Game 1
Cal State Fullerton at Loyola Marymount
Date: Friday, Nov. 13
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Venue: Gersten Pavilion
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Live Streaming: FullertonTitans.com
Internet Radio: None
THIS WEEK
Cal State Fullerton opens the season on the road for the fourth consecutive year. The Titans will travel to Los Angeles to take on Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The Titans hold the edge in the all-time series, 13-11. However, LMU got the better of Cal State Fullerton in the last meeting as the Lions defeated the Titans, 88-79, in the First Round of the CIT.
TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
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.
Cal State Fullerton will return to Titan Gym for its home opener on Saturday, Nov. 21, with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m. against San Diego.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
Loyola Marymount | 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13 | Gersten Pavilion
Loyola Marymount returns two starters and a total of five players from a year ago. The Lions completed the 2014-15 season with a record of 8-23 and finished in a tie for ninth in the West Coast Conference with a mark of 4-14. Seniors Marin Mornar and David Humphries top the list of returning leaders. Mornar is the only four-year player on the Lions' roster.
Head-To-Head: The all-time series between the Titans and the Lions is 13-11 in Cal State Fullerton's favor. Loyola Marymount has won the last three meetings as CSF is looking for its first win over the Lions since 2001.
Last Meeting: Cal State Fullerton's 2011-12 season came to an end at the hands of Loyola Marymount as the Lions defeated the Titans 88-79 in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Titans ended their season with a record of 21-10.
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.
2014-15 RECAP
The Titans (9-22, 1-15) were on a roll in late December and took a five-game winning streak and an 8-7 record into the Big West Conference schedule. The opening game was at UC Riverside on Jan. 8 and the results of that night would set an ominous tone for the rest of the season.
Fullerton overcame an early 18-point deficit and the rally produced a three-point lead in the closing minutes. But the Highlanders forced a tie, won in overtime and the Titans would go on to the worst conference record in their Division I history, which dates to the 1974-75 season.
Two more overtime losses on back-to-back Saturdays, including a second one to UCR on Homecoming, bracketed what would be the lone Big West victory, 69-53, on Feb. 5 over CSUN. Leading scorer Alex Harris missed three games with a thigh contusion and the losing continued down the stretch with nine consecutive defeats to close the season. It seemed one brutal stretch in every game would doom the Titans in an otherwise competitive performance.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team was selected to finish ninth in the Big West Conference in the Preseason Media Poll. For the third straight year UC Irvine is the media favorite to claim the Big West title, followed by UC Santa Barbara and Hawai'i.
SEASON OPENERS
The Titans will open the 2015-16 season on the road for the fourth-straight year. Cal State Fullerton holds a record of 23-32 in season openers dating back to the 1961 season. The Titans are 18-23 against Division I opponents in season openers, but only 6-24 on the road overall. Friday's game marks the first time Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount have met in a season opener.
A NEW LOOK
Cal State Fullerton returns to action this week with four returning lettermen, but just one returning starter in senior center Kennedy Esume. In addition, the Titans have half a dozen newcomers to the roster.
ADDING DEPTH
Kennedy Esume, a senior center, returns after leading Fullerton with 19 blocks during the 2014-15 season. Additionally, the Titans return second-leading scorer Lanerryl Johnson who averaged 12.4 points per game last season. The Titans will also see action from transfers Tre' Coggins and Malcolm Brooks who sat out a year ago due to NCAA transfer rules. Coggins comes to Fullerton from Air Force, while Brooks joins the squad after playing previously at Pepperdine.
BY THE NUMBERS
Cal State Fullerton totaled 1,991 points last season, an average 64.2 points per game. This marks the lowest scoring output for the Titans since the 2002-03 season when the Titans averaged just 62.9 points per game.
EXHIBITION RECAP
Cal State Fullerton had five scorers in double-figures as the Titans dominated Bethesda, 106-66, in an exhibition game at Titan Gym.
