FULLERTON — Jaden Henderson had 21 points and KJ Garris scored 19, but Cal State Fullerton’s valiant comeback fell a few points short against Peter Bandelj and Cal Poly on Thursday night.
Bandelj scored a career-high 37 points and made a program-record nine 3-pointers on 10 attempts to lead Cal Poly past Fullerton, 94-91, in the Big West Conference opener for both teams at Titan Gym.
Hamad Mousa scored 27 points and added seven rebounds and three steals for the Mustangs (5-5 overall, 1-0 Big West), who shot a scorching 18 for 37 from behind the arc. Guzman Vasilic added 15 points, and Cayden Ward scored 11. Bandelj added five rebounds.
Landon Seaman had 15 points and Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro added 11 for the Titans (3-6, 0-1), who trailed by 18 points with less than eight minutes left but cut the margin to one twice in the final minute. Joshua Ward had 10 points and six rebounds. Garris also grabbed six rebounds.
The game was tight for most of the night with 10 lead changes and seven ties. Seaman had 11 of his points in the first half and Garris had 10 as the Titans built a 44-43 halftime lead with 26 points in the paint.
Cal Poly started to pull away in the second half, outscoring Fullerton 30-9 at one point to open a 79-61 lead with just over seven minutes left, but Henderson and Seaman sparked a 12-2 run to get the Titans within 81-73.
Garris scored six straight with a minute remaining, then De La Cruz Monegro converted a three-point play to get Fullerton within 87-82 with 46 seconds left. Henderson followed with a steal and 3-pointer to get the hosts within two points with 37 seconds left.
Bandelj made a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left for Cal Poly, but Henderson answered with another 3-pointer to make it a one-point game again with 11 seconds to play. An unintentional foul resulted in two more Bandelj free throws, but Fullerton’s Bryce Cofield tipped in a basket with three seconds left to trim the lead to 91-90. The Mustangs made three of their final four free throws for the final margin.
Another foul led to the Mustangs tallying extra points that would eventually earn them their 94-91 victory.
The Titans shot 47% from the field, including a 9-for-23 showing from behind the arc. Cal Poly finished at 49% overall and survived its 22 turnovers.
UP NEXT
Fullerton travels to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday at 9 p.m. PT.
