True freshman and preseason MWC Freshman of the Year Kawhi Leonard absolutely imposed himself all on both sides on the court all night and showed why he was picked as California's best high school basketball player. Kawhi established career highs (9 games) in points with 23 and rebounds with 18. He also lead the team in assists with 5 and tied for the team lead in steals with 2 and tied for the team lead in blocks with 1. He nearly had a double double at half with 11 points and 9 boards.
Ex Aztec transfer Jer' Vaughn Johnson led the way for Fullerton with 19 points and 5 rebounds, but fouled out with around 5 minutes left in the game. 6'10" center Bryce Webster who transferred from Minnesota had 3 blocks for the Titans. Fullerton falls to 3-3 after starting 3-0.
While the Aztecs shot 51% from the field, 50% from beyond the arc, and drew 23 fouls which constantly got them to the charity stripe, they shot just woefully when they did so. They missed 19 of 32 free-throw attempts, including seven consecutive shots from the free-throw line. They are going to have to improve that part of their game if they intend on competing with top teams. However, they did play an excellent game together as a team racking up 20 assists and scoring 46 points in the paint against a Fullerton team that had already beaten UCLA and is expected to finish high in the Big West. The Aztecs also limited the turnovers to 13 and only had 5 personal fouls in the second half despite playing man defense the entire half.
Billy White (14 pts, 5 rbs, 4 assts, 2 steals), Chase Tapley (10 pts 2 rbs 4 assts) and Brian Carwell (10 pts 4rbs) round out the four Aztecs in double figure scoring on the night. Malcom Thomas added 9 points and 7 rebounds while DJ Gay added 8 points and 4 assists. Sophomore Tim Shelton played his first 5 minutes of the season coming back from a knee surgery and is expected to play a little bit more on Saturday.