FULLERTON, Calif. — Cal State Fullerton men's basketball fell to Long Beach State 81-71 in the final minutes Thursday night at Titan Gym. The result moves the Titans to 7-6 on the season and 0-1 in Big West play. 

"We jumped out and played well," head coach Dedrique Taylor said. "We were sharing the basketball and defending with an edge. But credit to Long Beach State. They disrupted what we were able to do." 

Max Jones led Fullerton with 19 points, knocking down a game-high four three-pointers, while DJ Brewton scored 18 to go with six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Vincent Lee added nine points and four boards for the Titans. 

Fullerton forced 17 turnovers while commiting just nine of its own and scored 23 points off of takeaways to the Beach's nine. But Long Beach State outrebounded the Titans 55-34 and scored 14 points off of second chance opportunities. 

Fullerton jumped out to a 21-11 advantage in the first half, following a pair of layups from Beril Kabamba and a Jones three-point play. But the Beach fought back to take a 38-32 lead at the break, despite a Grayson Carper three and a Brewton lay-in just before the first half buzzer. 

Jones hit a pair of threes early in the second half as Fullerton clawed its way back to take a 46-45 lead. A Brewton trey and free throw then put the Titans up 52-47. Fullerton clung to a four-point lead, 59-55, with 8:05 to go after another Jones three. But Long Beach State proceeded to tie things up at 59 with 5:49 to go before ending the game on a 22-11 run to win, 81-71. 

Max has 16 ??#DevelopU | #TusksUp | @Max_jones23 pic.twitter.com/BmetRL3S6O

— Titans Men's Basketball (@FullertonMBB) December 29, 2023

Up next, the Titans travel to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m. HT/9:00 p.m. PT. 

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