CSUN Opens Up Big West Play Against Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (5-9) tips off the Big West Conference season against visiting Long Beach State on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on the Blacktop @ The Matadome. The Matadors will then travel to face Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Big West opener against the 49ers will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the matchup with the Titans will be streamed live on Big West.TV. Both games will also have a live audio broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.

The Matadors head into Big West play this week after splitting their two games last week. In its final game of 2015, CSUN fell at Idaho State, 84-79, last Tuesday but started off the New Year on a strong note with an 88-74 victory at home against Morgan State on Saturday.

Against the Bengals, the Matadors battled in a back-and-forth affair that went down to the wire. CSUN went into intermission ahead 37-36, but a quick start from Idaho State put the Matadors behind 62-49 with 11:00 to play. Looking up at a double-digit deficit, CSUN mounted a rally of its own as a 19-7 spurt pulled the Matadors to within a point with under 5:00 to go. The teams exchanged baskets down the stretch but strong shooting from the free throw line propelled Idaho State to the victory.

Five Matadors scored in double figures in the contest as Kendall Smith led the way with 21 points. Micheal Warren finished with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists while Jerron Wilbut had 15 points in his second game in a CSUN uniform.

Similar to their game against Idaho State, the Matadors competed in a tight contest against Morgan State that went into halftime squared at 36-36. After trailing briefly in the early portion of the second half, CSUN took control of the game thanks to a balanced scoring attack. Three Matadors scored in double-figures in the second half with Warren leading the way with a 16-point period en route to a career-high 28-point night. After outscoring the Bears in the second half 52-38, the Matadors cruised to an 88-74 victory.

Smith chipped in with 20 points and tallied six assists in his fifth game as a Matador. The junior transfer has scored 20 or more points in three games this season. Also in the victory, Jason Richardson scored 10 and Olalekan Ajayi grabbed nine rebounds giving him 11-straight games with eight or more rebounds.

Heading into Big West competition, Warren is atop the conference in free throw percentage (82.4) while holding the sixth spot in scoring (15.0). Two Matadors are in the top four spots in rebounding as Ajayi is in first as he is posting 9.3 rebounds a game while Tavrion Dawson is fourth, averaging 7.2.

CSUN trails the all-time series with Long Beach State, 37-22. After winning both games during the 2013-14 season, the Matadors fell in the teams' two contests last season. The 49ers defeated CSUN 64-58 in January and posted a 69-58 win last March. The Titans lead 40-32 all-time over the Matadors but the teams split the two meetings in 2014-15. CSUN dropped a 69-53 decision at Titan Gym last February before earning an 82-72 win at The Matadome three weeks later.

A Closer Look at Long Beach State
The 49ers finished non-conference action with a 6-9 record and hold a 1-6 record on the road. Overall, LBSU has dropped five of its last six contests including three in a row. Last Wednesday, the 49ers fell to nationally-ranked Duke 103-81.

Senior guard Nick Faust leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds. Sophomore forward Gabe Levin is posting a team-best 5.8 rebounds while averaging 8.4 points on 48.7 percent shooting from the field. Guard/forward Travis Hammonds is second on the 49ers in scoring as the junior is averaging 10.7 points.

A Closer Look at Cal State Fullerton
The Titans hold a 7-6 record this season and have gone 4-1 at home. After losing five straight, CSF ended the skid with a 75-52 home victory over Cal State East Bay last Saturday. On Thursday, Cal State Fullerton begins conference play at UC Riverside.

Junior guard Tre Coggins is third in the conference in scoring boasting 16.3 points per game while averaging 4.7 rebounds. On November 30, Coggins earned Big West Conference Player of the Week honors.

Fellow guard, senior Malcolm Brooks is shooting 45.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and he is scoring 14.2 points. Freshman guard Khalil Ahmad is also scoring in double figures as he is averaging 12.8 points to go along with 4.3 rebound per game.

CSUN Opens Up Big West Play Against Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton

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Players Mentioned

Olalekan Ajayi

Tavrion Dawson

Jason Richardson

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren

Jerron Wilbut