California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
6-19, 2-8BWC
UC Davis
18-4, 8-1BWC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Davis | 36 | 32 | 68 |
| CSUN | 30 | 25 | 55 |
Matadors Fall Short in 68-55 Loss to UC Davis
2/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
En Español
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -
Four CSUN players scored in double figures but the Matadors (6-19, 2-8 Big West) could not catch UC Davis down the stretch as the Aggies (18-4, 8-1 Big West) held on for a 68-55 win on Saturday night at The Matadome. The Matadors were within five points with six minutes to play but free throws in the final moments put the game out of reach.
"We did some things that really bothered them tonight and I thought we did well against them the first time too. I thought UC Davis played well and any time you make 11 threes you're hard to beat," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "I've told our guys that every opportunity, because of how short our bench is, we have to convert. We probably left at least 10 points out there by not converting around the basket."
CSUN jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first two minutes before an 11-0 run over the next three gave the Aggies an early edge. UC Davis led by as many as nine in the first half, 24-15, before points by Aaron Parks, Devonte Elliott and Tre Hale-Edmerson got the Matadors within three.
A two-handed dunk by Elliott with 6:48 to play in the half closed the margin to two points, but 3-pointers by Tyler Les built the cushion back to nine for UC Davis with under a minute remaining. After slight miscommunication on the final possession of the half, Stephan Hicks was able to gather the ball for CSUN and hit a three as time expired to keep the game close at 36-30.
Hicks then made an immediate impact in the second half, stealing a pass in the opening seconds and finishing with a dunk the other way. The Aggies responded to continued CSUN pressure by hitting 3-pointers late in the shot clock, but the Matadors brought the game back down to five points on Elliott's three with 7:07 to go.
After a UC Davis three and another jumper by Elliott, the teams fell into a slump of nearly three minutes without a point scored until Darius Graham pushed the Aggies ahead by eight with a pair of free throws at the 1:52 mark. Hale-Edmerson made a layup with 1:43 remaining but the Aggies put in the final seven of the game to seal the win.
Hicks led all Matadors with 13 points while Elliott and Hale-Edmerson each had 12. Aaron Parks added 11 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Elliott also had a game-high nine rebounds and Landon Drew and Taelin Webb each recorded four assists.
"We wanted to come in with a lot of energy tonight," said Elliott. "We watched past film and saw a lot of standing around so we wanted to be real active defensively, too."
As a team, the Matadors shot 44 percent (21-for-48) from the floor. UC Davis shot 49 percent (21-for-43) and went 11-for-22 from beyond the arc. The Aggies were led in scoring on the night by Josh Ritchart, who had 16 of his 21 points in the first half.
The Matadors will make a drive up the coast for their next contest and battle the Cal Poly Mustangs on Thursday, Feb. 12. Tip-off from Mott Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m.
