HONOLULU — The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team had road showdowns with two of the other Big West Conference contenders this week, but neither one went the way the Titans hoped.
Hawaii blitzed Fullerton with a 17-0 run early in the second half on Saturday night, turning a tight game into a 72-55 Rainbow Warriors victory at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Fullerton (14-8 overall, 7-3 Big West), which lost at first-place Long Beach State (14-9, 9-1) on Tuesday night, dropped into a second-place tie with Hawaii (12-8, 7-3), which snapped a three-game losing streak that had seen it fall out of first place.
Saturday’s game was the only regular-season meeting between the teams, giving Hawaii the head-to-head tiebreaker when it comes to seedings for next month’s conference tournament. They were originally set to meet in Fullerton on Jan. 6, but the game was declared a no contest due to COVID-19 issues within the Hawaii program.
On Saturday, Fullerton used an early 12-0 run to open a 17-7 lead with 11:51 left in the first half, but Hawaii responded with a 23-7 run to take a 30-24 lead at halftime.
Things got worse for Fullerton almost immediately in the second half. The Titans scored four quick points, but Hawaii’s Jerome Desrosiers scored the next seven points as the hosts extended their lead to 37-28 with 16:22 left. It eventually turned into a 17-0 run as the Warriors opened a 47-28 lead with 13:23 left. Hawaii led by as much as 23 several times and cruised to victory.
Noel Coleman scored a game-high 24 points on 7-for-11 shooting for Hawaii, including a 4-for-5 mark from 3-point range, while going 6 for 7 from the free-throw line. Bernardo Da Silva had 12 points, Junior Madut had 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and Desrosiers had eight rebounds.
Fullerton struggled to find its range all night, shooting 32% (19 for 59) overall. No Titan scored in double figures, with Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Damari Milstead each scoring nine points.
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E.J. Anosike, the Titans’ leading scorer (17 ppg), was held to four points on 2-for-10 shooting. Tory San Antonio had six rebounds.
Neither team shot free throws particularly well, but Hawaii shot 46.6% from the field (27 for 58), had a 45-31 rebounding advantage and blocked four Fullerton shots.
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Fullerton plays at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at 7 p.m.