Cal State Fullerton Falls To Purdue In First NCAA Tourney In 10 Years
DETROIT (CBSLA/AP) — Carsen Edwards scored 15 points and second-seeded Purdue Boilermakers eventually shook off the rust from a long layoff and routed the Cal State Fullerton Titans 74-48 Friday to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Cal State Fullerton was the only Southern California team this year to make it to the Big Dance. It's the university's first time back in the tournament in 10 years, and only its third appearance ever.
Fullerton almost made it into the Final Four back in 1978, but haven't won a game in the tournament since then.
The Titans (20-12) led midway through the first half, and then Edwards took over. He had a go-ahead layup and scored seven more points to help Purdue lead 31-20 at halftime.
Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks after losing to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament final, the Boilermakers (29-6) struggled to make shots down low and beyond the 3-point line and simply looked out of sync.
Purdue advanced to face the Arkansas-Butler winner.
Cal State Fullerton's Kyle Allman scored 21 and Jackson Rowe had 10 points.
The Big West Tournament champions couldn't put up much resistance in the second half as Purdue started making 3-pointers and using its Big Ten big bodies score inside to lead by 20-plus points.
Even with a big lead, though, Purdue coach Matt Painter kept pushing his teas to defend closely and share the ball offensively. Vince Edwards took heed and hustled back to block Jamal Smith's attempt on a breakaway layup.
Edwards, looking healthy after being slowed by an ankle injury, scored 15 and P.J. Thompson added 11 points. Isaac Haas overcame a sluggish start to have nine points and 10 rebounds, but he left the game briefly midway through the second half after aggravating his banged-up right elbow that he hurt in a win over Louisville in November.
Several local bars hosted watch parties, including Big's Fullerton, Brian's Beer & Billiards, Kelly's Korner Tavern, The Bench, and the Yard House Brea.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)