Bethesda Defeats CSUN, 100-95

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (3-8) fell to Bethesda University, 100-95, on Friday evening at The Matadome. In defeat, Tavrion Dawson posted his third career double-double with a 22-point, 14-rebound performance while Kendall Smith and Darin Johnson each finished with 20 points apiece. Trailing for most of the night, the Matadors' rally fell short in the waning minutes of the game as the Flames held on for a five-point upset win.

Falling by a point last Saturday to Loyola Marymount, the Matadors would again play in a close battle, this time against a red-hot shooting Flames team. For the game, Bethesda shot 51.4 percent including 60.6 percent in the opening period. The Matadors kept the game tight, shooting 50.0 percent for the game and 58.6 percent in final 20:00. Despite having a quality night on the offensive end, CSUN could not overcome 13 3-pointers from the Flames and a combined 59 points from forward Alex Smith and guard Jarrell Tate.

Knocking down five of their first six shots, Bethesda hit three-straight from beyond the arc to take an early 13-9 lead 2:54 into the game. After CSUN briefly took a 16-15 lead on a pair of made free throws by Smith, a quick 8-1 run gave Bethesda a six-point advantage.

CSUN fought back to take a 37-35 lead with 4:27 left before halftime but a 13-6 spurt by the Flames gave the visitors a 48-43 edge at the break. Leading the Matadors, Johnson scored 12 points in the first half including hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

The tandem of Tate and Smith continued to give the Matadors problems in the second half. The duo scored Bethesda's first eight points of the half as the Flames continued to lead throughout the period.

On the other end, Dawson kept the Matadors within striking distance by scoring 15 of his 22 points in the final period while Smith scored 12.

CSUN continued to claw back into the game, cutting the Flames lead to two points on seven different occasions but Bethesda would have an answer at every turn. After the Matadors pulled to within 71-69 on a layup from Dawson, Bethesda orchestrated an 8-0 run to stretch its lead to its biggest at 10 points with 7:45 left to go.

Down the stretch, the Matadors would have a difficult time closing the gap as the team combined to miss eight of 14 from the charity stripe. Despite the unforced errors, CSUN sliced the deficit to 93-88 but a jumper from Alex Smith with 44 seconds left and near the end of the shot clock sealed the game for the Flames.

Recording his third career double-double, Dawson also posted a career-best 14 rebounds on Friday. His previous career high in rebounding (13) and double-double also came against Bethesda last season (12/20/15). Dawson also finished 7-of-12 from the field and 8-of-12 at the free throw line.

For Bethesda, Smith finished with 31 points and 7-of-11 from 3-point land. Tate posted 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes of action.

The Matadors return to the court for their final road non-conference game of the season against Boise State next Wednesday. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. (PT).

Bethesda Defeats CSUN, 100-95

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Team Stats

Tavrion Dawson

Kendall Smith

Darin Johnson

Rakim Lubin

Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Darin Johnson

Kendall Smith