SAN LUIS OBISPO — Balanced offense and stingy defense made for an easy night for the Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team.

Max Jones had an efficient 16 points, Jalen Harris added 13 and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 10 as Fullerton thumped Cal Poly, 65-36, on Saturday night, getting back above .500 in Big West Conference play going into a week when it will host two of the teams it trails in the standings – Long Beach State and UC Riverside.

Jones was 6 for 7 from the field to go with five rebounds and three assists for the Titans (12-11 overall, 6-5 Big West). Harris was 2 for 5 from 3-point range and 5 for 6 from the free-throw line, while Wrightsell followed his late-game heroics against UC Irvine with a 4-for-10 shooting night (2 for 7 from behind the arc) and four rebounds.

Fullerton shot 48.8% overall while holding the Mustangs to 29.2%.

Three-pointers from Harris, Tory San Antonio and Jones helped Fullerton open a 19-8 lead, then Jones and Daeshawn Eaton converted from behind the arc during a 14-3 run that resulted in a 33-11 advantage. Grayson Carper added a 3-pointer of his own as Fullerton took a 37-16 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Wrightsell extended the Titans’ lead to 43-16 early in the second half, then another Carper 3-pointer and a Jones jumper pushed the margin to 49-18. A 10-0 Mustang run got them within 53-32 midway through the second half, but the Titans scored the next seven to choke out any threat of a Cal Poly comeback.

Fullerton outrebounded the hosts 35-27 and shot 15 for 22 from the free-throw line compared to 4 for 8 for Cal Poly.

Brantley Stevenson had 13 points to lead the Mustangs (7-15, 1-9), who have lost nine straight. Kobe Sanders added 11 points. Cal Poly had five assists and 14 turnovers.

UP NEXT

Fullerton hosts Long Beach State on Thursday at 7 p.m. then welcomes UC Riverside to Titan Gym on Saturday (Feb. 4) at 6 p.m.