LA JOLLA, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton men's basketball dropped its road contest to UC San Diego Saturday afternoon by a final score of 76-81. The Titans are now 17-9 overall and remain 10-3 in conference play.
Fullerton came out slow in the first half, trailing to UC San Diego by 23 points at halftime. However, the second half was a completely different story. The Titans came out with more energy and passion on both ends of the court.
The Titans slowly started chipping into the Tritons lead, primarily with their defense as they forced 10 turnovers in the second half and held UC San Diego to just 2-of-7 from three-point range. The Tritons 10-of-15 from behind the arc in the first half of action.
With the Titans trailing 65-48 in the second half, E.J. Anosike showed off his top-tier post moves to bring the Titans within 15. Fullerton then trapped the ball handler on the inbound pass and forced a turnover as Latrell Wrightsell Jr. stole the ball and finished an easy layup to cap off a Titans 10-0 run.
Titans are on a 10-0 run! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/8ePx7B7BVy
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) February 26, 2022
Fullerton kept battling, with under four minutes remaining Damari Milstead drilled a three-pointer to make it a five-point game.
.@DamariMilstead... for three!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/nBOYQSSVAx
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) February 26, 2022
Tray Maddox Jr. then hit a deep three with two minutes left to bring the Titans within one point before UC San Diego was able to get stops on the defensive end and hang on to the lead.
From way downtown! @TraveonMaddoxJr #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/CCYZQXiUl5
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) February 26, 2022
E.J. Anosike, Tray Maddox Jr. and Damari Milstead all led the team with 18 points each. Anosike was incredibly efficient from the field, going 9-of-10 in the game with five rebounds and four assists.
Milstead was steady throughout the game, shooting 7-of-13 including 2-of-4 from three while dishing out four assists and grabbing three rebounds. Maddox Jr. came off the bench to score his 18 while shooting 6-of-9 from the field and an impressive 4-of-6 from deep.
The Titans look to bounce back Thursday against UC Riverside in Titan Gym at 8:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
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).