LOS ANGELES — The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team fell 64-50 Wednesday night to USC at the Galen Center.
"There were a lot of good things out there and there were some not so good things out there tonight," said Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor. "USC's length and the way they were playing took us out of rhythm a little bit. But there were moments where we played hard and were able to execute."
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. paced the Titans with a game-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-7 from three to go with six rebounds. Vincent Lee had eight points and six boards, while Jalen Harris contributed seven points, four assists, two steals and a pair of rebounds. Tory San Antonio added five points and a team-high eight rebounds on the night.
The Trojans got out to a quick start, scoring the first 14 points of the game before a corner three from San Antonio put the Titans on the board. USC then extended its lead to 17, 22-5, midway through the half. But Fullerton hung around, using an 11-2 run fueled by back-to-back three-pointers from Wrightsell Jr. to come within eight, 24-16.
.@LJWrightsell from DEEP ��#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/DAj8cx3xLI
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) December 8, 2022
Teams traded baskets throughout the remainder of the half, as Harris completed a three-point play and Lee made a pair of layups to bring the score to 29-21 for USC at the break.
The Trojans scored the first five points of the second half before a pull-up jumper from Harris brought the score to 33-23 for USC. Wrightsell Jr. hit a 3-pointer off a hand-off from Lee, but a 7-0 Trojan run then gave USC a 42-26 advantage.
Third 3⃣ of the game for @LJWrightsell #DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/OG18mlQqam
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) December 8, 2022
USC extended its lead to 20, 48-28, before Max Jones got a put-back layup to fall. The Trojans led by as many as 23 before a 10-0 Titan run capped by a Wrightsell Jr. driving layup brought Fullerton within 13, 57-44, with 3:22 to go. Victor Panov and Grayson Carper each hit threes in the final minutes as USC went on to seal the 64-50 win.
The Titans next head to Las Vegas to take on Southern Utah on Saturday, December 10th, as part of the Jack Jones Hoopfest. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT.
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