FULLERTON – Kwame Vaughn scored a career-high 37 points and Cal State Fullerton made school record 17 three-pointers en route to a 99-86 win over visiting UCSB on Saturday night.
The 17 three-pointers tied a Gaucho opponent record.
Vaughn helped the Titans (15-7 overall, 7-3 in the Big West) overcome a 12-point first half deficit. He made 11-of-15 shots overall and 5-of-7 from three-point range. Vaughn was helped in the record-setting performance by guard Isiah Umipig who made 7-of-11 from outside the three-point arc.
The Gauchos (12-8 overall, 7-3 in the Big West) were led by Orlando Johnson who scored 28 points and moved into third on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,615 points UCSB used a 15-0 run in the first half to turn a 28-25 disadvantage into a 40-28 lead. Johnson completed the rally with a three-point basket from the corner with 3:18 to go.
The Titans began their rally by outscoring UCSB 15-7 over the final 2:58 of the first half. The final three points came on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Umipig.
Fullerton didn’t miss a beat at the outset of the second half, outscoring the Gauchos 19-6 to take a 64-55 lead with 13:54 remaining in the game. The advantage was still just 68-60 when Kyle Boswell made a three-pointer from above the key with 11:37 on the clock, but that’s when the Titans went on a decisive 15-5 surge to assume a commanding 83-65 lead with 7:24 to play.
UCSB never pulled closer than 11 the rest of the way.
“Hey, give them credit,” said UCSB head coach Bob Williams. “That was one of the best shooting performances I’ve ever seen. I thought they really fed off of each other and the crowd and when they got it going, it was very impressive.”
After making 8-of-14 three-point attempts in the first half, the Titans hit 9-of-12 in the second. The Gauchos weren’t bad from outside the arc either, making a a season-high 11 and shooting a season-best 61.1% (11-of-18).
James Nunnally added 19 points and eight rebounds for UCSB while freshman Alan Williams had 14 points and six rebounds. Johnson had nine rebounds and a season-high seven assists to go with his team-high 28 points.
UCSB returns home on Saturday, Nov. 11 for a game against UC Riverside. The game against the Highlanders will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. to accommodate a Prime Ticket telecast.
