California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
9-24
UC Davis
25-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| (8) CSUN | 36 | 31 | 67 |
| (1) UC Davis | 28 | 43 | 71 |
CSUN Edged by UC Davis 71-67 in Big West Tournament Quarterfinals
3/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
En Español
ANAHEIM, Calif. –
Despite controlling the game for over 30 minutes, CSUN was unable to hold off a late charge as the UC Davis Aggies (25-5) edged the Matadors (9-24) 71-67 in a Big West Tournament Quarterfinal game on Thursday afternoon at Honda Center. Aaron Parks scored 21 points off the bench and Stephen Maxwell had 19, but CSUN could not hold onto an 11-point lead in the second half.
"I commend my team 100 percent because they've fought through a lot of adversity this year," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "Our inability to sustain cost us. We just didn't sustain the effort that we put in [in the first half]."
The Matadors were in charge of the contest from the opening whistle, racing out to a 12-5 lead over the first six and a half minutes. Each time the Aggies inched closer, CSUN responded with key baskets to keep the advantage intact.
A 3-pointer by Landon Drew followed by two free throws for Parks put the Matadors ahead 26-15 at the six-minute mark in the first half, but the Aggies fought back with a run of their own to make it a four-point game with under a minute to play. Leading by six with nine seconds left before the break, Drew stole the ball from Corey Hawkins and fed Maxwell for a dunk to put the Matadors up 36-28 after 20 minutes of action.
In the first half the Matadors shot 58 percent (11-for-19) from the floor while limiting the Aggies to just 45-percent shooting (9-for-20). CSUN collected 10 points off of turnovers while not allowing UC Davis to score on the fast break at all.
The game proved to be a tale of two halves for CSUN, however, as UC Davis found rhythm offensively and the Matadors committed turnovers. The Matadors had 12 giveaways in the second half, leading to 14 points for the Aggies.
After once again building an 11-point lead, this time with 17:54 remaining in regulation, CSUN went on the wrong end of a 7-0 run that allowed UC Davis back into the game. The Aggies tied the game at 52-52 and took their first lead with 7:07 left.
The Matadors did not take the lead the rest of the way but kept the game close after UC Davis opened up a nine-point lead. Parks hit a deep 3-pointer and Maxwell stole the following inbound pass before making a layup that brought the score to 69-65 in the Aggies' favor with a minute to play.
Missed shots coupled with just enough free throws for UC Davis allowed the top-seeded Aggies to escape with a win.
Parks went 6-for-12 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from downtown, to lead the Matadors in scoring. Maxwell made six of his eight attempts in the game and added three rebounds.
Stephan Hicks scored 15 points and had eight rebounds to finish with the most-balanced effort. He finishes his CSUN career with 1,973 points, which put him in eighth on the Big West Conference's All-Time Scoring list.
Drew had a game-high six assists to go along with six points.
The Matadors won the rebound battle 25-20 and cashed in on five more free throws than the Aggies but will end the season with an eighth-place finish in the conference.
