FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton Titans defeated Long Beach State 71-61 in front of an electric crowd at Titan Gym on Thursday. Joshua Ward's dominant performance on the court led the Titans to their ninth victory of the season.
 
Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro kick-started the Titans win with back-to-back baskets to take a lead that Fullerton would hang onto for the entire game. CSF went on a seven-point scoring run that put them over the Beach by 11, leading 15-4 just seven minutes in. The Titans continued to tally points, taking a 14-point lead and kept the Beach to just 29 points in the first half. Ward led the team with 11 points and seven rebounds in the 37-29 first half.
 
The Titans shot 50% from the floor and 21% from the three-point line. Fullerton tallied 12 points from LBSU's nine turnovers while they only scored three from the Titans' five turnovers.
 
In the second half, the Titans came out with the same momentum and posted another 34 points to seal the big win at home. Fullerton went on another seven-point run to take an 18-point lead with eight minutes left to play. In the final five minutes, Long Beach started to tally points, but it was too late and not enough to catch up to the Titans. LBSU posted a tighter second half, logging 32 while the Titans held on and tallied 34 for a 71-61 victory at home.  
 
Ward led the team again with 10 points and had two rebounds in the second half. CSF had a 58% field goal percentage in the latter half and still shot a low 20% from beyond the arc. The Titans and Long Beach each had eight turnovers in the second half; this time the Beach tallied 11 points while the Titans were only able to come up with nine.
 
Ward had a standout night, leading in points, free-throws, rebounds, and steals and was tied for a team high in assists and blocks. The senior's Thursday night stat sheet read 21 points, 6-6 at the charity stripe, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block. De La Cruz Monegro and Jaden Henderson also stood out for the Titans with double-digit points against Long Beach.
 
The Titans hit the road on Saturday as they face Cal Poly at 4 p.m.
 
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