Cal State Fullerton Holds off the Matadors

FULLERTON, Calif.---Playing short handed, CSUN Men's Basketball (6-21, 3-10 BWC) got a spirited effort from its bench but Cal State Fullerton pulled away down the stretch to win 88-70 on Saturday evening at Titan Gym. Junior Carl Brown led the Matadors in scoring with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting including four 3-pointers as the Matador bench outscored the Titan reserves 31-5. Lyrik Shreiner poured in 15 points, five rebounds and three assists while Tavrion Dawson tallied 13 points, six assists, two blocks and five rebounds.

"They brought energy," said head coach Reggie Theus about his bench. "I'm happy for a lot of the guys because they don't get a lot of chances. Trying to keep our guys motivated is a tough task. Starters sometime get in a rut with how they play, and they get comfortable because there's really no one behind them pushing for minutes. Anytime our bench can come in and help us is a big lift. We tied the game with them on the floor.

"The problem is that you look at 26 to 14 on free throw attempts," added Theus. "They shot 12 more free throws than us, and for the most part that was the difference in the score of the game. We made one more three than they did, they made three more baskets than we did, so the difference was free throws."

CSUN shot 52.9 percent from the field and 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the 3-point line while the Titans shot 50.0 percent from the floor along with a 7-for-16 effort beyond the 3-point arc (43.8 percent). Fullerton was able to earn its way to the free throw line with regularity, hitting 21-for-26 (80.8 percent) compared to the Matadors' 8-for-14 (57. 1 percent). The Titans also posted a 34-27 edge in rebounding and 40-30 advantage in points in the paint.

Fullerton got going quickly in the first half, scoring the game's first seven points. The Matadors fell behind 15-4 at the 14:31 mark of the first half before Theus turned to his bench. Brown entered the game and promptly hit his first shot. Anthony Swan would also knock down a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 15-11, concluding a 7-0 run.

Swan and Jalon Pipkins converted on layups to keep the Matadors close, and Swan later nailed another 3-pointer to pull CSUN within 26-22. Shreiner hit back-to-back shots going to the rim that trimmed the deficit to 28-26 with 5:47 left to play.

After Jackson Rowe put the Titans ahead 33-28 on a layup, CSUN went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 35-35 as Brown sunk back-to-back 3-pointers. Shreiner scored on a driving layup to even the game again at 37-37 but Rowe scored the final four points of the half to put the Titans up 41-37 at the break.

Already playing without Jonathan Guevara, who missed his second-straight game with an injury, the Matadors lost Micheal Warren early in the first half with an injury. Still, the Matadors continued to fight in the second half with who was available to play.

Fullerton kicked off the second half with a 12-4 spurt to open up a 53-41 lead at the 16:39 mark. Trailing by double digits again, the Matadors would keep on fighting as Pipkins hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to single digits, and Dawson converted on four consecutive free throws to make it a 55-48 game. After a defensive stop, Terrell Gomez knocked down a 3-pointer in transition.

Shreiner hit a jumper at the 12:06 mark that brought CSUN within 60-56. Brown continued his inspired play with a driving layup and another 3-pointer to cut the lead to five (66-61).

In the end, the Titans were able to take control down the stretch on the back of their high-scoring guards. Khalil Ahmad finished with a game-high 29 points while Kyle Allman posted 27 points. The tandem scored 17 of their team's final 20 points as the Titans closed the game on a 22-9 run.

Brown, who was scoreless in Big West play entering tonight, posted his first double-digit scoring performance of his CSUN career. He also registered new career highs in field goals made, 3-point field goals made, rebounds (4) and minutes (23) on the night. Also off the bench, Swan had eight points, four rebounds and two assists while Pipkins finished with seven points on 3-of-3 shooting along with three rebounds.

The Matadors head to Cal Poly (3-10 BWC) next Thursday at 7 p.m. in another pivotal game to determine Big West seedings for the tournament in March. The teams are currently tied for seventh in the Big West with ninth-place UC Riverside (2-10 BWC) a half game behind. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call in an audio only broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health.

Cal State Fullerton Holds off the Matadors

Next Event

Team Stats

Carl Brown

Lyrik Shreiner

Tavrion Dawson

Anthony Swan

Players Mentioned

Carl Brown

Tavrion Dawson

Terrell Gomez

Jonathan Guevara

Jalon Pipkins

Lyrik Shreiner

Anthony Swan

Micheal Warren