SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. --- Tre' Coggins posted a season-high 34 points to lead a Titans offense that had four players score in double figures as Cal State Fullerton defeated Cal Poly, 87-74, Thursday night at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The win was Fullerton's (8-8, 2-1) first victory away from Titan Gym. Coggins sank a career high 11 field goals en route to 73.3 percent shooting including a 6-for-7 night from beyond the arc. He was perfect at the free throw line, going 6-for-6 and added a pair of rebounds, one assist and one steal. The Titans shot 64.4 percent as a team against the Mustangs (5-11, 0-2), which was also a season best.
Khalil Ahmad was flawless offensively, going 5-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 7-for-7 from the free throw line to finish with 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Kyle Allman added 12 points in his first start since Dec. 22 and Jackson Rowe notched his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Donovan Fields led the Mustangs with 15 points while Ridge Shipley and Victor Joseph added 12 points apiece but the Titans held the Mustangs to just 41.9 percent shooting on the night.
Fullerton jumped out to a big lead as Coggins scored the Titans' first 11 points to put them up by nine. The Titans controlled the majority of the half and led 30-20 at one point but Cal Poly put together a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 34-33. Khalil Ahmad then drilled his first shot attempt from the left wing near the Big West logo to put the Titans ahead 37-33 at the half. Coggins finished the first half with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Fullerton came out in the second half and continued what Ahmad started, going on a 9-0 run to start the second half and a cumulative 19-5 run over a 5:32 span to take a 53-38 lead and Fullerton never looked back. The Titans would shoot 15-for-21 (71.4 percent) in the second half and hit 17-of-22 from the free throw line to secure the win.
The Titans will return to action on Saturday night as they head to the Bren Events Center to take on UC Irvine, which remained undefeated in conference play with a 66-62 win at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night. Saturday's game will air on ESPN3 with tipoff set for 5 p.m.
NOTES: Cal State Fullerton led wire-to-wire on Thursday night, the first time this season they never trailed or tied in a game… Fullerton is now 28-37 all-time against Cal Poly and recorded its second straight win at Mott Athletics Center after a 78-77 victory on Feb. 26… Lionheart Leslie led the Titans with four assists on the night, the second straight game he's led in that category and team-high sixth time this season… The Titans and Mustangs tied in points in the paint, 34-34, on Thursday night. Fullerton been outscored in the paint just twice through 16 games this season.
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