Wooden Legacy post-game notes & quotes, Cal State Fullerton 70, Harvard 61
Wooden Chips
• Tonight’s nine-point margin meant that each of the last seven Wooden Legacy games this week have been decided by single digits.
• Cal State Fullerton won despite taking just 39 field goal attempts… the all-time fewest in a Wooden Legacy game is 37 by Chattanooga in 2007 (who scored just 41 points that game).
Cal State Fullerton (3-3)
• Playing in its third ESPN event (3-6 record in those).
• Cal State Fullerton shot over 50% FG for the second straight game and is now 37-2 in its last 39 times connecting on at least half its shots from the floor.
• Jackson Rowe led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 10-10 FG and 5-5 3pt-FG… he has shot at least 50% FG in all five of his collegiate games… on the year he is now 25-35 FG (.714) and 8-10 3pt-FG (.800).
• Jackson Rowe tied a school record for FG accuracy, equaling what Tom Morgan did versus Utah State (also 10-10) on 01/31/80.
• The rest of the Titans combined for 11-29 FG (.379) and 0-9 3pt-FG.
• Kyle Allman scored 16 points, his 25th career game with double figure scoring.
Harvard (3-4)
• Playing in its second ESPN event (2-4 record in those).
• Six of Harvard’s seven games thus far have been decided by single digits.
• With Cal State Fullerton shooting .538 (21 of 39) FG tonight, Harvard has now allowed three teams this season to shoot at least 50% FG… the Crimson only allowed two teams all of last year to connect on at least 50% FG.
• Bryce Aiken led Harvard with 16 points, and has now scored in double digits in 25 of his 33 games at Harvard.
• Seth Towns was held scoreless for just the second time in his career (also at Cornell on 1/27/17).
• Corey Johnson chipped in 11 points, the second time in the last 11 games he has reached double digits.
Cal State Fullerton Head Coach Dedrique Taylor:
(Opening statement) – “I want to say congratulations to our ball club, that was a hard fought win. Harvard is a very very good team and they have some really good players, they play very well together but I thought our group came together tonight. We communicated, we executed on both ends of the floor and I have tip my hat to them, they played as hard as I’ve seen them play. Multiple efforts, we rebounded the ball exceptionally well and then we got another one of our offensive weapons going tonight and clearly we needed it. It was a heck of a win for our ball club, great win for our program, really really excited for this group of guys.”
(On having Jackson Rowe, Kyle Allman and Khalil Ahmad play well offensively) – “I thought it was good. I looked at the stats and saw we almost had three of those guys in double figures. But I think for us to continue to improve offensively, if we can find a way to get on the same page and into the same rhythm I like our chances offensively and I think our offense will take off and go to a different level if we can find that rhythm.”
(On Jackson Rowe’s performance) – “This guy is in the gym every single morning at 7:00 a.m. I have been begging, pleading, asking him to stop doing it because it’s wearing him down. Well we’ve seen the benefit of his work at 7:00 a.m., that’s what he does. He’s put in the work to be able to shoot the ball from the perimeter and the number bare those facts out. When you put in that type of work, put in that type of dedication, the proof is in the putting.”
Cal State Fullerton junior guard Kyle Allman:
(On Jackson Rowe’s performance) – “It’s easier for me, they’re all focused on him so now it makes my job easier and I just get to watch him score.”
Cal State Fullerton sophomore forward Jackson Rowe:
(On his 25-point performance) – “I was just shooting and it was going so I just kept shooting it.”
Harvard Head Coach Tommy Amaker:
(Opening Statement) – “It was a very disappointing game for us after playing a tough team in St. Joseph’s. We had to be tough again tonight against Cal State Fullerton. They’re a tough athletic slashing team that Coach Taylor has done a fantastic job of putting together. I thought our inability to play without fouling was probably the biggest key of the game. We couldn’t overcome that. I was a little disappointed we didn’t play better position defense, but (Cal State Fullerton) is very athletic with a lot of guys who can drive into the paint. He (Jackson Rowe) had a tremendous game with his shooting ability and how effective he was against us from the perimeter.”
(On the final stretch of the game that allowed Cal State Fullerton to pull away) – We could never get consecutive stops. Each time we inched closer, we couldn’t get another stop. They put us into a position to foul, which we did, and they did a tremendous job from the foul line shooting 23 out of 30. That’s a very solid percentage for a team on any given night. I felt that was the biggest difference in the game.”
(On their 3-point shooting) – “We’re hopeful that 3-point shooting will be a factor for us. We haven’t shot well all year from the 3-point line and we’re hoping at some point that we’ll shoot better. Bryce Aiken is our leading scorer and best player and he was 0-for-4 from the 3-point line and four-for-seven from the foul line. (Aiken) should be a 90% foul shooter. We’re certainly not shooting the ball from the 3-point line very well this year which is disappointing and surprising.”
(On dealing with players being sick and roster management) – “We had two kids that weren’t even here tonight (Danilo Djuricic and Henry Welsh). Seth Towns hardly played because he was recovering from illness and missed the game yesterday. Brady Aiken was sick all day yesterday, so that’s why he probably wasn’t at his best today. It’s been tough and disappointing in that regard. A number of teams have had to deal with that issue and it’s tough for everyone in the tournament.”