IRVINE, Calif. — The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team fell 70-65 Wednesday night to UC Irvine at the Bren Events Center. The loss moves the Titans' record to 9-8 overall and 3-2 in Big West play.
"The momentum switched at the end of the game tonight," said Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor. "We weren't as aggressive as we needed to be. We played well enough to win but we have to be able to finish out the game."
Tory San Antonio paced Fullerton with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and six rebounds, while Vincent Lee posted 14 points and eight rebounds for the Titans. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 11 points to go with six assists and three steals.
The Titans led for much of the second half, with back-to-back three-pointers from San Antonio putting Fullerton up 55-50 with 5:05 to go. But UC Irvine fought back to take a 57-55 lead with 3:25 left, before a Wrightsell Jr. floater in the paint tied things up at 57. The Anteaters, however, closed the game out on a 13-8 run to seal the win.
Fullerton jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage to start the game following a pair of layups from Lee and a Harris three from the top of the key. UC Irvine came back to take a 13-12 advantage, before a Lee dunk and layup put the Titans back up three, 16-13. Both offenses stalled for the remainder of the first half, with a pair of Harris free throws bringing the score to 27-25 for the Anteaters at the break.
VINCENT LEE POSTER �� @vincemikelee#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/0OiKuF0O14
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 12, 2023
Fullerton got out to a quick start in the second period, as jumpers from Wrightsell Jr. and San Antonio followed by a pair of Garrison Wade free throws gave the Titans a 34-31 advantage. Wrightsell Jr. and San Antonio drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to later put Fullerton up 40-34. A Lee hook shot and Harris triple then gave the Titans their largest lead of the game, 47-37.
J Harris for 3⃣ @jalenh2 #DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/9n7qz1wv5z
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) January 12, 2023
The Anteaters chipped away at their deficit, using a 10-2 run to bring the score to 49-47 for the Titans. San Antonio's back-to-back three-pointers put Fullerton back up five, 55-50, with 5:05 left but UC Irvine finished the game on an 18-10 run to take the win.
The Titans travel next to Northern California to take on UC Davis on Saturday, January 14th. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. PT.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
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.
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).