San Diego, Calif. – The Fullerton Titans kicked off the 2026-27 season at San Diego State's Viejas Arena on Tuesday evening. The Titans fell to the Aztecs with a season opening 78-102 loss.
In the first half, the Titans and Aztecs went head-to-head, keeping a close game. Fullerton shot a 44% field goal percentage while the Aztecs only shot one percent better in the first half. Fouls hurt the Titans in the first as the Titans tallied 15 personal fouls, in which SDSU cashed out, shooting 23-25 at the line.
SDSU struck first before
Matthew Willenborg recorded the first bucket of the Titans' young season. The Titans went down to trail by as many as six, just three minutes into the game, but went on to erase the Aztecs lead and take one of their own.
Malcolm Bell dunked on SDSU to give the Titans an 18-17 lead with 12 minutes to go. From there, the Titans went on their best scoring run of the night, tallying 10 unanswered points and led the Aztecs by six.
With just over six minutes remaining in the first half, SDSU tied the game at 32 each and took over from there. The Aztecs led 54-43 at halftime.
Bell led the team with 11 points at the half and shooting a perfect two-for-two from the arc. The team as a whole, shot 44% from the paint, 31% beyond the arc and 54% at the free throw line.
In the second half, Willenborg struck first, but SDSU was quick to respond and put the Aztecs up by 19, only three minutes into the second half. CSF answered with another 10-point scoring run, still trailing 58-67 at the 15:46 mark. The Titans were unable to catch up to San Diego State after letting them slip away early in the half, leading to a 78-102 loss on the road.
Joshua Ward posted 15 points in the second half, for a team-leading total of 22 points on the night. Ward also recorded five rebounds, one assist and two steals. Willenborg and Chirstian Williams tallied 12 points each along with two assists each. Overall, the Titans posted a 40% shooting percentage against the Aztecs. Fullerton took advantage of SDSU's mistakes, logging 11 points off of San Diego's 15 turnovers.
The Titans are back in action on Saturday, November 7 at 11 a.m. PT when they head to South Dakota to take on the Coyotes for game two of the season.
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