FULLERTON, Calif. – Fullerton Men's Basketball used a second half surge to take down UC Santa Barbara 79-73 on Saturday night to improve to 3-0 in conference play.
Damari Milstead led the way with a season-high 21 points, while E.J. Anosike poured in 20, Vincent Lee scored 12, Jalen Harris scored 11, and Dante Maddox Jr. had 10.
The visiting Gauchos got off to a hot start from beyond the three point line, draining four of their first five to jump out to a 19-12 lead six minutes into the game.
Fullerton would weather the storm entering the halftime break, cutting the lead from 11 points to five, 32-27 with just under 6 minutes to go.
The Titans defense would come up big at the end of the half, holding UCSB to seven points over the last six minutes of the half.
Milstead put in a huge performance in the first half, including tying the game at 39-39 with just under three seconds remaining in the half. He would finish the half with 13 points off of 5-7 shooting from the floor.
.@DamariMilstead gets buckets.#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/FqtT9iOf4b
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 16, 2022
The Titans would take a 43-42 lead two minutes into the second half, their first lead since the very opening stages of the game.
Fullerton would then go on a 14-0 run to take a 54-44 lead. Milstead and Latrell Wrightsell nailed back-to-back deep threes as part of the run, while Anosike and Lee went to work down low.
"Meet me at the rim."
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 16, 2022
- @EAnosike55 probably.#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/TAhoHtVt8T
With the Titans already up 16, Anosike threw down a monster slam to put the game out of sight for the Titans.
��Watch your heads!��
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 16, 2022
- @EAnosike55 #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/cMLASPI1a9
Lee and Anosike each finished with a double-double. Anosike finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Lee finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, as the Titans ran out 79-73 winners.
Up Next: Fullerton heads to UC Irvine on Thursday , January 20 for a conference matchup against the Anteaters.
FINAL STATS:
-Tonight's game was the Titans fifth win in a row. The last time the Titans won five games in a row was during the 2018-19 season.
-The Titans moved to 3-0 in Big West play, the first time they have done that since the 2017-18 season.
-Tonight was the first time that two Titans had a double-double in the same game (Anosike finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Lee finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds).
-Milstead ended the night with 21 points, which is a season-high.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home basketball game exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Gym which will also lead into baseball and softball games. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans) and Snapchat (FullertonTitans). In addition, the basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonMBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonMBB).
