FULLERTON — The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team battled again but could not keep up with UC Santa Barbara down the stretch on Saturday night, dropping an 83-75 decision that leaves the Titans alone in last place in the Big West Conference.

Down by 11 early in the second half, Fullerton got a spark from reserve Keith Richard during a 15-4 run to tie the score at 51-all with 12:31 left. The Titans knotted the score again at 56-all on a three-point play from Zion Richardson with 10:13 remaining, but UCSB regained control with a 7-0 surge and kept it a two-possession game the rest of the way.

Fullerton (6-16 overall, 1-9 Big West) trimmed their deficit to four points twice in the final 5½ minutes, but the Gauchos (13-7, 5-4) got a pair of timely 3-pointers from Cole Anderson down the stretch to halt the Titans’ momentum and close out the win.

Anderson scored a career-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field (6 for 10 from 3-point range) and a 5-for-5 effort at the free-throw line to pace UCSB, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Kenny Pohto added 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting, and Stephan Swenson had 10 points and seven assists. Jason Fontenot II added eight points, nine rebounds and two steals.

Richardson had 16 points (7 for 7 at the free-throw line) and a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Fullerton. LoLo Rudolph added 12 points and strong on-ball defense, and Donovan Oday and Zachary Visentin each scored 11.

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UCSB led 34-29 at halftime and used a 13-4 run early in the second half to open a 47-36 lead, before the Titans responded.

Fullerton has 10 games left (six on the road) to try make a move in the standings and earn a spot in the eight-team Big West Tournament that begins March 12 in Henderson, Nevada.

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The Titans get Thursday off before playing at Hawaii on Saturday at 9 p.m. PT.