7-8 (3-1BWC)
Cal State Fullerton
6-11 (2-3BWC)
Cal Poly Rallies to Beat Cal State Fullerton, 58-54
1/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Junior forward David Hanson scored 25 points and hit a three-pointer to give Cal Poly the lead for good with 1:28 to play as the Mustangs rallied to beat Cal State Fullerton 58-54 in a Big West Conference men's basketball game Thursday night before 2,334 in Mott Gym.
Hanson made 10 of 19 floor shots, including half of his 10 shots from beyond the arc, and added eight rebounds as Cal Poly improved to 7-8 overall, extended its winning streak to a season-high three games and remained in second place in the Big West at 3-1.
Cal State Fullerton, led by Devon Peltier with 13 points, Andre Hardy with 12 and Jer'Vaughn with 10, fell to 6-11 and 2-3.
In beating Cal State Fullerton at home for the first time in the last five tries, Cal Poly overcame a 12-point Titan lead early in the second half.
Cal Poly's only leads in the first half were 7-6 and 16-15. Cal State Fullerton outscored the Mustangs 10-2 in the final six minutes of the half for a 32-22 advantage at the break.
Johnson's layup 13 seconds into the second half gave the Titans their biggest lead of the game at 34-22. A pair of free throws by Cal Poly senior guard Shawn Lewis tied the game at 42-42 with 13:31 to play and capped a 20-8 Cal Poly run, but the Mustangs didn't take the lead for good until Hanson hit a three-pointer with 1:28 to play, giving Cal Poly a 55-53 advantage.
Lewis finished with nine points and six assists for the Mustangs.
Johnson missed a jumper for the Titans and junior forward Jordan Lewis drained a three-pointer from the right corner as the shot clock expired for a 58-53 Cal Poly lead with 35 seconds to go.
Cal State Fullerton missed four floor shots and one free throw in the final 35 seconds. Johnson's free throw with 11 seconds to play completed the scoring.
Cal Poly made 39.6 percent of its floor shots for the game, sinking six of 11 three-pointers in the second half and eight of 22 in the contest. Cal State Fullerton was held to 32.7 percent efficiency from the field, hitting only two of 18 three-pointers.
Cal State Fullerton outrebounded Cal Poly 41-37, led by Hardy with 10. Junior center Will Donahue grabbed 10 boards for Cal Poly.
Cal Poly turned the ball over just nine times, three fewer than the Titans.
Hanson has led Cal Poly in scoring eight times in 15 games this season and posted his 11th double-digit scoring game Thursday night.
Neither team scored during a four-minute drought midway through the second half, the score remaining deadlocked at 45-45.
Cal Poly's nine blocked shots are a season high and the Mustangs won for only the second time in nine tries when trailing at halftime. Cal Poly rallied from a 28-26 deficit to beat Hawai'i 54-53 on Dec. 1.
The Mustangs, who lead the Big West Conference in scoring defense and defensive field goal percentage, have held six of their last seven opponents under 40 percent in field goal percentage.
Cal Poly aims for its first four-game winning streak since the 2006-07 season when the Mustangs host UC Irvine on Saturday night at 7 o'clock in Mott Gym.
