LAS VEGAS – Cal State Fullerton suffered its fourth straight loss after falling to Alabama State, 76-67, in overtime in the final game of the Global Sports Classic on Saturday morning at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Titans (2-4) led by two with 18 seconds left in regulation but Tony Armstrong hit a jumper in the post for the Hornets (1-5) to send the game into the extra period, where Fullerton was outscored 14-5 en route to its fourth straight loss.
The Titans were led offensively by Tre' Coggins' 19 points on 8-for-20 shooting while Kyle Allman added 13 points but the Titans struggled mightily from distance, going 1-for-18 from beyond the arc. Arkim Robertson posted career highs with 10 rebounds and 20 minutes played in the loss to go with three blocks.
Alabama State was led by Rodney Simeon's game-high 24 points on 7-for-16 shooting and 4-for-11 clip from 3-point range. Torloft Thomas added 16 points while Armstrong finished with 11.
Both teams were sloppy with the ball as they each committed 23 turnovers, a season-high for Fullerton.
The Titans held Alabama State to 34.6 percent shooting in the first half but nine points off 11 Fullerton first-half giveaways allowed the Hornets to trail by just one, 28-27, at halftime. Fullerton shot 47.1 percent and went to the free throw line 16 times in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 11 to offset a 1-for-7 half from beyond the arc.
Fullerton maintained the lead for the majority of the second half after forcing 13 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. The Titans trailed by one just twice in the period and led by as much as seven. Coggins hit a layup with 3:15 left in regulation to put the Titans ahead 60-55 but the Hornets finished on a 7-2 scoring run to force overtime.
In the extra period, the Titans made just 1-of-6 from the field including three more missed threes while Armstrong was 2-for-4 for Alabama State and the Hornets went 8-for-9 from the free throw line to close the game out.
Notes: Robertson's 10 boards and three blocks tied for the season-high on the team this season… Allman recorded his third double-digit scoring game of the season… Fullerton's 26 free throws made and 38 attempts were both season highs… The Titans will play seven of their next nine games at home after dropping four straight away from Titan Gym.