Matadors Lose Triple OT Battle to UC Davis Aggies

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Northridge, CA - The CSUN Matadors (10-20, 5-11 BWC) lost a heartbreaker to the UC Davis Aggies (11-18, 6-10 BWC) in triple overtime on Saturday night on The Blacktop @ The Matadome, 87-83. The Matadors led through the first half and played a tight second half before the game was forced into overtime. CSUN fought until the end but the Aggies gained a slight advantage in the third extra period, and the narrow lead was all they needed for the win.

The last time the Matadors played a triple overtime game was on Feb. 13, 2010 when they lost to Cal State Fullerton by one point.

In their last game of the season, the Matadors celebrated Hale-Edmerson as part of senior night following the game. Hale-Edmerson concludes his Matador career ranked #1 all-time at CSUN in blocks, games played and games started, #5 in rebounds, #6 in minutes and #8 in assists and steals. He's also the only Matador ever to total more than 800 career points, 700 career rebounds and 300 career assists.

Junior Aaron Parks led the team with a season-high 22 points on the night. He went 9-for-9 at the free throw line and also added five rebounds and three assists. Junior Kendall Smith and sophomore Micheal Warren scored 16 points apiece and Smith contributed a team-high five assists. Senior Tre Hale-Edmerson was a basket away from a double-double as he led the team with a season high-tying 10 rebounds and scored eight points.

"It was a heck of a basketball game," said Head Coach Reggie Theus. "I'm thoroughly disappointed in the outcome of the game. I thought we did a lot of good things during the game. In the end, I thought our guys just didn't have the stamina or the wherewithal to finish the game."

In the first half, CSUN quickly evened up the game and then took the lead around six minutes in. The Matadors stayed on top for the majority of the first half with their lead steadily increasing over the last five minutes. The teams went to the locker room with CSUN leading 27-21, with seven points from Dawson and five rebounds from Douglas.

The Matadors came into the second half at a rapid pace, widening their lead at the start of the half and maintaining it past the midway point. The Aggies tied it up with about seven minutes left and it was a competitive ballgame from there on out.

With 30 seconds left, the Matadors trailed by two after an and-one play by Parks. They regained possession after a steal by Warren and the sophomore then hit a jumper to tie the game at 56. The Aggies had possession with the final seconds and couldn't convert, forcing an overtime period.

In the five-minute overtime, the Matadors shot 6-for-8 at the free throw line and had two key 3-pointers, one by Parks and one by Warren that turned into a 4-point play, but the game was tied even at 69 as the clock expired, forcing another overtime period.

The second five-minute period opened up with a jumper by Warren and the two teams went basket-for-basket, both from the field and at the free throw line. They played evenly matched and with the game tied yet again at the buzzer, a third overtime was forced.

The Aggies held the advantage heading into the last minute of the third extra period, 87-81, but the Matadors didn't give up, fighting back until the end. A Parks basket brought CSUN within four but the Aggies stayed on top this time.

Overall, it was an evenly matched game. The Aggies edged the Matadors in shooting, 42 percent to 38, while the Matadors bested them at the free throw line, 21-for-24 over 19-for-27. The two teams rebounded essentially even, and the game was tied for a total of 7:18.

For the Aggies, junior Neal Monson led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Matadors conclude the 2015-16 season 10-20 overall and 5-11 in the Big West Conference. Only graduating Hale-Edmerson, current juniors Parks and Smith will return as Matador seniors next year and this year's red shirt transfer students Darin Johnson (University of Washington), Reggie Theus Jr. (University of South Carolina), Rakim Lubin (University of Connecticut), Dylan Johns (Texas A&M) and Blair Orr (University of Winnipeg) will join the team on the court.

Matadors Lose Triple OT Battle to UC Davis Aggies

Team Stats

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren

Tavrion Dawson

Players Mentioned

Tre Hale-Edmerson

Dylan Johns

Darin Johnson

Rakim Lubin

Blair Orr

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Reggie Theus Jr.

Micheal Warren