California State University at Northridge
3-11
Stephen F. Austin
10-3
Matadors' Upset Bid Narrowly Misses in 61-57 Loss to Stephen F. Austin
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -
Despite trailing for three-quarters of the game, the CSUN Matadors (3-11) nearly pulled off an upset of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (10-3) before falling 61-57 in non-conference action on Monday night at The Matadome. Three Matadors scored in double figures and CSUN erased an eight-point deficit in the first half but could not hold onto a lead of their own by the end of the night.
"I thought that for probably 33 minutes of the game we outplayed them but, when it is all said and done, not having enough guys when the game is on the line hurts," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "When guys are tired they don't have the stamina to make the tough plays down the stretch. I can blame them for some of it, but it's not really their fault."
The 'Jacks, who have now won nine consecutive games, started quickly and raced out to a 9-3 lead over the first four minutes of play. After Ty Charles hit a 3-pointer with 11:15 to play in the first half, CSUN trailed by eight points.
The Matadors fought back, however, and used a mixture of free throws and timely 3-pointers to climb ahead. A 10-2 run tied the game at 20 points apiece and CSUN gained the lead for the first time at 26-25 following a pair of free throws by Stephan Hicks.
With just over a minute to play in the half Landon Drew buried a three and Ajon Efferson hit one of his own as time expired to put the Matadors up 34-25 going into the locker room. What had been a three-point deficit turned into a nine-point advantage, but the 'Jacks would not be put away.
Stephen F. Austin scored the first nine points of the second half to tie the game once more before taking the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Charles at the 14:52 mark. The 'Jacks lead by as many as 10 in the second half until the Matadors made a run to bring it back to four with two minutes to go.
After a steal by Devonte Elliott led to a layup by Stephen Maxwell the Matadors were down by only two points with 45 seconds to play. The 'Jacks were able to convert all four foul shots down the stretch, however, to seal the win.
Maxwell led the Matadors with 17 points and went 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. Hicks added 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Drew rounded out the list of double-digit scorers with 11 points after making all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Elliott finished with eight points and five blocks, while Tre Hale-Edmerson was one of three Matadors with three assists and added seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
"I thought that Ajon [Efferson] and Taelin [Webb] gave us a lift when they came in tonight," said Theus. "It probably doesn't show in the stats but they made plays and they opened the game up a little bit for us."
The Matadors will remain at home for their next game, a Friday-night meeting with Morgan State at The Matadome. The game will be the final non-conference test for CSUN before the start of Big West Conference play and is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
