FULLERTON, Calif.. --- Tre' Coggins led all scorers with 26 points and Kyle Allman added 17 as Cal State Fullerton toppled UC Davis, 79-72, Saturday night at Titan Gym.
The Titans (13-12, 7-5) picked up their third straight victory thanks to 52.1 percent shooting from the field while holding the Aggies (16-11, 8-4) to 43.1 percent. Fullerton also turned the Aggies over 20 times, which led to 22 points off turnovers for the Titans in the victory.
"We didn't play a perfect game tonight but we made progress and we got better tonight and that's the endgame," said Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor. "I feel like our ball club; the last three games we've won different types of ways and this group is starting to understand how important it is to make championship plays and do all the little things and I thought this group did that tonight."
Coggins led the way offensively for the Titans as he went 8-for-17 from the field and hit 7-of-8 free throws, bouncing back from one of his lowest scoring games on Thursday night at UC Riverside.
"We had some team meetings with the coaches and we were just talking about the mental approach," Coggins said. "Attacking what the defense gives you and not allowing them to get you off your game and tonight I just had that mentality going into the game and I took what the defense gave me."
Allman posted his 13th double-digit scoring game of the season and fifth in his last seven games, going for 17 points on 4-for-5 shooting and 9-for-13 from the free throw line. Austen Awosika scored 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench while Jackson Rowe filled up the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, a team-high and career-high five assists and another career best with three blocked shots.
Darcy Malone also set a new career best with four blocks, the most he's had as a Titan and surpassing his previous high of three on Jan. 31, 2015 at Mississippi State as a member of LSU. The big men were part of a defensive effort that recorded seven blocks and a season-high 12 steals.
"I thought we got some huge stops (on defense)," Taylor said. "I thought our post guys, tonight, played about as good as I've seen them play in terms of really controlling the paint and really controlling Chima (Moneke) and J.T. (Adenrele). I thought our post guys were very present."
The Titans took an eight-point lead into the locker room after shooting 48.1 percent from the field in the period. Coggins scored nine of his points in the opening period on 4-of-8 shooting to lead the team while Malone and Allman pitched in with six apiece.
Fullerton got started hot, going on a 9-0 run in the first 4:01 and owned the inside in the first half, outscoring the Aggies 16-2 in the paint through the first 20 minutes.
The Aggies came out firing in the second half, going on an 11-4 run to cut into the Titans lead and make it a one-point game at 37-36. But the Titans buckled down and got some big stops on defense and the big plays on offense followed.
After 2:27 without a point from either side, Coggins drilled a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game for Fullerton. Lionheart Leslie followed that with an acrobatic layup in traffic to put the Titans up six. The Aggies answered with baskets of their own but the Titans offense kept rolling and Fullerton eventually built up their biggest lead of the game, 60-48, with 5:12 left in the game.
The Aggies got within nine with 1:22 and then resorted to the foul game, sending the Titans to the line every time down. Fullerton answered by making 10 of their free throw attempts to keep the Aggies at bay and hold onto the victory.
Fullerton has now won five of its last six games and will again welcome the top seed in the Big West on Wednesday night as UC Irvine comes into Titan Gym. The Anteaters secured sole possession of first place Saturday night with a win at home over UC Riverside. Fullerton trails the Anteaters by two games in the standings.
"We're on a roll right now for sure," Coggins said. "We've got confidence in ourselves and confidence in each other."
NOTES: Fullerton led the game wire-to-wire... The Titans and Aggies split their season series for the second straight year. Fullerton now leads the all-time series against UC Davis, 17-15… Fullerton's overall record is above .500 for the first time Nov. 17 when they were 2-1 on the year… The Titans have now recorded 45 steals in their last five games and are averaging nine per contest in that stretch… The Titans picked up their seventh conference win of the year on Saturday; the most conference wins for Fullerton in Taylor's tenure.
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
THE 3-POINT CONFERENCE PICK 'EM PLAN FOR $33
Reserved Seats for 3 conference games of your choice, which can include premium games vs. Long Beach, UC Irvine, and Santa Barbara, and what's even better is you get to pick YOUR seats!!! Purchase your seats by clicking HERE or by calling the Titan Athletics Ticket Office at 657-278-2783.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans) and Snapchat (FullertonTitans). In addition, the basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonHoops) and Instagram accounts (@FullerotonHoops).