Matadors Drop Wooden Legacy Finale to Portland, 96-78

Sunday, November 27

Anaheim, CA

8:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

2-5

Portland

4-2

CSUN

Portland

Photo by: ESPN Events

Matadors Drop Wooden Legacy Finale to Portland, 96-78

11/27/2016 10:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ANAHEIM, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (2-5) wrapped up the Wooden Legacy with a 96-78 loss to Portland (4-2) on Sunday evening at the Honda Center. Four Matadors scored in double figures with Darin Johnson leading the way with 16 points and four rebounds. Aaron Parks finished with 15 points and six assists while Kendall Smith tallied 13 points and five assists. Up front, Rakim Lubin scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

"I'm pretty sure we were the underdogs in every game," said head coach Reggie Theus about his team playing in the Wooden Legacy. "I think we battled in every game except for one. We have to understand there is a lot of basketball ahead of us. We need to be better defensively and we need to start rebounding a little better."

Struggling from the floor for most of the night (41.3 percent shooting), the Matadors were unable to overcome the Pilots' strong play on the offensive end and a slow start on Sunday. Portland shot 50.7 percent from the floor for the game including 54.8 percent in the second half. Despite a second half run, the Matadors fell short in its third game in four days.

After the team exchanged baskets in the early going, Portland went on a 21-5 run to build an early 17-point lead with 13:58 left in the half. The tandem of Alec Wintering and Jazz Johnson led Portland throughout the night with the duo combining to score 62 of the team's 96 points.

Looking up at a large deficit right out of the gate, the Matadors battled back to keep the game close throughout the first half. An 11-4 run over a 3:34 span trimmed the lead to 40-31 after Parks converted on a pair of free throws.

Knocking down nine 3-pointers in the contest, Portland would keep the Matadors at bay with outside shooting. With the lead at nine, the Matadors turned the ball over and the Pilots capitalized to push the lead back to double digits on a 3-pointer from Wintering.

Parks, who scored 11 of his 15 in the first half, helped CSUN remain within striking distance as a jumper and a pair of made free throws once again brought CSUN to within single digits. On the next Matador possession, Dylan Johns tipped in a CSUN miss to the bring his team to within 43-37 with 1:26 left to play.

The Pilots though would not allow the Matadors to creep closer as a 4-1 spurt gave Portland a 47-38 lead at the break.

In the second half, CSUN continued to claw back in the game and remain close. A layup from Lubin and a Johnson 3-pointer after intermission cut the deficit to 50-43.

The Matadors again made a push with a 7-0 run after falling behind by 12 to trim the lead to 57-52 with 14:28 left to play.

Unfortunately for CSUN, Portland would have an answer. A driving lay-in from Johnson and a 3-pointer from Wintering again pushed the lead to double digits. The Matadors cut the lead to eight at 72-64 with 8:36 left to play but another 14-6 Portland run extended the lead to 86-70. Portland would push its lead to 20 in the final minutes before securing the 96-78 victory.

For the Pilots, Wintering scored a game-high 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting while his running mate Johnson scored 26 points.

CSUN outscored the Portland bench on Sunday, 16-6, with Micheal Warren leading the way with seven points. The Matadors also held an edge in second chance points, 14-10, and in rebounding, 41-37.

Entering the Matadors' all-time Top 10 in free throws made over the weekend, Parks has moved into seventh place with 344 career free throws made. He needs to convert on 14 more free throws this season to reach sixth place and he can reach fifth with 32 more.

The Matadors return home for a Saturday afternoon meeting with Idaho State with tip-off slated for 4 p.m.