UC Santa Barbara 73, Cal St.-Fullerton 65

Published Feb. 18, 2010 12:47 a.m. ET

foxsports

James Nunnally and Orlando Johnson each scored 18 points as UC Santa Barbara defeated Cal State Fullerton, 73-65, in Big West Conference play on Wednesday night.

Jamie Serna added 13 points for the first-place Gauchos (15-8, 10-3). The Gauchos forced 17 turnovers and only committed nine. They needed to protect the ball due to the fact they were dominated on the glass.

The Titans (13-12, 7-6) outrebounded UC Santa Barbara 44-28, including a 17-8 advantage on offensive boards. The Titans had three top scores all finish with 14 points (Gerrard Anderson, Aaron Thompson, and Eric Williams). Thompson grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his 14 points.

UC Santa Barbara led by as many as 10 in the first half but only led 35-34 at the half. The Titans led by as many as five with 9:06 left to play. The Gauchos would tie the score at 55-55 and take a lead they would never lose.