IRVINE, Calif. – Fullerton Men's Basketball earned their fourth-straight win to begin conference playon Thursday night at the Bren Events Center, 65-63.
E.J. Anosike paced the Titans, earning his fourth double-double of the season, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Three other Titans would finish in double figures as Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 13 points, Damari Milstead had 12 and Jalen Harris had 10.
Fullerton got to the basket early and often on the offensive end in the first half. Anosike poured in 11 points in the first half alone, including sinking 7-8 free throw attempts.
The Titans stretched their lead to eight points at the half, including a Milstead floater to end the half, giving Fullerton a 32-24 lead at the break.
.@DamariMilstead is pretty good at this last second floater. ��
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 21, 2022
CC: USD and UCSB games #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/oS9EIjOkD3
The second half was the same story. Fullerton earned their way to the foul line and kept sinking their foul shots, eventually finishing the night 22-28 from the free throw line.
The Titans also played stout defense and did so without fouling. They did not surrender a free throw attempt until 8:14 left in the second half.
However, after hitting those foul shots, UC Irvine would start chipping away at the lead. The Anteaters would make it a one point game with just 4:36 left on a made three by DJ Davis. Irvine and Fullerton would then trade one point leads for the next three possessions, with the Titans taking a 60-59 lead with 2:24 left in the game.
With the Titans up 60-59 and 1:26 remaining in the game, Anosike took over and sunk a clutch fade-away bucket for the Titans, giving them a 62-59 lead.
.@EAnosike55's got ice in his veins��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/5UxkVu7OZi
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 21, 2022
The Titans would hold on to win 65-63 and moved to 10-5 on the year and 4-0 in conference play.
Up Next: Cal State Fullerton returns to the Titan Gym to take on UC San Diego at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22.
Final Stats:
The win was the first time the Titans had won four games in a row to begin conference play since the 2018-19 season.
Thursday night's win was also the sixth win in a row overall for Dedrique Taylor's squad. The last time a Titans team had won six in a row was the 2015-16 season.
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.
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