Aug. 30, 2008

Box Score

Burnaby, BC, Canada - Aaron Thompson hit four of four free throws in the final minute and Cal State Fullerton held on for an 81-78 men's basketball exhibition victory at Simon Fraser University.

Thompson's first pair of charities gave Fullerton its biggest lead of the game at 78-72 but the Clan scored the next four points and Thompson had to make two more free throws with 7 seconds left for a 4-point edge. Matt Kuzminski scored for SFU with 1.5 seconds to go and Josh Akognon hit one of free throws. Greg Wallis rebounded the miss and only managed to hit the backboard with a three-fourths court heave at the buzzer.

Akognon led all scorers with 29 points, making 10 of 21 shots. Ray Miller had 11 points and Thompson finished with 10 points along with a team-high 10 rebounds.

Kuzminski led the Clan with 24 points and All-Canada forward Wallis had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Burrell grabbed 13 rebounds for Simon Fraser, which beat Fullerton nine years ago in the Titans' only previous trip out of the United States.

Simon Fraser led most of the first quarter but Fullerton pulled within a point at halftime. The teams exchanged the lead several times in the second half. Papa Guisse put Fullerton ahead to stay with two free throws with 2:09 remaining, breaking a 72-72 tie.

Fullerton shot only 39 percent from the floor but held Simon Fraser to 31 percent. Each team made 7 of 21 3-point tries and each team grabbed 49 rebounds.

Akognon missed his first five shots - all treys - as the Titans fell behind, 16-9. Anderson led a second-quarter surge that gave Fullerton a shortlived 29-26 lead that was erased by a 6-0 run by the Clan, who held onto a 37-36 lead at the intermission.

Fullerton will conclude its international tour with a 7 p.m. game Sunday night at the University of British Columbia before flying home mid-day Monday.