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Men's Basketball:
UC Irvine Downed by Cal State Fullerton 93-83 in Big West Opener
Jan. 4, 2008 FULLERTON, Calif. -- UC Irvine senior forward Patrick Sanders scored a career-high 27 points but Cal State Fullerton capitalized on 62-percent shooting from three-point range to top the Anteaters, 93-83, in the Big West Conference opener for both teams Friday night at Titan Gym. Fullerton (8-4, 1-0) hit 13 of 21 threes in the game, led by Marcus Crenshaw's 4-of-5 night from beyond the arc. Crenshaw scored 16 points. Josh Akognon, who led the Titans with 22 points, canned a trio of treys as did Frank Robinson, who added 17 points and had 10 rebounds for a double-double. Senior center Darren Fells had 16 points and eight rebounds for UCI (5-9, 0-1) while junior guard Brett Lauer scored 12 points, hitting 4 of 8 threes in the second half. Junior forward Kevin Bland added 11 points, Sanders pulled down seven boards and sophomore guard Michael Hunter had a career-high five steals. UCI also was effective from three-point range, hitting 10 of 19 for 52.6 percent for the game. Fullerton closed out the first half with a 12-5 run over the last 4 ½ minutes to lead 44-37 at intermission, shooting 63 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. Hunter's three with 15:49 remaining in the game tied the game at 52-52, but Robinson countered with a three and the Titans never trailed, leading by as many as 15 points down the stretch. "I thought our guys battled and I was pleased with their effort, but Fullerton shot the ball very well," UCI head coach Pat Douglass said. "(Frank) Robinson hit a couple of key threes for them after we had tied the game in the second half." UCI hosts Big West preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara Thursday night at 7:05 in the Bren Events Center.
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