SEASON STATS REPORT | BIG WEST RELEASE
FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is welcoming Hawai'i to Titan Gym on Friday and Saturday. Both games will tip at 5 p.m. PT, will be played without fans and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT
The Titans (3-4, 2-4 BWC) split the series against Long Beach State on January 7 and 8. LBSU won the first game 82-80 as Fullerton had a chance to win or tie with two seconds left but didn't get a shot off. As a result, its six-game winning streak over LBSU was snapped. On Saturday, the Titans won 75-72 in overtime in another close game.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Hawai'i leads the all-time series 17-4 and currently own a five-game winning streak over the Titans, including three straight in Titan Gym. Last time the two teams matched up, the 'Bows won 70-59 in the Stan Sheriff Center on Feb. 27, 2020.
SCOUTING REPORT
This weekend will be just the third and fourth games on the road for the Rainbow Warriors (3-3 overall, 1-3 BWC). UH split with UC Riverside in its first road trip of the year on Jan. 8 and 9. The 'Bows have lost three games in a row and are coming off a pair of home losses to CSU Bakersfield this past weekend.
MILESTONE WATCH
Head coach Dedrique Taylor is just three wins away from 100 for his career. He is set to become the fourth coach in school history to win 100 games at the helm of the Titans program.
MADDOX BROTHERS (NOT ACTUALLY)
There is no relation, but Tray and Dante Maddox both had career nights to open up the Big West season. Tray, who scored 27 points on Jan. 1, is averaging 13.7 points (tops on the team) to go with 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game this season. Dante, who scored 19 on Jan. 2 at UC Santa Barbara, is averaging 7.9 points and 20.6 minutes per game.
LATRELL WRIGHTSELL JR. - MONEY AT THE LINE
Freshman guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is second in the nation in free-throw percentage at 95.5 this season as he has made 21-of-22 attempts on the season.
As a team, the Titans are shooting 97-130 (74.6%) from the free-throw line this season, which is fourth in the Big West and 59th in the nation. That mark includes a school-record 19-19 from the line against the Gauchos on Jan. 2. That marked 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.
HALL AND LEE CLEANING THE GLASS
The Titans have a +1.0 rebounding margin on the season and will surely look to improve on that as the season continues despite the two starting forwards having good numbers. Senior forward Josh Hall made his debut at UCSB and he averages 7.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Vincent Lee is second on the team in rebounds with 7.9 per game to go with 12.9 points per game. In the January 9 win over LBSU, Lee posted 16 points and 16 rebounds. He then led the team to a Jan. 17 win over CSUN with a career-high 25 points and also 11 rebounds.
TREASURING THE BALL
The Titans have 102 assists on the season (196 made field goals) but turnovers have been an issue with 103 total, including 22 against UCSB on Jan. 2.
2019-20 SEASON RECAP
The team returns just four student-athletes from the 2019-20 squad that played consistent minutes in senior Johnny Wang, junior Wayne Arnold and sophomores Tory San Antonio and Vincent Lee. Doctor Bradley was with the team but redshirted the season. The Titans went 11-20 on the year and 6-10 in Big West action. Seniors Jackson Rowe and Brandon Kamga both made it on the All-Big West Second Team while Kamga was also Big West Newcomer of the Year. Rowe (France), Davon Clare (Portugal) and Austen Awosika (Austria) all earned their degrees and all signed professional contracts overseas.
2020-21 ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Head coach Dedrique Taylor broke down his squad in its entirety here on his show. He and his staff welcome in eight newcomers for the 2020-21 season. Two of them are true freshmen in Dante Maddox Jr. and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Josh Hall is a graduate transfer and Tray Maddox Jr. is a transfer from another four-year institution as well. Then, each of Jalon Andrews, Jalen Harris, Christian McCray and Landis Spivey are junior college transfers.
Each of the returners will presumably have newer, bigger roles this season. Junior guard Wayne Arnold is the top returing scorer as he averaged 8.8 points per game last season. Redshirt sophomore Vincent forward Lee tallied 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season. Senior Johnny Wang forward contributed 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds while sophomore guard Tory San Antonio pitched in 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds each game.
2021 BIG WEST TOURNAMENT MOVED TO LAS VEGAS
The 2021 Big West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, presented by Hawai'i Tourism Authority, have been moved from Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. All 10 eligible teams (UC San Diego is not yet eligible) will compete in the tournament with the 7-10 seeds playing on Tuesday, Mar. 9 to get into the field of eight, which will play beginning on Thursday, Mar. 11. The championship game will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, Mar. 13.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonWBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonWBB).
