SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball lost to the Gauchos of Santa Barbara on Saturday night by a score of 65-61. The Titans had a shot to tie or win it at the end but freshman guard Dante Maddox Jr.'s attempt at the game-winning three came up short. Maddox led the team in scoring with 19 points. The Gauchos used a 15-2 run over a 5:48 span in the middle of the second half to tie the game.

Fullerton (1-2, 0-2 BWC) held a 32-27 lead at at halftime and pushed the lead to 44-31 at the 14:30 mark of the second half. The Gauchos (6-3, 2-2 BWC) went on their aforementioned run but the Titans hung in their and it was a battle the rest of the way. UCSB didn't take its first lead in the second half until guard Jaquori McLaughlin's free throws at the 1:47 mark to give the Gauchos a 60-59 lead. The Gauchos closed the final 3:31 of the game on a 9-2 run to secure the win. The Titans turned the ball over 22 times and the Gauchos scored 20 points off those turnovers. UCSB also went 22-27 at the free-throw line to make up for their poor shooting from the field (20-57, 35.1%) and beyond the arc (3-19, 15.8%).

Senior forward Josh Hall's layup with 36 seconds left made it 63-61 and the Titans opted to defend and not foul. They got the necessary stop but Maddox's three was short. The Titans fouled with one second on the clock and the game was decided.

Maddox scored a career-high 19 points on 5-8 shooting (4-5 3FGA, 5-5 FTA) to go with three rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Tray Maddox Jr. tallied 12 points and two rebounds. Sophomore forward Vincent Lee had seven points and six rebounds while Hall chipped in five points, nine rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Jalen Harris and freshman guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. both had nine points, respectively.

The Titans shot a perfect 19-19 from the free-throw line, a school record for best percentage in a single game. The previous was a tie at 100% on 12 attempts against Montana State on Feb. 18, 2012 and Pepperdine on Dec. 12, 1991. Fullerton went 17-45 (37.8%) from the floor and 8-14 (57.1%) from distance.

Next up, the Titans host Long Beach State on Friday and Saturday in Titan Gym. Both games are set to tip at 5 p.m. PT.