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Cal State Fullerton men can’t keep up with Hawaii in Big West tourney semifinal

March 14, 2026

The impressive turnaround by the Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team carried well into their Big West Tournament semifinal on Friday night before gravity seemed to finally take over.

The Titans not only made it back to the tournament after failing to qualify the past two seasons, they advanced to the semifinals, where they faced an equally hungry Hawaii team that hadn’t reached the championship game since 2016.

The second-seeded Rainbow Warriors proved too tough a matchup for the third-seeded Titans, who struggled against Hawaii’s size and experience in the 78-63 loss at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev.

The Titans (18-16) were coming off an 82-70 victory over sixth-seeded UC Davis in the quarterfinals, while Hawaii had received a double-bye into the semifinals.

“This group signed up for playing three days in a row, back-to-back in March,” Fullerton coach Dedrique Taylor said. “That’s what we wanted, that’s what we were driven by, and I don’t think our minds were in the wrong place. I just think, physically, it’s taxing with the way that we play. Not necessarily what Hawaii did or didn’t do. The way that we play to represent Cal State Fullerton, we’ve got to be a little fresher than we were tonight.”

Hawaii (23-8) will take on top-seeded UC Irvine (23-10) in the championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m. UCI defeated fourth-seeded Cal State Northridge, 93-78, in the other semifinal.

Hawaii’s starting lineup consisted of four seniors, Harry Rouhliadeff (6-foot-9), Isaac Johnson (7-0), Dre Bullock (6-6), Hunter Erickson (6-3) and junior Isaac Finlinson (6-8).

The Titans, meanwhile, started two freshmen, Bryce Cofield (6-6) and Christian Williams (6-0), and three seniors, Landon Seaman (6-8), Joshua Ward (6-1) and Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (6-3).

The Warriors’ size advantage helped them finish with a hefty 53-26 advantage in rebounds, and their experience likely came in handy while converting 24 consecutive free throws before finishing 25 for 26.

Fullerton, meanwhile, made seven more 3-pointers than Hawaii, but shot just 36% from the field overall and went to the free-throw line just 10 times, making seven.

The Titans shot 45 free throws in their quarterfinal win on Thursday.

“The free-throw discrepancy really bothered us. At least it bothered me,” Taylor said. “For us to shoot as many free throws as we did last night and then tonight, to be as physical as the game was, to only shoot 10 to their 26, I thought that was a big difference.”

Williams was the only starter to score in double figures for Fullerton, finishing with 21 points and shooting 6 for 10 from 3-point range. Bailey Nunn was the other player in double figures for the Titans, scoring 11 points off the bench.

The Titans trailed by as much as 11 points in the first half before Williams sank a 3-pointer to beat the zone defense and give Fullerton a 34-33 lead with 16:33 left in the game.

“I kept saying, and they kept saying themselves, ‘We’ve been here before, we’ve been in this situation,’” Taylor said of the comeback. “So, that’s a credit to them and their fight.”

The score was still tied with 11 minutes remaining when the Warriors unleashed a 9-0 run to move ahead 53-44 with 8:20 left. Bailey ended the run with a 3-pointer, but Hawaii scored the next eight points on free throws to extend the lead to 61-47 with 5:57 to go.

Fullerton couldn’t get any closer than nine the rest of the way.

The Titans were picked to finish last in the Big West in the preseason coaches’ poll after returning just one player from a team that finished 1-19 in conference play last season, but they surprised nearly everyone by finishing third, 11 wins better than last season.

“It’s no secret, everyone picked us to finish last and I think that’s awesome, but for that group to respond the way they responded is remarkable,” said Taylor, who was named the Big West Coach of the Year this season, his 13th with the Titans. “Every year, you’re around a different group of [players] and they teach you a different meaning to the same words – trust, connectivity, loyalty, competitive, open. All of those words were retaught to me with a different meaning, and a different understanding and a different appreciation for them.”

Orange County Register

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Cal State Fullerton men can’t keep up with Hawaii in Big West tourney semifinal

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