Led by E.J. Anosike's 22 points and 8 rebounds, and Damari Milstead's 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc, the Titans emerged with a nail-biting 72-71 victory over archrival Long Beach State in the championship game of the 2022 Big West Men's Basketball Tournament, earning Fullerton the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA's "Big Dance."

The NCAA Tournament appearance would be the second under the tutelage of Titan head coach, Dedrique Taylor.  No other coach in Fullerton's men's basketball history had led the Titans to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.  Previously, Bobby Dye brought the Titans all the way to the "Elite 8" in 1978, and Bob Burton followed up a 30-year tourney absence by guiding the Titans back to the Promised Land in 2008.  Under Taylor, Fullerton had matched up against Purdue in 2018.  Notice all of the 8's?

Excited players, coaches, and fans met at Roscoe's Famous Deli in downtown Fullerton on March 14, 2022 to watch the tournament selection show, and to learn the first round opponent of the Titans.  Following much chatter and speculation, it was revealed that Fullerton would face the West Region number two seed, and ACC champion, Duke, in Greenville, South Carolina.

Earlier in the season, legendary coach, Mike Krzyzewski, announced that this would be his final season at Duke, and that he would be retiring from coaching college basketball.  The matchup for Fullerton was now magnified in significance.  Since the Orange County State College Titan basketball program first laced up their Chuck Taylor's in 1960, Fullerton had never played Duke, where Krzyzewski had won five NCAA championships.  If they could pull it off, a Titan win would make national headlines, and serve as Coach K's final game. 

Per coach Taylor: "I couldn't have asked for a better two seed, in my opinion.  I mean that in terms of the experience for our guys, the experience for our program.  It's Duke, number one, but it's also coach K's last season.  So, the fanfare, the pageantry, and the experience overall I thought was something that our guys and our program would never forget."

The speedy Titans would be confronted by a Blue Devil roster with six players between 6'8" and 7'1" in height, including future NBA post players, Mark Williams and Paolo Banchero.  Fullerton's All-Big West center, E.J. Anosike, measured just 6'7", and power forward, Vincent Lee, at 6'8".  It was clear that the Titans would be unable to outmuscle Duke inside, so forcing turnovers and making outside shots would be Fullerton's key to an improbable victory. 

Taylor's strategy was for his Fullerton squad to play as hard as they possibly could, and give it as much effort as they could.  "At the end of the season from an X's and O's standpoint, you pretty much are who you are," Taylor said.    

"With a nationally televised game, and all the things that go with it, it's really, really important to attach your mind to something familiar, which is our style of play; which is what we do offensively; what we do defensively, and a few tweaks here in there.  But, let's not forget how hard we have played all year.  Let's not forget our energy."    

CBS-TV brought their A-team broadcasters to Greenville, in Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, and Grant Hill, a Duke alumnus.  The broadcasters ominously noted that it was 42 years to the day that Coach Krzyzewski had first been announced as the Blue Devils head coach. 

Logistical problems outside the Bon Secours Wellness Arena prevented more than half of the sold out crowd from being seated at the tip-off.  Titan fans were delighted that Fullerton had chosen to wear their orange uniforms. 

With the Titans finding themselves trailing 9-22 with 11:04 remaining in the first half, back-to-back 3-pointers by Tray Maddox and Jalen Harris bought the Titans back into the contest at 15-22.  A stifling Fullerton defense forced four consecutive Duke turnovers during the run, prompting Bill Raftery to say: "I like the spunk in this team… Cal State."

An eight point sequence from the Titans closed the gap to 25-31 with 4:11 in the contest.

"I think we're competing," coach Taylor said in a sideline interview.  "We're playing hard, and getting some 50/50 balls, and I think we're getting the offensive shots that we want.  They're not going (in), obviously.  I think their length is bothering us at the front of the rim a little bit, but we're going to keep competing and keep attacking, keep guarding, and keep trying to rebound down here."

The Titans would eventually trail Duke 27-37 at the half.  Before going into the locker room, Coach K praised the Titans effort: "They're a veteran team, and they're well-coached.  They're really playing hard on the defense, and it's tough for us to get good shots."   

Duke's formidable size and second-chance opportunities would have their impact in the second half, culminating in a 78-61 Blue Devil victory.  Fullerton would be outrebounded in the game 36-27, and the Blue Devils would block 10 Titan shots, and alter several more.  On a more positive note, the Titans would beat the 18-point spread with a Dante Maddox, Jr. dunk with 3.5 seconds remaining on the game clock, and would hold Duke below their season average of 80 points per game.    

Milstead would lead Fullerton with 12 points, and Lee, Anosike, and Harris would each contribute 10.  Anosike would log his 10th double-double performance of the season by adding 10 rebounds.

In a testament to coach Taylor, all 12 Titan players would forever have the memory of checking into the game and being on the floor in an NCAA Tournament contest. 

Coach Taylor had this to say after the contest: "I can't tell you how proud I am of this group.  Coming into this game and competing against Duke was a complete honor and privilege, but compete is exactly what our guys did.  They came out, and they played extremely hard, and they didn't quit, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about." 

Prior to Greenville, coach Taylor had never met coach Krzyzewski.  The Titan head coach came away impressed with the level of detail that the Duke staff had gathered on the Fullerton squad.  "I was blown away with how much he knew about me, and our program.  It confirmed everything that I had heard about the man – Super down to earth, well spoken, and extremely well-prepared."   

2021-2022 SEASON HONORS

• Big West Tournament Champions
• E.J. Anosike
  • Lou Henson All-American
  • Big West Tournament MVP
  • Big West All-Tournament Team
  • All-Big West, First Team
  • Big West Newcomer of the Year
• Damari Milstead
  • Big West All-Tournament Team
  • All-Big West, Second Team
• Jalen Harris
  • Big West Sixth Man of the Year
• Dante Maddox, Jr.
  • Big West All-Academic Team

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