California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
6-15, 2-4BWC
Long Beach State
10-11, 4-1BWC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach State | 28 | 36 | 64 |
| CSUN | 18 | 40 | 58 |
CSUN Drops Hard-Fought Battle to Long Beach State 64-58
1/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
En Español
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -
A late rally came up just short as the CSUN Matadors (6-15, 2-4 Big West) were defeated by the Long Beach State 49ers (10-11, 4-1 Big West) 64-58 in front of a standing room only crowd on Saturday night at The Matadome. Stephen Maxwell led the Matadors with 18 points and the team scored 40 points in the second half, but a halftime deficit of 10 points proved too much to overcome.
"Statistically, I didn't think there was an area where we really lacked except that we didn't make shots," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "When it's all said and done, sometimes that's the way it is."
For the second consecutive game for the Matadors, both teams had trouble finding momentum early on. CSUN and Long Beach State combined to go 3-for-16 over the first four minutes of the game before Tre Hale-Edmerson's 3-pointer tied the score at 5-5 going into the Under-16 Media Timeout.
The 49ers shook off their struggles and used a mixture of mid-range jumpers and layups to take a 13-point lead, 26-13, with 4:22 to play in the half. A 3-pointer from Taelin Webb and a layup by Maxwell helped the Matadors keep the margin at 10 points, 28-18, going into the locker room.
CSUN came out aggressively in the second half, outscoring Long Beach State 40-36 in the process. Despite shooting just 33 percent from the field in the half, the Matadors forced 10 turnovers and made 18-of-19 free throws.
The Matadors steadily whittled away at Long Beach State's lead, eventually getting to within four points with 6:56 remaining. However, 3-pointers from Branford Jones and Travis Hammonds helped push the margin back to eight.
Working against the clock, CSUN cut the lead to three points after Aaron Parks' 3-pointer made it 61-58 with 21 seconds to play. The Matadors were forced to foul though and the 49ers hit enough free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
"I'm really proud of the way our guys played in terms of how hard they played," said Theus. "When you have a short bench like we have and the balance of your players is this off, it puts a lot of pressure on your team and your players."
In addition to 18 points, Maxwell had eight rebounds and went 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 at the line. Landon Drew added 10 points, three rebounds and five assists in the game.
"In the second half I told myself to look to get inside the lane and keep shooting," said Drew.
Stephan Hicks finished third on the team with eight points, all at the free-throw line, and both Devonte Elliott and Hale-Edmerson secured eight rebounds.
Hammonds led Long Beach State in scoring with 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench.
The Matadors will remain at home for their next game and will face the University of Hawai'i on Thursday, Jan. 29, at approximately 7 p.m. The game will be the second half of a CSUN Basketball Doubleheader and will follow the women's team's contest against UC Riverside, which begins at 4 p.m. A separate ticket will be required for each game.
