 2-1, picking up both wins last year in a home-and-away set that was scheduled. The Titans hold an all-time record of 24-32 against teams currently in the Western Athletic Conference as Seattle will be Fullerton's only WAC opponent of the regular season.
Last Meeting:  Despite a season-high 21-point effort from Michael Williams, Cal State Fullerton failed to recover following an early 10-point deficit in a 74-65 loss to Seattle on Dec. 7, 2013 at Titan Gym. The Redhawks shot an astounding 61.9 percent (26-of-42) from the floor led by former Titan Isiah Umipig's 20 points and four assists as the redshirt junior knocked down 4-of-5 from three-point range.
Connections: Both Seattle head coach Cameron Dollar and Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor served as assistant coaches in what is now the Pac-12. Dollar was a part of Lorenzo Romar's staff at Washington from 2003-09, while Taylor was at Arizona State from 2007-13. In the three years (2007-09) the pair overlapped at UW and ASU, the Huskies held a 6-2 advantage in the series against the Sun Devils.
Former Cal State Fullerton guard Isiah Umipig spent two seasons (2011-12) with the Titans before transferring to Seattle. Umipig averaged 10.4 points per game during his career, and received Big West Conference honorable mention accolades following his sophomore season.

BE A FOLLOWER
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the men's basketball team has established its own Twitter presence @FullertonHoops.

BIG WEST STATS
• Cal State Fullerton's +1.2 rebounding margin ranks third in the Big West Conference. 
• Alex Harris enters the week averaging 15.8 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Big West. In addition, his 3.23 assists per game rate ninth in the league while his 1.54 steals per game rank seventh in the conference. Harris joined UC Davis' Corey Hawkins (20.9 ppg/3.64 apg/2.0 spg) and Long Beach State's Mike Caffey (17.6 ppg/3.79 apg/1.86 spg) as the only other two players in the Big West to rank in the top 10 of all three categories. Harris' 33.31 minutes per game rank second.
• Steve McClellan's average of 7.3 rebounds per game ranks fourth in the Big West Conference, followed by Joe Boyd's average of 5.6 rpg, which rates ninth in the league.
• Josh Gentry's .927 free throw percentage (38-of-41) currently ranks second in the Big West.
• Lanerryl Johnson's .810 free throw percentage (34-of-42) ranks seventh in the Big West, while his .404 three-point field goal percentage ranks ninth. In addition, Johnson's 1.77 three-point field goals per game rank 10th.
• Moses Morgan's 2.08 three-pointers per game rank  fifth in the Big West Conference.

HITTING HIS STRIDE
Cal State Fullerton's top returning scorer, senior guard Alex Harris, is averaging a team-leading 15.8 points per game as he continues to strive toward the 1,000-point threshold in his career. He has scored in double figures in 11 games this season, including five 20-point efforts, but in the Titans' last seven games (4-3), Harris is averaging 20.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the floor. He has also led the Titans in scoring in three consecutive games.

COUNTING DOWN
Redshirt senior guard Alex Harris has scored 960 career points as he is just 40 short of reaching the 1,000-point threshold for his three-year career as a Titan. 

THE STARTING FIVE
Cal State Fullerton has used four different lineups this season, but in the last four games Fullerton put senior guard Alex Harris at the point guard position with Moses Morgan, Josh Gentry, Joe Boyd and Steve McClellan completing the starting five. The Titans are 3-1 with their latest lineup averaging 69.5 points per game.

OFFENSE ON THE PERIMETER
Cal State Fullerton's top three scorers are all guards. Redshirt senior Alex Harris leads the Titans averaging 15.8 points per game followed by junior guard Lanerryl Johnson (11.6 ppg) and senior guard Moses Morgan (11.1 ppg).

ON THE GLASS
Senior forward Steve McClellan leads the Titans averaging 7.3 rebounds per game followed by sophomore forward Joe Boyd (5.6 rpg).  The redshirt senior also tops the Titans shooting 56.9 percent (33-of-58) from the floor.In Fullerton's last five games (3-2), McClellan is averaging 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 70.0 percent (21-of-30) from the floor. In addition during that stretch, he has produced three double-doubles - all at Titan Gym. McClellan has led Fullerton in rebounds in six straight games.

HOW TO GET A W
Cal State Fullerton is 5-1 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent. The Titans are averaging 70.0 points per game and shooting 44.1 percent from the floor in their six victories, while averaging 58.6 ppg and shooting 37.7 percent from the floor in their seven losses.

AIR TIME
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is scheduled to make a total of 10 television appearances during the 2014-15 season, with the option of three additional "wild card" productions. The breakdown includes five appearances via ESPN3, two on the Pac-12 Network, two on Prime Ticket and one on ROOT Sports.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team was selected to finish eighth in the Big West Conference Preseason Media Poll, despite tying for a sixth-place finish a year ago. Defending regular season champion UC Irvine was selected to defend its title successfully, followed by UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State.

2013-14 RECAP
• Cal State Fullerton's 2013-14 campaign came to a close on March 13, 2014, when the Titans suffered a 66-56 to Long Beach State in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament held at 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. 
• The Titan offense averaged 67.5 points per game last season, the lowest average for a Titan team since the 2002-03 season (62.9 ppg).
• The Titans 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. 
• Cal State Fullerton used 11 different starting lineups during the season…the Titans were 7-0 when scoring over 74 points and shooting 50 percent or more from the floor. 
• 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).

BY THE NUMBERS
Cal State Fullerton totaled 2,092 points last season, an average 67.5 points per game. Fifty percent of the Titans' scoring from a year ago will return led by Alex Harris (420, 15.6  ppg), Josh Gentry (232, 7.5 ppg) and Steve McClellan (190, 6.1 ppg).

Big West Basketball Tournament All-Session Tickets On Sale
Honda Center and the Big West Conference have announced that all-session tickets for the 2015 Big West Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament are now on sale.
All-session school reserved tickets are available for $69.00. These seats are located within a school's section and can be purchased through each institution's box office.
Premium all-session tickets located in the first four rows of seating are available for $149.00.  General admission all-session tickets are also available for $69.00.  These seats can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster retail outlets, or by calling 800-745-3000.
The 2015 Big West Tournament will be hosted for the fifth-straight year at Honda Center in Anaheim.  The women's tournament first round and quarterfinal games will be played at Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 11. The men's tournament begins on Thursday, March 12 at Honda Center with four quarterfinal games.  The semifinals and championship games for both the men and women will take place Friday and Saturday at Honda Center.

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.

NBA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE DRAFT
Four former members of the Cal State Fullerton men's basketball program were selected in the 2014 NBA Development League Draft on Nov. 1. D.J. Seeley (2012-13) was the first Titan selected as the first pick of the second round by the Delaware 87ers and he has made the final roster.Omondi Amoke (2012) was selected as the fifth pick of the second round by the Grand Rapids Drive. Michael Williams (2014), the 2014 Big West Newcomer of the Year, was selected as the 15th pick of the second round by the Sioux Fall Skyforce and he is listed on the final roster.Sammy Yeager (2013) was chosen as the ninth pick of the seventh round by the Los Angeles D-Fenders.