SAN DIEGO – Cal State Fullerton men's basketball overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat San Diego, 57-55, on a last second game-winner by Damari Milstead Friday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Following a San Diego miss and the game tied at 55, the Titans called a timeout with 19 second left in the game. Milstead got the inbound pass and went the length of the court to hit the game-winning shot in the lane with four seconds left to lift Fullerton to a two-point victory.
.@DamariMilstead for the WIN!!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/aEddBda407
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) November 20, 2021
With the win the Titans improve to 2-2 on the season and have now won two consecutive games with victories over George Washington and now San Diego.
The Titans trailed by 18 points with just over four minutes remaining in the first half before the team started to slowly chip away at San Diego's lead. Dante Maddox Jr. hit a three just before the end of the half to cut the Toreros lead to nine points and give Fullerton some momentum heading into the locker room.
Bang! @Dante21x drills a three before the horn to make it an 9 point game at halftime. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/J28JSacKNm
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) November 20, 2021
Maddox Jr. came up big again in the second half, hitting a turnaround jumper to bring the Titans within six points with just over eight minutes left in the game.
.@Dante21x with the turn around fadeaway to make it a 6 point game!
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) November 20, 2021
#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/JGOPBvUeWV
With 3:48 remaining, Tory San Antonio hit a massive three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to cut San Diego's lead to just one point.
.@Kidxtory drills a three to beat the shot clock and make it a one point game! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/I4TW0qcS8q
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) November 20, 2021
Fullerton trailed by two points with just under a minute left in the game before E.J. Anosike hit a jumper at the top of the key to tie the game at 55.
.@EAnosike55 ties it at 55! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/KDgpk1xXJz
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) November 20, 2021
The Titans defense put the clamps on San Diego down the stretch as they didn't allow a single point the final 1:50 of the game. Fullerton gave up just 16 points to the Toreros in the entire second half.
Milstead scored eight points in the game while adding six rebounds and two assists. Anosike led the Titans offensively with 20 points to go along with nine rebounds and two assists. Maddox Jr. added 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Once again the Titans were great from the charity stripe, going 12-for-15 (80 percent) to aid the comeback. On the year the Titans are shooting 81.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Fullerton looks to carry its momentum and continue its winning streak as the team heads to Arizona for the NAU Tournament where they will face UT Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday and Northern Arizona on Wednesday.