OMAHA, Neb. --- Senior guard Lionheart Leslie led Cal State Fullerton in scoring and freshman Davon Clare posted his first career double-double but it was not enough as the Titans lost a nine-point halftime lead and fell to Omaha, 102-96, in overtime Sunday afternoon at Baxter Arena.
The Titans (4-7) shot just 16-for-45 in the second half and overtime combined while the Mavericks (7-5) were 34-for-43 from the free throw line to record the season sweep over Fullerton.
Leslie scored a game-high 23 points, 13 of those in the second half and overtime to lead the Titans offense. Clare notched a career-high in both points (11) and rebounds (12) to record a double-double in 30 minutes off the bench.
For the Mavericks, four players tallied double figures led by Tra-Deon Hollins' 20 points and 10 assists. Zach Jackson added 19 points while Marcus Tyus scored 16 and Tre'Shawn Thurman scored 15.
The Titans trailed by as much as nine points in the first half but utilized 13 first-half points from Dwight Ramos and a 12-0 scoring run to take the lead and eventually lead by nine at halftime. Fullerton shot 67 percent (20-for-30) from the field and 83 percent (5-of-6) from beyond the arc. Austen Awosika had four of his assists in the first half while Jackson Rowe and Clare each had nine points in the first 20 minutes of play.
Awosika would finish with a career high 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench as four players scored in double figures for Fullerton.
The second half was a much different story for the Titans as they shot 11-for-34 (32.4%) from the field. Leslie was 6-for-12 in the half while the rest of the team combined to go 5-for-22. Despite the struggles, the Titans never lost the lead in the second half and led 81-73 with 4:50 left in regulation. But the Mavericks outscored the Titans 10-2 to close out the half and held the Titans without a field goal for the last 2:10 of the second half.
Down two with 29 seconds left, the Mavericks put the ball in Hollins' hands and he drew a foul with 15 ticks left in regulation. He drained both free throws to tie it and both the Titans and Mavericks missed their final shot attempts to send the game into the extra period.
In overtime, the Titans lost the lead for the first time since the 8:47 mark of the first half when they trailed 28-27 as Jackson nailed a 3-pointer 11 seconds into overtime and Fullerton never recovered as they were outscored 19-13 in overtime. The Mavericks went 4-for-5 from the field and 10-for-14 from the charity stripe in the extra period to seal the victory.
Cal State Fullerton will return to action on Thursday night as they welcome Portland to Titan Gym for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team, which will host San Diego State at 5 p.m.
NOTES: Tre' Coggins (personal reasons) did not make the trip to Omaha… Clare's 12 rebounds were the most by a Titans player in a game this season… The Titans are now 1-2 in overtime games this season… Leslie notched his fourth career 20-point game, all coming this season. It was also the ninth 20-point outing by a Titans player this season… Clare's double-double was the second by a Titans player this season. Lionheart Leslie scored 21 points and grabbed 10 boards at UNLV on Nov. 19.
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