March 3, 2009
Bakersfield, Calif. - Titans Hang On to Beat Bakersfield, Snap 3-Game Losing Streak March 3, 2009
BAKERSFIELD -- Josh Akognon scored 32 points and Jacques Streeter had 10 assists Tuesday night as Cal State Fullerton held on for a 78-73 non-conference men's basketball victory at Cal State Bakersfield.
Gerard Anderson had 11 points and Marcio Lassiter added 10 for the Titans, who snapped a 3-game losing streak and improved to 14-15 on the season. Santwon Latunde scored all 15 of his points in the second half to rally the Roadrunners, who completed their season at 8-21. Terrance Johns had 16 points and Trent Blakley also had 15.
"This was a great road win for us," said Fullerton Head Coach Bob Burton.
"They have played well here and we knew it would be a tough game. This was one of our better defensive efforts and rebounding games. This should help us get back on a winning track going into the Irvine game and the Big West Tournament."
Fullerton was ahead for virtually the entire game, leading by as many as 18 points in the first half and 72-59 with 5 minutes to play. But Latunde led a charge reminiscent of Fullerton's game here last year when a 20-point lead dwindled to four points in the final minute.
Johns scored twice in the first minute of the second half and Donald Lee tallied twice inside for an 8-0 run that cut Fullerton's advantage to 43-37 with Akognon missing his first two treys of the period. But Akognon hit a three and a two and Jacques Streeter hit a pair of free throws to get the lead back into double digits at 50-37 at 15:46.
Latunde scored seven unanswered points for the Roadrunners to cut the gap to 56-51 at 10:40. The Titans stretched it out again to as many as 13 at 72-59 on a Lassiter 3-pointer at 4:55. But the Roadrunners scored the next 9 points - 5 by Latunde - to get within 4 at 72-68 inside two minutes. Two Donavan Bragg free throws made it a 3-point game at 73-70 at 0:44 but the Titans hit 5 of 6 free throws and Bakersfield would get no closer.
Fullerton took the lead for good with an early 13-2 run that turned a 7-5 deficit into an 18-9 lead at 12:25 of the first half. The lead remained between 5 and 10 points until the 6-minute mark when Akognon fueled a 13-0 spurt that stretched the lead to 41-23. Akognon scored 11 points in a row during the spurt and tallied Fullerton's final 13 points of the half that ended 43-29 when Johns banked in a long trey to beat the buzzer.
Akognon made his first three shots and was 7-for-10 in the first half including 5 of 7 from behind the 3-point line. His 21-point total gave him his third 20-point half of the season against the Roadrunners - he had 21 in the first and 20 in the second half in his 41-point game vs. CSUB on Dec. 13.
Fullerton outrebounded Bakersfield, 38-36 and outshot it from the floor, 50 percent to 42 percent. Akognon finished up 11-for-20 and 6-for-11 from the 3-point line. Streeter scored all 7 of his points in the second half.
Fullerton completes its regular season Saturday with a Homecoming game in Titan Gym vs. UC Irvine.
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