|
Men's Basketball:
UC Irvine Defeated by Cal State Fullerton 74-66
March 8, 2008 IRVINE, Calif. --- Cal State Fullerton led from start to finish in defeating UC Irvine, 74-66, in a Big West Conference game Saturday night at the Bren Events Center. The Titans handed the Anteaters their first on-campus loss of the season as UCI had won its previous 12 games played at the Bren Center and Crawford Court. Josh Akognon led four Fullerton players in double figures with 15 points, including 12 in the second half. Frank Robinson added 14, Ray Reed 12 and Marcus Crenshaw 10 as the Titans improved to 21-8 overall and 12-4 in the Big West. Patrick Sanders led the Anteaters (15-15, 9-7) with 18 points and Darren Fells added 11 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Bland had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench. Fullerton led by as many as 10 points in building a 34-29 halftime lead. UCI cut the margin to one early in the second half as Fells and Marcus McIntosh converted back-to-back baskets to trail 34-33 with 19:18 remaining. The Titans extended the lead to eight at 50-42 on a three by Marcio Lassiter at the 14:09 mark but UCI scored five straight points to pull within 50-47 with 11:44 left. Fullerton gradually pulled away to build its largest lead of the evening at 64-50 on a three-point play by Scott Cutley with 4:37 remaining. The Titans shot 52 percent from the field in the second half and 47.3 percent for the game while the Anteaters shot 41.1 percent for the game. Fullerton hit 7 of 18 threes and UCI hit 6 of 23. UCI is seeded fifth in next week's Big West Tournament and will open against No. 8 seed Long Beach State Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in a first-round game at the Anaheim Convention Center. Fullerton is the third seed and has a first-round bye.
|
