HENDERSON, Nev. — Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 22 points as Cal State Fullerton men's basketball held on to defeat No. 1 seed UC Irvine 83-80 Friday night in The Big West Semifinals.
"Last night I used the word 'resilient,' and once again I think it's appropriate to use the same word, but I would attach 'aggressive' to 'resilient,'" said Head Coach Dedrique Taylor. "We were a very resilient group from a defensive standpoint. And I thought this group was aggressive right from the start all the way through the finish."
The Titans will face the winner of UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside Saturday night in The Big West Championship, which will be Fullerton's fourth appearance in the title game in the last five Big West Tournaments. The Titans improve to 20-12 on the season and have won their last eight games.
The Titans led 76-74 with 1:44 to go before a pair of Max Jones free throws put Fullerton up four. The Anteaters hit a three on the other end, but two more free throws from Wrightsell Jr. put the Titans back up three, 80-77. Fullerton put together a stop on defense before Wrightsell Jr. was fouled, going 1-of-2 from the line to give the Titans an 81-77 lead with 28 seconds left.
UC Irvine's DJ Davis knocked down three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt, while Jalen Harris was intentionally fouled on the other end of the floor. Harris knocked down both attempts, giving Fullerton an 83-80 advantage with 10 seconds left. John Mikey Square almost came up with a steal on the following possession, but an Anteater three-point attempt at the buzzer was no good, as the Titans held on for the 83-80 win.
HEADED TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP��#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/LHNgMAOhIN
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2023
Wrightsell Jr. had three rebounds, two assists and two steals to go with his 22 points. Tory San Antonio had 17 points, 15 in the first half, while adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Vincent Lee had 15 points and six boards, Jones had 14 points and five rebounds and Harris contributed 10 points.
As a team, the Titans shot 51.9% from the floor and 58.8% from three, going 10-of-17 from deep. Fullerton had nine second-chance points to the Anteaters' two.
The Titans started the game off hot, with treys from Wrightsell Jr. and Jones putting Fullerton up 8-2 early. Another triple from San Antonio and a Wrightsell Jr. jumper gave the Titans a 17-9 advantage. San Antonio knocked down two more three-pointers as Fullerton led 23-15 midway through the half.
Third three of the game for @Kidxtory ��#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/mZvjwp7aNi
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2023
The Anteaters used a 12-4 run to tie things up at 27, before a lay-in and a pair of free throws from San Antonio gave Fullerton a 33-29 lead. Harris hit a three from the corner, but UC Irvine closed the half on a 9-3 as both teams went to the locker room tied at 39.
Fullerton used a 15-4 run fueled by a Lee dunk and jumpers from San Antonio and Harris to take a 58-50 advantage five minutes into the second half. Wrightsell Jr. scored four points in three seconds, hitting a floater and stealing the inbounds pass for a lay-in to put the Titans up 67-57 midway through the half.
This sequence from @LJWrightsell ��#DevelopU | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/J25qUHrf92
— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) March 11, 2023
Wrightsell hit a triple and a free throw before Jones drained a pair of free throws, giving Fullerton a 76-69 advantage with 4:09 to go. UC Irvine used a 5-0 run to cut its deficit to 76-74, but Fullerton held on in the final minutes to win 83-80 and earn a berth in The Big West Championship.
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