Game 21
Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Davis
Date: Thursday, Feb. 4
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Gym
TV: ESPN3
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Audio: FullertonTitans.com
Series Record: CSF leads 13-12
Tickets: FullertonTitans.com/tickets
THIS WEEK
Cal State Fullerton welcomes UC Davis to Titan Gym for a midweek, Big West Conference contest on Thursday, Feb. 4. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 at 7 p.m.
The Titans will then head to Santa Barbara, Calif., to take on the Gauchos of UCSB on Saturday, Feb. 6. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
UC Davis | 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 4 | Titan Gym
UC Davis comes into Titan Gym with a 9-11 overall record and 4-3 Big West Conference mark. The Aggies have won four out of their last five games, with their only loss coming at Hawai'i last week.
The Aggies have three double-figure scorers leading their offense in Josh Fox (14.7 ppg), Siler Schneider (10.3 ppg) and Brynton Lemar (10.0 ppg).
Neal Monson leads UC Davis in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game, while Fox is second with an average of 6.9 per game.
Head-To-Head: The Titans and the Aggies will meet for the 26th time in program history and Cal State Fullerton holds a slight edge in the all-time series, 13-12. UC Davis has won the last three meetings including a 69-64 come from behind win on Jan. 27 in Davis, Calif.
Last Meeting: Khalil Ahmad and Lionheart Leslie recorded career-highs and Jamar Akoh notched a double-double, but the Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team dropped a 69-64 contest at UC Davis as the Aggies rallied for the win.
UC Davis had four players notch double-figures in Josh Fox (19 points), Siler Schneider (15 points), Darius Graham (13 points) and Brynton Lemar (12 points).
FOLLOW THE TITANS
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.
LAST TIME OUT
A trio of Titans reached double-figures for the Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team, but UC Riverside took advantage of 14 turnovers which led to 20 points to come back and defeat the Titans, 81-71, Saturday night at Fullerton's Homecoming game.
Cal State Fullerton led throughout the first 25 minutes and UC Riverside did not claim its first lead of the game until the second half as the Titans watched their nine-point lead turn into a 15-point deficit.
Taylor Johns led the Highlanders with 22 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. UCR's Jaylen Bland also reached the 20-point plateau with an even 20, while Robert Bozeman added 15 and Secean Johnson posted 13.
The Titans were led offensively by Tre' Coggins and Jamar Akoh who each recorded 13 points. Rounding out the double-figure scorers for CSF was Kyle Allman Jr., who notched 10 for his third double-digit effort of the year.
Akoh and Malcolm Henderson cleaned up the glass with seven rebounds each, while Khalil Ahmad pulled down six. Akoh had an all around solid game as he dished out a career-high five assists to lead both teams.
Cal State Fullerton started the game out with a balanced attack as the Titans jumped out in front to an early 9-0 lead highlighted by seven-straight points from Allman. However, the Highlanders battled back to even the score at 9-all. Despite the tie, CSF would not allow UCR to take the lead as the Titans fired back by going on a 9-0 run sparked by layup from Malcolm Brooks.
The Titans would go on to take a 31-27 lead into the locker room at halftime after having shot 48.1 percent from the field, while holding the Highlanders to 38.5 percent shooting.
After 20 minutes of action, the Titans were out-rebounding the Highlanders 20-10 as Akoh had four boards, while Allman and Henderson added three apiece.
Fullerton would push its lead to six (35-29) early in the second half, but Riverside would chip away and eventually take its first lead of the game on a layup by Menno Dijkstra at 15:25. The Titans countered quickly with a trey off the hands of Brooks to regain the lead, but the lead would not last long as the Highlanders took a 44-41 advantage at 12:31 off a three from Malik Thames. From there, UC Riverside would extend its lead to as many as 15 on three occasions before holding off Cal State Fullerton, 81-71.
AHMAD ON FIRE
Freshman Khalil Ahmad has started in all seven Big West Conference games for Cal State Fullerton and in those seven contests has averaged 18.6 points per game. During that span, the Corona, Calif., native poured in a career-high 27 points at UC Davis on 7-for-14 shooting while playing in all 40 minutes of action.
