FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton Titans battled against the visiting Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors until the final buzzer on senior night. The Titans fell 87-85 after a heartbreaking buzzer-beater from the Rainbow Warriors.
 
After losing by 10 in the first meeting with Hawai'i earlier this season, the Titans introduced themselves as a brand-new team on Saturday. Fullerton kept their head in the game, switching leads 15 different times. The game was such a battle that neither team could separate the score by double digits. The Titans held the highest lead of the game at nine.
 
Fullerton kicked off the game with a five-point lead over the No. 1 team in the Big West Conference. The two teams traded points in the first half before the Titans went on a four minute, 13-point scoring run which was their highest of the game, setting them up for a nine-point lead at 33-24. Hawai'i made an effort, but the Titans held on and headed into the locker room with a 35-32 lead after the first half.
 
Titans senior, Joshua Ward led the team with eight points, three free-throws, three assists, and a steal in the first half. CSF shot 34% in the first frame of Saturday's ballgame. Fullerton committed three turnovers while forcing the Rainbow Warriors to nine. The Titans tallied eight points off of Hawai'i's mistakes.
 
The second half is when the madness struck in Titan Gym. Both teams continued to trade buckets, but the Titans held onto their lead until the 15:29 mark. That was the first of 11 lead changes in the second half. CSF pieced together another nine point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Fullerton led Hawai'i 79-70 with 3:37 to go. The Rainbow Warriors quickly erased that gap and took an 80-79 lead with 54 seconds to play.
 
Over the next 30 seconds, Hawai'i built their largest lead of the game, 84-79. KJ Garris put together the perfect ending, making a layup and nabbing an extra point. With 16 seconds to go and trailing by two, Garris missed a three-point shot, got ahold of the ball again and made up for his previous attempt, making a three-pointer to put the Titans on top with nine seconds left. Hawai'i took the ball down the court and found an open shooter at the top of the arc. The Rainbow Warrior shot and stunned all of Titan Gym. The clock hit zero as the ball sunk through the net. The Titans lost in a 87-85 heartbreaker at home.
 
Jaden Henderson celebrated his senior night, leading the team with 11 points in the second half. Henderson also had two rebounds, and an assist. Fullerton improved in the second half, shooting a 58% field goal percentage and 63% at both the free throw and three-point lines. Both teams tallied four turnovers in the second half, but the Titans capitalized, logging another eight points.
 
The Titans celebrated their four seniors, Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro, Landon Seaman, Henderson and Ward on Saturday night. Each senior made an impact on the game, posting a combined 51 points against the Rainbow Warriors. Ward celebrated his birthday, leading with 16 points on the night while Seaman and Henderson tallied 14. De La Cruz Monegro nabbed seven and led the team with five rebounds and a block.
 
The Titans are back in action for their final home game of the season on Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. against UC San Diego.
 
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Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitansTickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday. 

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WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.