PORTLAND, Ore. – Although Cal State Fullerton had a trio of players reach double-figures, 23 fouls led to 22 made free throws for Oregon State as the Beavers defeated the Titans, 82-69, at the Far West Classic.
The loss is the third in a row for the Titans as they drop to 6-4 overall, while the Beavers improve to 7-2 on the year.
Oregon State's Gary Payton II led all scorers with 19 points as the Beavers shot 48.1-percent from the field. Malcolm Duvivier (15 points), Tres Tinkle (13 points) and Stephen Thompson, Jr., (10 points) rounded out the double-figure scorers for OSU.
For the Titans, Malcolm Brooks and Khalil Ahmad each contributed 18 points, while Tre' Coggins posted 16. Tim Myles recorded a career-best six rebounds in the game, while Coggins added five. Ahmad had a solid second half as 14 of his points came in the final 10 minutes of action as did his two steals.
Brooks got the game started with a layup followed by a made free throw. The Titans increased their lead to as many as five (17-12) at 12:23 in the first half, before the Beavers began to chip away at their lead.
The two teams traded leads several times before a Duvivier three-pointer gave the Beavers a 25-24 advantage they would not relinquish. The Beavers would increase their lead to 12 (44-32) by halftime.
As he did to start the game, Brooks kicked off the second half with a layup. However, the Beavers would go on a 7-0 run, pushing their lead to 51-34, forcing Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor to call for a timeout.
Following the break in action, Fullerton went on a run of its own as the Titans pulled within 10 (53-43) at the 14-minute mark, at which point Oregon State took a 30-second timeout to regroup.
The Titans and Beavers battled over the next several minutes and Cal State Fullerton managed to cut Oregon State's lead to nine (68-59) on a Brooks three-pointer at 7:15. Despite the Titans' efforts, the Beavers continued to hold a comfortable lead before extending their advantage back up to 18 points (78-60) with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
Cal State Fullerton refused to quit as the Titans continued to chip away at the Beavers' lead. However, CSF was unable to close the gap as it fell 82-69.
The Titans return to the Moda Center Saturday, Dec. 19, to face Portland at 5:30 p.m. Live stats will be available at FullertonTitans.com.