Game 29
Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
Date: Wednesday
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Gym
TV: ESPN3
Video: fullertontitans.com
Live Stats: fullertontitans.com
Audio: fullertontitans.com
Series Record: LBSU leads 68-44
Weekly Release (.pdf)
THIS WEEK
Cal State Fullerton ends the 2015-16 regular season hosting rival Long Beach State at 7 p.m., Wednesday at Titan Gym. Prior to the 7:03 p.m. tip-off broadcast on ESPN3, the Titans will honor their three-member senior class: Malcolm Brooks, Kennedy Esume and Malcolm Henderson.
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
Long Beach State | 7:00 p.m. (PT) | Wednesday, March 2 | Titan Gym
ESPN3 | PXP: Trent Schlom | Analyst: Richie Schueler | Sideline: Courtney Sweet
Long Beach State (16-13, 9-4 BWC) has won seven of its last eight, including a win over the Titans less than two weeks ago at Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State has locked up its sixth straight season with 10 or more wins in conference play - the longest such streak in school history. The streak is the longest in the Big West since Utah State had a six-season run from 1999-2000 to 2004-05.
Head-To-Head: A series that dates back to 1960, Wednesday will mark the 113th meeting between Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton - the longest series for the Titans. Fullerton has lost four straight to the 49ers with the last win, 84-76, on March 1, 2014 at Titan Gym.
Last Meeting: Cal State Fullerton's second-half woes continued as the Titans surrendered a one-point halftime lead and suffered a 70-57 loss to Long Beach State at Walter Pyramid on Feb. 20.
LBSU shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) in the second half, capitalizing on the Titans' 17 turnovers for the game, scoring 20 points directly off CSF miscues.
Malcolm Brooks led Cal State Fullerton with a 14-point performance. The 49ers were led by Nick Faust's 14-point effort as Justin Bibbins also reached double figures with 12.
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. .
BIG WEST TOURNAMENT BREAKDOWN
Cal State Fullerton is currently ninth in the Big West Conference standings with a game to play, but the Titans know they have advanced to the league tourney due to CSUN's self-imposed postseason ban.However, Fullerton's seeding at the Tournament is still not decided. In order to move from the No. 8 seed to the No. 7 seed, the Titans would need a win over LBSU as well as two Cal Poly losses. The teams would be tied with identical league records and identical league wins against the same opponents, forcing a coin flip to break the tie.
AHMAD BREAKS RECORD
Freshman Khalil Ahmad has surpassed Bobby Brown's freshman season scoring record of 369 points set in 2004. The record held for 12 years until Ahmad's first bucket at Long Beach State on Feb. 20. Ahmad has scored 406 points this season and has started in all 15 Big West Conference games for Cal State Fullerton. During that time, he has averaged 16.0 points per game. He is the top scoring freshman in the Big West Conference averaging 14.5 ppg.
ON A SLIDE
Cal State Fullerton snapped a five-game losing streak with a 78-77 victory at Cal Poly on Thursday night. The Titans have endured one six-game skid and two five-game losing streaks during the year.
HE'S BACK
In his last seven games, Malcolm Brooks is averaging a team-leading 14.0 points per game, scoring in double figures for six consecutive contests.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Santa Barbara sprinted to an early lead and never looked back as the Gauchos defeated Cal State Fullerton 80-62 on Saturday night at Titan Gym in Big West Conference action.
John Green and Michael Bryson combined for 38 points as UCSB shot a remarkable 55.0 percent (33-of-60) from the floor and 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from three-point range, dishing 19 assists on 33 made baskets. The UCSB bench outscored CSF's reserves, 37-11, and the Gauchos held a 30-20 advantage in the paint.
Tre' Coggins scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Titans, draining five three-pointers against the UCSB zone defense. Jamar Akoh had an all-round game of eight points, a team-leading eight rebounds for the second game in a row and two assists.
POST GAME NOTES
• The Gauchos' 13 made three-pointers on Saturday matched as season high for Titan opponents this year.
• Fullerton's 31-point deficit in the second half vs. UCSB on Saturday was its largest of the season.
• The Titans set season highs in shooting percentage (.547) and three-point shooting percentage (.533) at Cal Poly on Thursday.
• Jamar Akoh's seven assists at Cal Poly not only set a career high but were the most for any Titan this year.
ROAD WARRIORS
Cal State Fullerton closed out the final month of the regular season playing five of its last eight games on the road. This season the Titans are 5-10 in away games. Those five road games took place in the last three weeks: UCSB (Feb. 6), CSUN (Feb. 10), Hawai'i (Feb. 13), Long Beach State (Feb. 20) and Cal Poly (Thursday).
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. The sophomore forward recorded his second double-double of the year scoring 12 points and adding 11 rebounds in a 75-67 loss at CSUN.
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
The Titans' post players did a solid job of cleaning up the glass against UC Davis on Feb. 4. The trio of Kennedy Esume, Jamar Akoh and Tim Myles combined for 32 rebounds as they helped Cal State Fullerton out-rebound Davis 51-33 in a contest in which the Titan defense held the Aggies to just 22 percent shooting in the second half. On the year, Akoh is leading the Titans with an average of 6.3 rebounds per game.
TITAN TEAM NOTES
• The Titans have used 14 different starting lineups this season.
• Fullerton's .547 shooting percentage and .533 three-point field goal shooting percentage both set season highs at Cal Poly on Thursday.
• Sophomore forward Jamar Akoh dished seven assists - a Titan season high and new career high - at Cal Poly.
• Fullerton's 57 points scored at Long Beach State on Feb. 20 set a new season low.
• The first half vs. UC Irvine on Feb. 17 contained the Titans most productive first 20 minutes of basketball during the season as the CSUF matched season bests with points (42) and assists (11) and set season highs in field goal percentage (.571) and 3-pointers made (7).
• On the flip side, against the Anteaters, the Titans allowed the most points (96), most field goals made (34), highest field goal percentage (.607), most 3-pointers (13), highest 3-point field goal percentage (.542) and assists (27) for an opponent this season.
• The freshmen duo of Khalil Ahmad and Kyle Allman Jr., led the Titans at UC Irvine on Jan. 20, combining for 37 of the team's 59 points (nearly 63 percent). The pair have combined for 549 points on the year.
• The Titans have suffered through three losing streaks this season after having dropped five games in a row from Dec. 6 - Dec. 29, then falling in six straight games from Jan. 9 - Jan. 30, while its latest streak dated from Feb. 6-20.
• 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.
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.
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.
AIR TIME
The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is scheduled to make a total of 12 television appearances during the 2015-16 season.
The breakdown includes eight 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 will have a week off as the Titans will not play again until the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament at Honda Center on Thursday, March 10.