IRVINE, Calif. --- Cal State Fullerton never led and had a tough shooting night from the field as the Titans fell, 87-67, to UC Irvine in a Big West Conference game Saturday night at Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif.
Fullerton (8-9, 2-2) could not get anything going offensively in the first half and trailed the Anteaters (11-9, 4-0) by 17 at halftime. The Titans would make a push in the second half but UC Irvine answered by outscoring Fullerton 24-15 in the final 8:48 to secure the win and stay unbeaten in Big West play. The loss was Fullerton's 10th straight defeat at the hands of the Anteaters.
Kyle Allman led the Titans offensively with 13 points on 2-for-5 shooting and a 9-for-10 night at the free throw line. Jackson Rowe added 11 points with four rebounds and Lionheart Leslie tallied nine points.
For the Anteaters, Luke Nelson led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting and 3-for-6 from 3-point range while Ioannis Dimakopoulos was a handful for the Titans defense on the inside, scoring 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
The Titans came into the game having outscored their opponents in the paint, 540-399, through 16 games but the Anteaters lived on the inside Saturday night as they scored 48 points in the paint compared to the Titans' 30.
Fullerton had a horrid first half, going 6-for-21 from the field and 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. The Titans got the bulk of their scoring done at the free throw line, making 18 trips to the charity stripe and hitting 15 of them in the first 20 minutes. Allman was 7-for-8 from the line en route to 11 first-half points. He and Khalil Ahmad were the only players to sink multiple field goals in the first half as they each went 2-for-4.
The second half was not much better for Fullerton as the Titans fell behind by 23 with 15:47 left in the half. The Titans did not give in, however, as they mounted an 11-0 scoring run in a 4:33 span to cut the deficit to 12. The Titans would cut it to 63-52 with 8:48 left in the game but the Anteaters put together a 9-0 run to build the lead back to 20 and never looked back.
The Titans forced 11 turnovers in the second half and 17 overall, scoring 22 points off the Anteaters giveaways but it was not enough.
Fullerton will return to Titan Gym Wednesday night to face UC Riverside at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
NOTES: The Titans and Anteaters are now tied, 52-52, in 104 all-time meetings… Saturday night marked the first time since Nov. 25 the Titans were outscored in the paint and just the third time this season… Fullerton's 26 free throws made on Saturday night tied a season high… The Titans trailed by 24 with 2:39 left in the game, the largest deficit the team has had this season.
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