ESPN Men's Basketball

FULLERTON, Calif. -- Sammy Yeager scored a career-high 30 points, Kwame Vaughn added 27 and Cal State-Fullerton beat UC Santa Barbara 86-79 on Saturday night in the Big West Conference opener for both teams.

Yeager made 8 of 11 3-point attempts and was 11 of 16 overall, also setting career best for field goals and 3-pointers made. Vaughn was 7 of 11 from the field, part of a 53 percent shooting effort for the Titans (7-5), who entered the week averaging 83.5 points per game, good for fourth in the nation.

Alan Williams had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and Taran Brown scored 20 for the Gauchos (4-8), who outrebounded Fullerton 34-23 but saw their 14 turnovers turned into 20 points. The Titans, meanwhile, allowed only five points off turnovers.

Fullerton led 39-31 at halftime, and UCSB closed within 75-70 on Brown's 3-pointer with 4:46 to play but got no closer.