Cal State Fullerton nets Wooden Legacy win over Sacramento State

FULLERTON, Calif., November 24, 2017 – Led by junior Khalil Ahmad’s 25-point performance, Cal State Fullerton defeated Sacramento State, 68-63, in the final game of The Wooden Legacy day two.

Ahmad’s 25 points was the game-high as well as a season-high for him to go along with four rebounds. Junior Kyle Allman put up 13 points and pulled down six boards. Sophomore Jackson Rowe was the third and final Titan in double-figures with 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds to go along with three assists.

The Hornets’ offense was led by senior Justin Strings with a season-high 22 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Junior Jordan Tolbert was the only other player to reach double-figures for Sac. State as he put up 15 points. Sophomore Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa led the game with a career-high 12 assists.

The first half was a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams with four lead changes and a tie ballgame on eight different occasions. Neither team had any standouts offensively as Fullerton was led by Rowe’s six first half points while Sacramento State was led by Tolbert’s seven first half points. It was really the defense that shined for both teams as the Titans forced seven turnovers while the Hornets forced 10. At the break, it was all tied up at 23.

The start of the second half was much like the first half; a lot of back-and-forth and a lot of good defense. However, the Titans offense would catch fire and Ahmad took over. Shooting a stellar 57.1% as a team for the half, Fullerton had their lead up to nine in the final seven minutes of play. Ahmad did most of the scoring as he scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half, shooting 7-13 (53.8%) from the field and a perfect 5-5 from the strike. The Hornets tried to make a last minute push, but could not get a scoring run to bring the game back and it was Fullerton who came out on top.