Freshman guard Bobby Brown scored a game-high 22 points and Cal State
Fullerton survived a late run by Pepperdine as the Titans (1-3) posted
their first win of the season and the Coach Bob Burton Era by defeating
the Waves, 78-74, at Firestone Fieldhouse on Monday.
Pepperdine, which received a team-high 18 points from sophomore guard
Alex Acker, fell to 1-3 on the season.
Senior center Pope Sow (18) and senior forward Anthony
Bolton (10) also scored in double figures for the Titans.
Joining Acker in double figures for Pepperdine was junior forward
Glen McGowan (14), junior guard Terrance Johnson (13) and freshman guard
Shaun Davis (11).
Trailing by 15 points with 6:02 remaining, Pepperdine went on a 17-2 run
over the next 4:49 to tie the score at 74-74 with 1:13 left in the contest.
However, Fullerton made four of six free throws down the stretch for the
victory, only its thid ever in Malibu and first since 1990.
Sow broke the tie by making 1 of 2 free throws. Bolton
rebounded a missed Waves' shot, was fouled, and sank a pair for a 77-74
lead with 28 seconds left. Pepperdine missed again and fouled Brown, who
made 1 of 2 at the line with 11 seconds to go .
The Titans won despite making just one field goal in the final 6:24 of
the contest as they struggled handling Pepperdine's full-court press,
turning the ball over four times.
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half and down 39-36
at halftime, Fullerton took its first lead of the game one minute into
the second half and outscored the Waves 26-18 to build a 15 point lead
at 72-57.
Pepperdine has beaten Colorado and was coming off a 2-point loss on Saturday
night at Oklahoma State.
The Titans shot an impressive 66.7 percent (14 for 21) in the second half
and finished the game with a 61.2 percent mark (30 for 49) from the field.
Meanwhile, Pepperdine struggled offensively for most of the second half
and finished the game with a season-low tying 42.4 percent (25 for 59)
shooting percentage.
Fullerton returns to action Saturday night with a home rematch against
Northern Arizona, which beat the Titans in Flagstaff, 77-60,to open the
season.