The Titans were led offensively by redshirt junior guard Tre' Coggins who tallied 18 points to set the tone for Fullerton. Following suit were Malcom Brooks (17 points), Lanerryl Johnson (14 points), Kyle Allman, Jr. (14 points) and Khalil Ahmad (13 points).
Johnson also led the squad in assists with five, while redshirt senior forward Malcolm Henderson registered a game-high eight rebounds.
Cal State Fullerton opened the first half on a 10-0 run as the Titans held Bethesda scoreless for more than three minutes to start the contest. Fullerton received strong showings from Coggins, Johnson and junior forward Rashard Todd as the trio combined for 24 points – nearly 50-percent of the Titans' scoring output in the frame.
Fullerton led Bethesda by 30 points (52-22) at halftime. The Titans owned the first half as they shot 51.4-percent from the floor, 58.3-percent from three-point range and 64.3-percent from the line. In addition to its unstoppable offense, Cal State Fullerton's defense was stout as it shutdown the Flames allowing just 26.9-percent shooting from the field. Bethesda was 0-for-8 from three-point range at the half.
The Flames came out strong in the second half as Bethesda opened the frame with eight straight points forcing Fullerton to call for a timeout and regroup. The Titans emerged from the break in action with a line change which helped them get their momentum back and continue to control the contest.
The Titans held a comfortable lead throughout the game and led by as many as 46 points (99-53) at 4:38 after Brooks made a pair of free throws.
Cal State Fullerton hit the 100-point plateau for the first time under head coach Dedrique Taylor and for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
AIR TIME
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is scheduled to make a total of nine television appearances during the 2015-16 season.
The breakdown includes six appearances via ESPN3, two on the Pac-12 Network and one on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Cal State Fullerton completed the 2014-15 season with a winning record of 5-1 during non-conference games at Titan Gym, but a struggling mark of 1-14 overall on the road hampered the Titans.
Fullerton's eight-game road losing streak from Jan. 8, 2015 - March 5, 2015 was its longest since a 13-game road losing streak during the 2001-02 season from Nov. 7, 2001 - Feb. 28, 2002.
2014-15 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Redshirt senior guard Lanerryl Johnson moved into the Titans' Top Ten single-season record book. His three-point field-goal percentage of .430 ranks him No. 4 and his free-throw percentage of .843 ranks him fifth.
• Johnson led the Titans in scoring on 10 occasions and poured in a career-high 31 points at USC Upstate.
• Redshirt senior center Kennedy Esume led Cal State Fullerton in rebounds on three occaions. He grabbed a season-high nine against UC Riverside on Feb. 7.
• Fullerton has made at least one three-point field goal in each of its last 572 games, a streak dating to Feb. 1, 1996.
2014-15 TEAM NOTES
Cal State Fullerton used 12 different starting lineups this season including nine different ones in the last 15 games. The most common (8 games, consecutively Dec. 11 thru Jan. 15) put Alex Harris at the point guard position with Moses Morgan, Josh Gentry, Joe Boyd and Steve McClellan completing the starting five. However, with all five letterman not returning, head coach Dedrique Taylor will have some experimenting to do this season.
Big West Basketball Tournament All-Session Tickets On Sale
Honda Center and the Big West Conference have announced that all-session tickets for the 2016 Big West Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament will go on sale Friday, November 13.
All-session school reserved tickets will be available for $69.00. These seats will be 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 will be 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 sixth straight year at Honda Center in Anaheim. The women's tournament first round and quarterfinal games will be played at UC Irvine on March 8-9. The men's tournament begins on March 10 at Honda Center with four quarterfinal games. The semifinals and championship games for both the men and women will take place March 11 and 12 at the 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.
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.
Sammy Yeager (2013) was chosen as the ninth pick of the seventh round by the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
ON DECK FOR THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton continues its season on the road as the Titans travel to Stockton, Calif., to play Pacific on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
Following the two road games to open the year, Fullerton returns to Titan Gym to host San Diego in its home opener on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m.
