HENDERSON, Nev. — Cal State Fullerton men's basketball outlasted Hawai'i in overtime 62-60 Thursday afternoon at the Dollar Loan Center to advance to The Big West Semifinals.
"These guys are resilient," said Head Coach Dedrique Taylor. "Defense wins games. We needed to knock the rust off a little bit, but for us to turn over Hawai'i 18 times was really, really impressive. At this time of year, we're just trying to survive and advance."
With 4:38 to go in regulation, Jones hammered home a transition dunk after getting a steal to put the Titans up three, 53-50.
The steal and the SLAM ��️ @Max_jones23 #DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/v69FypLlEq
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 10, 2023
Neither team scored for over three minutes until a Jones tip-in off his own miss put Fullerton up 55-50 with 1:19 left. A Wrightsell Jr. free throw made it 56-51 Titans with 55 seconds to go. But Hawai'i refused to go down without a fight, as a Rainbow Warrior jumper with 46 seconds left followed by a three-pointer at the buzzer tied the game at 56 and forced overtime.
The Rainbow Warriors took a 60-57 lead early in overtime before a Jones triple in the corner tied things back up at 60 with 2:57 to go. Wrightsell Jr. got in the lane and hit a contested teardrop floater with 1:13 left to give the Titans a 62-60 lead.
.@LJWrightsell hits the tear drop to take the lead ��#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/DDxMdNQitC
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 10, 2023
Teams traded empty possessions until Hawai'i had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with three seconds left in overtime. But the Rainbow Warriors' Jovon McClanahan missed the first before intentionally missing the second. Wrightsell Jr. grabbed the rebound as time expired, sealing the 62-60 overtime Fullerton win.
Max Jones led the Titans with 18 points and six rebounds, while Wrightsell Jr. had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. San Antonio contributed 11 points and five boards. As a team, Fullerton forced 18 turnovers while limiting its own to just four.
Hawai'i got out to a quick start in the game, taking a 9-1 advantage four minutes into the contest before a Wrightsell Jr. jumper made it 9-3. The Titans continued to claw their way back, as Wrightsell Jr. found Lathaniel Bastian streaking for an open fast-break layup to make it 11-10 Hawai'i.
An 8-0 Titan run capped by back-to-back baskets from Jones later gave Fullerton its first lead at 24-23. Eaton hit a triple as the Rainbow Warriors took a slim 28-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Teams traded baskets early in the second half, with a jumper and three from San Antonio bringing the Titans within four, 40-36. Layups from Bastian and San Antonio and a San Antonio jumper gave Fullerton a 47-46 lead midway through the half.
7:39 | Titans 47, Hawai'i 46
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 10, 2023
Back-to-back buckets from @Kidxtory puts Fullerton up one ��#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/KEPCMxT5RI
Jones hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to give the Titans a 51-50 advantage before his dunk put Fullerton up 53-50 with 4:38 left and the Titans went on to prevail in overtime, 62-60.
Fullerton now looks to The Big West Semifinals, where it will take on No. 1 seed UC Irvine tomorrow, Friday, March 10th, at 6:00 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).
