FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton men's basketball lost to UC Irvine by a score of 89-78 on Friday. The Titans trailed 49-29 with 16:19 left in the game, the score was then tied at 71 with 5:06 left in the game. However, UC Irvine went on a 14-0 and ultimately a 18-7 run to close out the game. Senior forward Johnny Wang scored a season-high 18 points with a career-high four threes made. Game two will tip at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday.
The Titans (5-7, 4-7 Big West) played just eight players (only nine available due to injury) while UC Irvine (12-7, 8-3 Big West) played 13. Fullerton pressed the entire second half to get back into the game. It ultimately tied the game but couldn't sustain the high-level of play down the stretch to win. The Anteaters had four players score in double-figures but freshman guard Dawson Baker scored a game-high 23 points.
Both teams went to the free-throw line often as UCI shot 21-25 (84%) while the Titans were 16-23 (69.6%). The Anteaters owned the paint as they won the rebounding battle 51-35 and scored 48 points in the paint. However, the Titans had 17 second-chance points to just 15 for UC Irvine.
For Fullerton, Wang was given space on the pick-and-pop and knocked four of his nine three-point attempts. His 11 field-goal attempts for the game also marked a career-high. His plus-minus of +2 was the second-best mark on the team in his 25:44 minutes of play off the bench. Senior forward Josh Hall (11 points, seven rebounds and five steals), freshman guard Dante Maddox Jr. (14 points and three assists), and junior guard Tray Maddox Jr. (14 points, three rebounds and five assists) all scored 10+ points as well.
It was not a good shooting night for the Titans as they went 26-69 (37.7%) from the floor and 10-27 (37.0%) from distance.
