Thursday, February 18
The Matadome
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Hawai'i
Photo by: Juan Ocampo
Matadors Face Hawai’i on ESPN3, Travel to Cal Poly
2/17/2016 10:41:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FULL PDF RELEASE
En Español
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Men's Basketball (9-16, 4-7 BWC) continues its Big West Conference schedule with a pair of contests this week beginning on Thursday night as CSUN hosts Hawai'i at 7 p.m on The Blacktop @ The Matadome. Two nights later, the Matadors return to the road to face Cal Poly at the Mott Athletics Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. Thursday's contest versus the Rainbow Warriors will be broadcasted on ESPN3. Live stats will be available for both games on GoMatadors.com and live audio will be available on the CSUN Sports Network with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
The Matadors picked up a home victory last Wednesday against Cal State Fullerton, 75-67, but CSUN fell at UC Irvine on Saturday night, 93-84, to close out the week.
Against the Titans, the Matadors overcame a nine-point second half deficit to post an eight-point comeback victory. Kendall Smith led all scorers with 18 points including going 13-for-14 from the free throw line. Tre Hale-Edmerson finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks while Aaron Parks and Jerron Wilbut each had 14 points. Olalekan Ajayi grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for CSUN.
CSUN played the Anteaters close throughout the entire first half as the Matadors trailed, 39-35, at the half. However, UCI would use a second half surge to take control of the contest. The Matadors fell behind by 20 points but trimmed the lead to single digits before the Anteaters held on for the nine-point victory. Smith had a team-high 21 points and Wilbut scored a career-high 19 points.
Already the school's all-time leader in games started with 119, Hale-Edmerson can become CSUN's all-time leader in games played this week. Currently at 124 games played in his career, Hale-Edmerson can surpass Josh Greene (125) with two more appearances. The senior forward is also in the Top 10 in school history in rebounds (sixth), minutes played (sixth), steals (ninth) and assists (ninth) in addition to being CSUN's all-time block leader with 181 in his career.
Heading into this week's action, Smith leads the Matadors with 16.1 points per game and 3.2 assists. Warren is averaging 13.8 points through 24 games this season and the sophomore is pulling down 4.3 rebounds a game. Parks has made an immediate impact since returning to the Matador lineup in January as he is scoring 11.2 points per game in nine contests. Ajayi is second in the Big West in rebounding with 7.5 while Hale-Edmerson is second in the conference with 7.3 rebounds in Big West games this season. Hale-Edmerson is also averaging a career-high 8.8 points per game for the Matadors.
CSUN is 4-10 in the all-time series with the Rainbow Warriors including dropping both games last season. The teams have faced each other five times at CSUN in the series with the Matadors owning a 2-3 record. The Matadors are 46-51 against Cal Poly all-time and have won two of the last three meetings including earning a 76-74 victory at The Matadome on Jan. 21. CSUN will look to snap a six-game losing streak at Cal Poly as the Matadors have not won on the road in the series since the 2008-09 season.
A Closer Look at Hawai'i
The Rainbow Warriors are 20-3 on the season including holding a conference-best 9-1 record in Big West play. Hawai'i has won four-straight games including defeating UC Irvine, 74-52, last Thursday and posting a 76-59 decision versus Cal State Fullerton. On the road, the Rainbow Warriors are 4-1 and undefeated against conference opponents.
Junior center Stefan Jankovic is leading Hawai'i in scoring with 14.8 points on 54.9 percent shooting to go along with a team-best 6.5 rebounds. Junior Aaron Valdes is scoring 14.4 points per game and posting 5.6 rebounds a contest. Senior guard Roderick Bobbitt leads the conference in assists (5.5) and steals (2.3) while scoring 13.4 points for Hawai'i.
A Closer Look at Cal Poly
Cal Poly holds a 9-15 record and a 3-8 Big West Conference record this season after splitting its two road games last week. The Mustangs dropped a 73-70 decision at Long Beach State but earned an 86-78 victory against UC Riverside. At Mott Athletics Center, Cal Poly is 4-5 on the season but 1-4 against conference opponents. Before facing CSUN, the Mustangs will host UC Davis on Thursday night.
Senior David Nwaba is the team leader in points (12.5), rebounds (6.2), assists (3.8) and steals (1.5). Fellow senior Reese Morgan is averaging 10.5 points for the Mustangs and has knocked down 54 3-pointers on the season. Sophomore guard Taylore Sutlive is shooting 42.3 percent from downtown to go along with averaging 7.1 points.
