SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball lost to the Gauchos of Santa Barbara on Friday in the first Big West matchup of the season. Junior guard Tray Maddox Jr. poured in a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers but it was not enough to overcome the balanced attack of the Gauchos as they had four double-figure scorers. Game two of the series will tip on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT.

UCSB led for 36:37 of Friday's game and at the 10:55 mark of the first half they took the lead and did not relinquish it. After a back-and-forth start to the game where Maddox scored the first eight points for the Titans, UCSB took control and held a 31-24 lead at halftime. The Gauchos then out-scored Fullerton 50-39 in the second half to secure the win. Ajare Sanni led UCSB with 19 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Maddox scored an efficient 27 points as he went 11-16 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc. He also chipped in one rebound and two assists in 35 minutes. Sophomore Vincent Lee scored 10 points (5-9 FGA) and grabbed four rebounds in 22 minutes. Senior Josh Hall nearly had a double-double with eight points (3-7 FGA) and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes.