MALIBU, Calif. — Cal State Fullerton men's basketball defeated Pepperdine 60-55 Wednesday night at Firestone Fieldhouse behind 20 points from Max Jones and 19 from DJ Brewton. The win improves the Titans' record to 5-4 on the season.Â
"That's a gritty win," said Titan head coach Dedrique Taylor. "We had some adversity in the second half, but we stayed together. We made enough plays down the stretch to get the victory."
Jones scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, adding five boards and three assists. Brewton added 19 and three boards, including the dagger jump shot with 47 seconds left to put Fullerton up three. Beril Kabamba added 10 points and four rebounds for the Titans.Â
After leading by as many as 12 early in the second half, Fullerton clung to a one-point lead, 54-53, with 2:09 remaining. Jones knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead to three before the Waves' Houston Mallette matched with two free throws of his own. DJ Brewton dribbled down the shot clock on the ensuing possession then, with 47 seconds to go, drilled a pullup jumper from the left side to give the Titans a 58-55 advantage.Â
Jones pulled down a rebound after Fullerton then put together a defensive stop and the Titans called timeout with 12 seconds to go. Out of the timeout, Jones found John Mikey Square wide open on a full court pass for a dunk, as Fullerton came away with the 60-55 win.Â
The Titans jumped out to a 13-6 lead early in the game following back-to-back jumpers from Brewton and Jones. Brewton then picked up a steal before Jalen Cooper found Grayson Carper for a one-handed fast-break dunk.Â
A Kabamba layup pushed Fullerton's lead to 14, 28-14, with four minutes left in the first half. Kabamba scored in the paint again and Jones scored a driving lay-in just before the break as the Titans led 32-20 at the half. Fullerton held the Waves to just 29% shooting in the first period while recording a 48.3% shooting clip of its own.Â
The Titans kept Pepperdine at bay for much of the second half, with a Brewton three-point play and another Jones layup putting Fullerton up 42-31. Jones scored again on a fast break to put the Titans up 50-41 with 7:54 to go. The Waves fought back, cutting their deficit to one, 54-53, with 2:09 left before Fullerton held on for the 60-55 win.Â
Up next, Fullerton remains on the road to take on Sacramento State on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2:00 p.m. PT.Â
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