Cal St.-Fullerton 59, UC Riverside 46

Published Mar. 12, 2009 6:50 a.m. ET

foxsports

Josh Akognon scored a tournament-record 37 points to lead Cal State Fullerton to a 59-46 victory over UC Riverside in the first round of the Big West Conference tournament Wednesday. Akognon, the Big West's player of the year, was 14-for-22, including 9 of 15 from 3-point range for the seventh-seeded Titans (15-16). Marcio Lassiter added a career-high 11 rebounds. The No. 6 seed Highlanders (17-13), who lost three of their last four games, trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half after leading by seven in the first. Fullerton rallied after halftime with a 13-0 run to take a 44-30 lead with 13:56 to play. The Titans made four successive 3-point shots, three by Akognon, during the run. Akognon had more points than Riverside's entire team late in the second half, prompting Fullerton fans to point at the scoreboard and chant, "Josh is winning!" Brandon Dowdy scored 17 points, all in the first half, for UC Riverside.