SPORTS
PAGE 8
THE DAILY TITAN
UC Davis outlasts Titans at home on Senior Night PHILLIP LECONG For the Daily Titan
It was a jovial atmosphere inside Titan Gym on Senior Night as the Titans hosted their final home game of the season. Sadly this night would not end up in celebration, but in defeat as men’s basketball lost their second in a row 71-68 and will finish the season on the road at UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The game started with a pregame ceremony for all the seniors and their families. With senior guard D.J. Seeley out with an injured right foot, senior guard Jordan Knox replaced him in the starting lineup. The game started slow offensively for the Titans. They started down 5-0, but the Titans would take the lead with a 7-0 run that ended with a James Douglas layup and free throw. After trading baskets for six minutes, the Titans would take the lead at 22-19. The Titans would then go cold from the field going 0-4 with two turnovers. This led to the Aggies going on a 10-0 run to take a 29-22 lead. Both teams would trade baskets again for about one minute but the Titans would go cold again, going 0-3 with one turnover as the Aggies would end the half on a 9-2 run to lead 40-28 at halftime. It was anticipated to be a special night for senior guard Kwame Vaughn. Entering Saturday’s contest, Vaughn needed 18 points to reach 1,000 career points as a Titan. In the first half, Vaughn had seven points on 2-7 shooting. Needing 11 points in the second half and the team being down 12, hopes were that he would be able to capture the milestone. The Titans started the second half on fire by going on a 15-5 run to start the half. After trading bas-
kets, the Titans finally took the lead on a Deuce Johnson jump shot for a 53-52 lead with 10:39 remaining in the game. Both teams were in a dogfight, trading baskets with the game in the balance. Vaughn caught fire in the second half, finishing the second half with 22 points on 7-10 shooting and 4-5 from beyond the arc. His three-pointer brought the Titans to within 52-51 at the 11:26 mark. This gave him 1,002 in his Titan career and the milestone that he had been shooting for. He gave the Titans a 66-65 lead with two free throws with 3:08 left in the game. That would be the last lead the Titans would see as J.T. Adenrele for the Aggies hit a jump shot giving the Aggies a 67-66 lead that they would not relinquish. On the next Titan possession, Jared Brandon would get inside position and hit the layup but it was subsequently waived off by the officials saying that Brandon pushed off while shooting. The Titans would end up fouling two more times for the final score of 71-68. For the three seniors Vaughn, Seeley and Knox, Senior Night was extra special as they not only played their last home game, but also qualified for the Big West Tournament. “It’s good to give it your all whenever you can cause you do not know what is going to happen. The season meant a lot being a senior,” said Seeley. Vaughn stressed the Titans need to play with more of an attacking focus. “The other team was getting too many second chance opportunities. We need to get more loose balls and just go out with more aggressive mindset on both sides of the floor,” said Vaughn. This game was also a special
CONTACT US AT: SPORTS@DAILYTITAN.COM
MARCH 4, 2013 MONDAY
Titans rout Oregon in game 1 AMANDA ZIVE Daily Titan
ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
Jared Brandon is blocked by UC Davis defender Josh Ritchert in the second half of the Titans 71-68 loss. Brandon racked up six points and three steals.
“The seniors did a really good job. It’s been a really tough year with injuries.” ANDY NEWMAN Head Coach game for Jordan Knox as he started his first game for CSUF with his family in attendance. “This whole season was a highlight just meant a lot of me and my family to wear a Fullerton Titans jersey,” Knox said. “Coach Newman told me the other day that I was going to start. It was my first start in a Division I game and to play in front of my dad, my two sisters so I thank Coach Newman for doing that.” Head Coach Andy Newman praised the toughness his players have
showcased throughout the season. “I think the seniors did a really good job. It’s been a really tough year with injuries. Kwame had a terrific senior year third in the league in scoring and D.J. did the same thing second in the league in scoring. Sammy Yeager finished top five in scoring and they stepped up and had a great senior year.” For scheduling information, the upcoming Big West Tournament, and other information on the men’s basketball team, visit FullertonTitans.com.
The Titan baseball team started the weekend out strong with a big 8-2 victory Friday over the Oregon Ducks. A slow-starting game proved to be quite an opportunity lost by the Ducks, who struck first blood with an RBI in the fourth inning. Cal State Fullerton’s response on their next at-bat was a groundball single by outfielder Anthony Hutting that brought the speedy Richy Pedroza home safely and tied the game 1-1. “It’s something we’ve been really good at all year is (that) people score against us, we answer back,” Hutting said. “And if that’s going to be a statement for our team, moving forward, that’s really good sign.” When the Ducks came up to bat again in the fifth inning, pitcher Thomas Eshelman made a bold statement striking out the first batter, which was followed by two quick outs. In the bottom of the fifth, the Titans scored three runs. After Chad Wallach smacked a single and Clay Williamson walked, Keegan Dale hit a sacrifice bunt down the first base line, which brought the two runners to second and third bases. The bunt paid off as the Oregon pitcher Jake Reed threw the ball into the dirt, causing the catcher to lose control of the ball, which brought both runners home. After the second wild pitch and a mounting score of 3-1, the Ducks had a meeting at the mound, while Fullerton fans began to chant “leave him in.” Oregon coach George Horton left Reed in. A third wild pitch allowed Pedroza to cross home plate again ending the inning 4-1. In the sixth inning, the Ducks made contact a few times, forcing Eshelman to hustle to first base for successful tagouts. The pitcher’s speed was attributed to the speed training that the Titans have endured over the last few months.
“We’ve been doing that since day one of practice,” said Eshelman. “We’ve been doing that a lot so it was like second nature to me.” In the sixth, Oregon succeeded in grabbing two doubles, that resulted in a score. Hutting responded for CSUF again. He hit it deep into right field, which caused some panic in the outfield. The Oregon outfielder ran into the corner, and quickly threw his hands up in confusion. Hutting slid across home plate before the Ducks could get it together. Wallach and Williamson were on base again after they were hit with a pitch and singled, respectively. Dale made solid contact and shot the ball directly at the second baseman who couldn’t get his glove low enough to make the catch, which brought Wallach home easily. With the sixth run, the Ducks changed pitchers to no avail. Pedroza racked up a full count before being walked, followed by a single by Carlos Lopez which opened the gates to bring Williamson and Dale in for two more runs. Neither team scored in the final three innings, despite J.D. Davis and Hutting getting hit by wild pitches. Eshelman proved once again that the Titan freshmen are here to win. He pitched the entire game, allocating quick outs that kept the team in the position to win. “These guys that are on the mound for us, they throw strikes. And when we’re on defense and they’re throwing strikes, it’s setting the tone” said Hutting. “We want to be on defense as short amount a time as possible, you know, the longer they’re on the field ... the better it is for us.” “They didn’t throw enough strikes, they walked four guys or five guys, hit three; that’s a lot of free bases to allow somebody,” said Vanderhook explaining one of the Ducks’ problems in the game. The Titans took full advantage, and walked away with an 8-2 victory.