En Español
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Men's Basketball (9-16, 4-7 BWC) continues its Big West Conference schedule with a pair of contests this week beginning on Thursday night as CSUN hosts Hawai'i at 7 p.m on The Blacktop @ The Matadome. Two nights later, the Matadors return to the road to face Cal Poly at the Mott Athletics Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. Thursday's contest versus the Rainbow Warriors will be broadcasted on ESPN3. Live stats will be available for both games on GoMatadors.com and live audio will be available on the CSUN Sports Network with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
The Matadors picked up a home victory last Wednesday against Cal State Fullerton, 75-67, but CSUN fell at UC Irvine on Saturday night, 93-84, to close out the week.
Against the Titans, the Matadors overcame a nine-point second half deficit to post an eight-point comeback victory. Kendall Smith led all scorers with 18 points including going 13-for-14 from the free throw line. Tre Hale-Edmerson finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks while Aaron Parks and Jerron Wilbut each had 14 points. Olalekan Ajayi grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for CSUN.
CSUN played the Anteaters close throughout the entire first half as the Matadors trailed, 39-35, at the half. However, UCI would use a second half surge to take control of the contest. The Matadors fell behind by 20 points but trimmed the lead to single digits before the Anteaters held on for the nine-point victory. Smith had a team-high 21 points and Wilbut scored a career-high 19 points.
Already the school's all-time leader in games started with 119, Hale-Edmerson can become CSUN's all-time leader in games played this week. Currently at 124 games played in his career, Hale-Edmerson can surpass Josh Greene (125) with two more appearances. The senior forward is also in the Top 10 in school history in rebounds (sixth), minutes played (sixth), steals (ninth) and assists (ninth) in addition to being CSUN's all-time block leader with 181 in his career.
Heading into this week's action, Smith leads the Matadors with 16.1 points per game and 3.2 assists. Warren is averaging 13.8 points through 24 games this season and the sophomore is pulling down 4.3 rebounds a game. Parks has made an immediate impact since returning to the Matador lineup in January as he is scoring 11.2 points per game in nine contests. Ajayi is second in the Big West in rebounding with 7.5 while Hale-Edmerson is second in the conference with 7.3 rebounds in Big West games this season. Hale-Edmerson is also averaging a career-high 8.8 points per game for the Matadors.
CSUN is 4-10 in the all-time series with the Rainbow Warriors including dropping both games last season. The teams have faced each other five times at CSUN in the series with the Matadors owning a 2-3 record. The Matadors are 46-51 against Cal Poly all-time and have won two of the last three meetings including earning a 76-74 victory at The Matadome on Jan. 21. CSUN will look to snap a six-game losing streak at Cal Poly as the Matadors have not won on the road in the series since the 2008-09 season.
A Closer Look at Hawai'i
The Rainbow Warriors are 20-3 on the season including holding a conference-best 9-1 record in Big West play. Hawai'i has won four-straight games including defeating UC Irvine, 74-52, last Thursday and posting a 76-59 decision versus Cal State Fullerton. On the road, the Rainbow Warriors are 4-1 and undefeated against conference opponents.
Junior center Stefan Jankovic is leading Hawai'i in scoring with 14.8 points on 54.9 percent shooting to go along with a team-best 6.5 rebounds. Junior Aaron Valdes is scoring 14.4 points per game and posting 5.6 rebounds a contest. Senior guard Roderick Bobbitt leads the conference in assists (5.5) and steals (2.3) while scoring 13.4 points for Hawai'i.
A Closer Look at Cal Poly
Cal Poly holds a 9-15 record and a 3-8 Big West Conference record this season after splitting its two road games last week. The Mustangs dropped a 73-70 decision at Long Beach State but earned an 86-78 victory against UC Riverside. At Mott Athletics Center, Cal Poly is 4-5 on the season but 1-4 against conference opponents. Before facing CSUN, the Mustangs will host UC Davis on Thursday night.
Senior David Nwaba is the team leader in points (12.5), rebounds (6.2), assists (3.8) and steals (1.5). Fellow senior Reese Morgan is averaging 10.5 points for the Mustangs and has knocked down 54 3-pointers on the season. Sophomore guard Taylore Sutlive is shooting 42.3 percent from downtown to go along with averaging 7.1 points.
Players Mentioned
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