FULLERTON, Calif. — Cal State Fullerton men's basketball defeated Hawai'i 79-72 in overtime Saturday night at Titan Gym behind a 24-point scoring output from Jalen Harris. The win improves the Titans' record to 9-7 overall and 3-1 in Big West play.
"That's a big win for our ball club," said head coach Dedrique Taylor. "I thought everybody stepped up and helped us tonight. Hawai'i is a good team. For our guys to play as hard and for as long as they did and to knock down big shots and free throws was huge. Our guys fought and they fought together, that's what I'm most proud of."
Harris shot 10-of-16 from the floor while also adding five rebounds and an assist for the Titans. Max Jones and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. each contributed 16 points and Tory San Antonio had 12 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five steals. John Mikey Square Jr. contributed six points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 16 minutes of action off the bench.
Fullerton led 58-53 with 1:11 to go following a Harris basket in the paint, but Hawai'i scored four straight to come within one, 58-57, with 13 seconds left. San Antonio hit both of his free throws after being fouled on the ensuing possession to put the Titans back up three, 60-57, with 12 seconds to go. But the Rainbow Warriors' Noel Coleman hit a three-pointer with two seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
The Titans got out to a 66-62 lead in overtime with free throws from Square Jr. and Jones, and a Harris jumper. Wrightsell Jr. added a free throw and Harris got a driving layup to fall to then put Fullerton up seven, 69-62, with 1:42 left in overtime.
YES SIR ��@jalenh2 #DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/R0rA3deqhu
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 8, 2023
Hawai'i made a couple of shots down the stretch but the Titans answered with a flurry of free throws, going on to seal the 79-72 overtime win.
Fullerton took control early in the contest, jumping out to a 17-7 lead midway through the first half. Harris drilled back-to-back jumpers and Wrightsell Jr. added a pair of free throws as the Titans took a 31-22 lead into the locker room.
The Rainbow Warriors responded at the start of the second half, using a 12-4 run to cut their deficit to one, 35-34. Hawai'i then took a 39-37 advantage with 12:30 left. But the Titans answered back, with a pair of Square Jr. free throws capping a 15-7 Fullerton run highlighted by jumpers from Wrightsell Jr. and San Antonio to go up 52-46.
That's smooth @Kidxtory #DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/Zm08WWeEfs
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 8, 2023
Jones nailed a midrange jumper and Wrighsell Jr. added a layup to extend the Titans; lead to eight, 56-48, with 3:03 remaining. Harris' jumper at the 1:11 mark stopped a 5-0 Hawai'i run before the Rainbow Warriors went on to force overtime.
The Titans hit the road next week for a pair of matchups at UC Irvine and UC Davis. Fullerton will first take on the Anteaters on Wednesday, January 11th, at 7:00 p.m. PT.
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Titans fans can now watch every home event 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 Stadium. 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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