PORTLAND, Ore. – Tre' Coggins and Malcolm Brooks each turned in a 20-plus point performance Tuesday night at the Stott Center, but Cal State Fullerton could not complete the comeback effort as the Titans dropped an 89-82 decision to Portland State.
The Titans have now lost five straight contests as they fall to 6-6 on the year, while the Vikings snapped a five-game losing streak to improve to 4-7.
Coggins led all scorers with 23 points, two shy of his career-high, as he connected on 8-of-17 field goals to shoot 47-percent in the game. He was 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and a perfect 3-for-3 from the line. Coggins also added five rebounds and two assists, but turned the ball over five times in the contest.
Brooks recorded his third 20-point game this season with 22 points after shooting 66.7percent from the floor (8-of-12). He was 4-for-6 from long distance and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe. Additionally, he contributed three assists, two steals and one defensive rebound.
The Titans also received a strong showing from freshman Khalil Ahmad who posted 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go along with a team-leading six rebounds and three assists.
Despite Cal State Fullerton's efforts and 47.7 shooting percentage, the Titans could not overcome a hot-shooting Portland State team that shot 52.6-percent from the field. The Vikings also led the Titans in assists (20-14), blocks (6-0) and steals (7-6).
Portland State was led offensively by Isaiah Pineiro's 21 points as he led five Vikings in double figures. Following Pineiro's efforts were Donivine Stewart (17 points), Zach Gengler (13 points), Bryce White (13 points) and Cameron Forte (10 points).
The game began with Portland State taking an early lead, but Cal State Fullerton was quick to counter and stay on the Vikings' heels. The first of three ties came at 7:56 in the first half when Coggins hit a three-pointer to even the score at 16-all.
However, the Vikings regained momentum and went on a 10-3 run to take a 26-19 lead. The hosts would extend their lead to as many as 10 points (31-21) in the first half, but the Titans refused to quit. Down by double digits with just two minutes left in the frame, Fullerton closed out the first half on a 7-0 run to close the gap and make it a one-possession game (31-28).
Coming back onto the floor, Brooks drained a three to even the score for the second time in the game at 19:29 in the second half. The Vikings countered and ran their lead back up to five, before the Titans tied it again on another three from Coggins at 16:21 as the game moved to 39-39.
Portland State pushed its lead back up to nine (52-43) at the 12:39 mark, but the Titans continued to chip away and eventually cut the deficit to one (57-56) at 8:56 after Brooks completed a three-point play courtesy of a layup followed by a free throw.
Despite the Titans' efforts, the Vikings jumped out in front again as they led by as many as 13 points (73-60) with just two and a half minutes remaining. With the game seemingly out of hand, Fullerton battled back once again and made it a two-possession game (81-75) with just 50 seconds left on the clock. The Titans cut the Vikings' lead to five on three occasions in the final minute of action but could not come any closer as Portland State went on to win the game, 89-82.
Cal State Fullerton concludes the month of December with a 2-5 record as the Titans look to put their five-game losing streak to rest with the start of the new year. 2016 brings Fullerton back to Titan Gym as it plays host to Cal State East Bay on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available on FullertonTitans.com.