ENTERING THE RECORD BOOKS
Redshirt junior guard Tre' Coggins etched his name into the Cal State Fullerton record books with a career-best performance against CSUN in which he poured in 41 points to rank second all-time in the single-game annals. He also went 17-for-17 from the free throw line to set a Big West Conference record. Coggins is the first Titan to reach 41 points since Josh Akognon did it against CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 13, 2008. With 41 points, Coggins now ties for second for most points scored in the CSF record single-game record book. He is tied with Akognon, who reached the feat twice in 2008, and sits behind Bobby Brown who tallied 47 points in 2006 against Bethune-Cookman.
DOUBLE VISION
Freshman guard Khalil Ahmad recorded his first double-double of his collegiate career in an 88-56 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Ahmad tallied 15 points as he shot 60-percent overall (6-of-10) and led the squad with a career-high 12 rebounds. Senior center Kennedy Esume notched a double-double of his own as he registered a season-high 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds against Cal State East Bay. Lionheart Leslie notched his first double-double as a Titan against Hawai'i with 17 points and 10 rebounds - both career-highs for Leslie. Most recently, Jamar Akoh made his way into the group with a double-double at UC Davis with a career-high 14 points to go along with 10 boards.
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
The Titans have had a pair of post players who have done their job cleaning up the glass. Senior Kennedy Esume and sophomore Jamar Akoh are leading the team in rebounding. Esume has grabbed 115 boards to average 5.8 per game, while Akoh has pulled down 120 rebounds for an average of 6.3.
TITAN TEAM NOTES
• Tre' Coggins leads the Big West Conference with a free throw percentage of 86.8 percent after connecting on 66-of-76 free throws this season.
• The freshmen duo of Khalil Ahmad and Kyle Allman Jr., led the Titans at UC Irvine combining for 37 of the team's 59 points (nearly 63 percent).
• Lionheart Leslie recorded the first double-double of his Titan career with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Hawai'i - both of which are new career-highs.
• The Titans are in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Ironically, Cal State Fullerton rode a six-game winning streak through the non-conference season to kick off their best start since the 1986-87 school year.
• After sitting out for several games due to injury, Malcolm Brooks took the court for the first time since January 9 against CSUN.
• Tre' Coggins was back in the lineup after missing the UC Davis game due to injury.
• Junior forward Rashard Todd has decided to leave the team.
• Redshirt senior guard Lanerryl Johnson has decided to leave the team.
BWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK - TIMES TWO
Tre' Coggins has been named Big West Player of the Week on two occasions this season. He and Hawai'i's Roderick Bobbitt are the only two players in the league who have earned the honor more than once this season.
Coggins collected his second honor after posting a career-best 41 points against CSUN to rank second in the Cal State Fullerton single-game record book, while becoming the first Titan in eight years to reach the 40-point plateau.
His performance was the first 40-point effort by a Big West player since Corey Hawkins of UC Davis in January 2013. Additionally, he is the first Titan to reach 41 points since Josh Akognon did it against CSU Bakersfield on December 13, 2008.
Coggins is now tied with Akognan for second for most points scored in the CSF single-game record book and sits behind Bobby Brown, who tallied 47 points in 2006 against Bethune-Cookman.
Additionally, Coggins tied a Big West single-game free throw percentage record as he connected on all 17 attempts. He is just the second player in league history to accomplish such a feat. He finished the week shooting 95.7 percent (22-of-23) from the free throw line.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
Prime Ticket has selected Cal State Fullerton's men's basketball game at Long Beach State on Saturday, Feb. 20, as a wild card selection for a live television broadcast. The 7:30 p.m., contest will be played at the Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State.
AIR TIME
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is scheduled to make a total of 11 television appearances during the 2015-16 season.
The breakdown includes seven appearances via ESPN3, two on the Pac-12 Network and two on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
BIG WEST BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT ALL-SESSION TICKETS ON SALE
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.
Fans can call the Cal State Fullerton ticket office to purchase all-session tickets as well at: 657-279-CSUF.
The 2016 Big West Tournament will be hosted for the sixth straight year at Honda Center in Anaheim. The men's tournament begins on Thursday, March 10 at Honda Center with four quarterfinal games. The semifinals and championship games for both the men and women will take place Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12 at Honda Center.
Additional ticket information for the 2016 Big West Basketball Tournament is available at HondaCenter.com. For up to date team schedules and general information regarding the 2016 Big West Basketball Tournament, please visit BigWestTournament.com.
ON DECK FOR THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton heads to Santa Barbara, Calif., to take on the Gauchos of UCSB on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.