Henderson, Nev. – Cal State Fullerton men's basketball dominated UC Davis in the Big West Tournament Quarterfinals, 73-55, Thursday night at the Dollar Loan Center.
With the win, the Titans advance to the Big West Tournament Semifinals where they will face the winner of Hawai'i and UC Riverside Friday night at 8:30 p.m.
Fullerton fell behind early in the first half as it trailed the Aggies 16-8 before the Titans went on a 9-0 run to take a 19-16 lead. The Titans didn't look back from there as they led the rest of the way.
The Titans offense was firing on all cylinders Thursday night as four players scored in double-figures led by Damari Milstead who had a game-high 24 points.
Hand down. Man down. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/NGuEg3JnJF
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2022
Milstead was unconscious from behind the arc, shooting 5-of-6 from deep. As a team, the Titans hit 11 three's on 19 attempts, one short of their season-high.
He's unconscious! @DamariMilstead #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/m6CHeiEgMn
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2022
E.J. Anosike had a career game in his Big West Tournament debut, grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds to go along with 16 points for his eighth double-double of the season.
That's an and-one for @EAnosike55!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/WlEfREvfmu
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2022
Tray Maddox Jr. was a key contributor on the offensive end, scoring 11 points while hitting 3-of-6 shots from three-point range. All 11 of Maddox Jr.'s 11 points came in the first half.
.@TraveonMaddoxJr is feeling it! ��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/BncrmcvpJw
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2022
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 10 points for the Titans to go along with five rebounds. Wrightsell Jr. finished a rare four-point play in the second half to give the Titans the momentum after UC Davis was making a run to get back in the game.
4-point play! @LJWrightsell #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/kbjx2TT97Q
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2022
While the offense might have been what flashed in the Titans win, the defense is what controlled the game. Fullerton held the Aggies top two scorers to a combined 17 points.
Ezra Manjon led UC Davis this season with 15.4 points per game and was held to just four points on 2-of-17 shooting while Elijah Pepper was held to 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting after averaging 15.3 points per game this 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.
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).