FULLERTON, Calif. – With time winding down and the game tied at 64, Jalen Harris hit the game-winning shot with just three seconds left to give Cal State Fullerton the 66-64 win over UC Irvine.
.@jalenh2 has ice in his veins �� pic.twitter.com/qyXBw5h89Z
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) February 25, 2022
The Titans are now 17-8 and 10-3 in conference play which ranks second behind Long Beach State. With the win at Titan Gym Thursday night, the Titans boast an impressive 10-1 record on their home court.
With reaching the 10-win mark in Big West play, Head Coach Dedrique Taylor becomes the only coach in program history to win at least 10 games in conference play in four different seasons.
Fullerton and UC Irvine battled back-and-forth throughout the first half as the Titans went into the locker room at halftime trailing 25-30. The Anteaters led by as much as 10 points in the second half but the Titans kept fighting to get back in the game.
With just over five minutes left and the Titans trailing by four, Tory San Antonio came up with a big steal on Irvine's end of the court and found Damari Milstead for an open three to make it a one point game.
.@Kidxtory gets the steal. @DamariMilstead gets the three. Titan Gym is rockin'! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/YfbxkQRFGb
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) February 25, 2022
Late in the second half the Anteaters led 62-60 before Milstead grabbed a long rebound and went coast-to-coast to tie the game at 62. Harris would later hit the game-winner to seal the victory for Fullerton.
.@DamariMilstead goes coast-to-coast to tie it up! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/oE39AvHmyn
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) February 25, 2022
Milstead led the team with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two rebounds, three assists and three steals. E.J. Anosike scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Vincent Lee added 13 on an efficient 6-of-8 from the floor with eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Titans had active hands on the defensive end all night, recording 12 steals while forcing 18 UC Irvine turnovers. Fullerton turned the ball over just eight times.
The Titans are back in action Sunday afternoon for their final road game of the regular season as they head south to face UC San Diego at 1:00 p.m. PT.
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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