CSUN Faces Long Beach St. on Fox Sports West, Hosts UC Davis on ESPNU

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (6-9, 2-0 BWC) prepares for its second week of conference play as the Matadors travel to Long Beach State on Wednesday and return home to face UC Davis on Saturday on The Blacktop @ The Matadome. Both games will tip off at 7:30 p.m. and each game will be televised. Wednesday's road game will be broadcast on Fox Sports West while Saturday's contest will be aired on ESPNU. An audio only broadcast of each will game will also be available on the CSUN Sports Network with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.

Last week, the Matadors staged two comeback performances to outlast UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, giving CSUN a 2-0 record to start Big West play for the first time in three seasons.

Against the Highlanders, CSUN erased a 13-point second half deficit to defeat UCR, 82-76. Down the stretch, CSUN knocked down 17 of its 19 free throws over the last 7:03 to seal the win. The tandem of Kendall Smith and Darin Johnson led the team with 21 points apiece. Smith posted a career-high nine assists and he went 10-for-10 from the free throw line while Johnson totaled seven rebounds and three assists. Aaron Parks and Tavrion Dawson also each chipped in with 12 points and Micheal Warren scored 10 off the bench.

Three nights later, CSUN wiped away a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 70-65, at Titan Gym. Outscoring the Titans 39-27 in the second half, the Matadors received timely baskets from Warren and Smith in the final minutes to pick up the win. Warren registered 16 points and 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Smith posted 13 points and four assists while Rakim Lubin had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Matadors.

Smith nabbed Big West Conference Player of the Week honors on Monday after his exceptional play in the two CSUN wins last week. Averaging 17.0 points and 6.5 assists last week, Smith shot 50.0 percent from the field (11-for-22) and 78.6 percent from the free throw line (11-for-14). For Smith, the award was the second of his career and he joined Dawson (Dec. 5) as the second Matador to receive the honor this season.

Heading into this week's contest, Smith leads the team in scoring (15.5) and in assists (4.8) this season. Also scoring in double figures, Dawson is posting 13.7 points while Johnson and Parks are averaging 13.5 points and 11.5 points respectively. Two Matadors are shooting above 50.0 percent from 3-point land as Warren is hitting 51.9 percent of his shots and Johnson is knocking down an even 50.0 percent. On the boards, Lubin is tops on the team with 5.7 rebounds and Dawson is just behind him with 5.6.

Remaining the top team in the conference in points per game (78.9), three Matadors are also in the top eight in the Big West Conference in scoring. Smith is third in the conference in scoring while Dawson sits in seventh and Johnson is eighth. In field goal percentage, Dawson is fourth with a 56.8 shooting percentage followed closely by Lubin (54.5) who is in sixth place and Johnson in ninth place (50.4).

Leading the conference in free throws made (294) and attempted (422), the Matadors are in the Top 30 in the nation in both categories as of January 10. CSUN is 22nd in tha nation in attempted free throws and 28th in free throws made.

Long Beach State leads the all-time series with CSUN, 39-22, and has won the last four meetings overall. Owning a 25-7 all-time home record, the 49ers have won the last eight meetings at home and they have not lost a game to the Matadors at Walter Pyramid since February 2008. In the teams' last meeting, CSUN fell at Long Beach State, 81-76, in a back-and-forth game with 16 lead changes. Smith averaged a team-best 20.5 points per game against the 49ers last season.

The Matadors hold an overall 19-17 advantage and a 13-4 home record versus UC Davis all-time. Winners of the last six meetings, the Aggies have won the last three games over CSUN by a combined nine points. Last season, UC Davis defeated CSUN, 63-62, at home on a last second 3-pointer from Siler Schneider. The teams also battled in a triple overtime classic at The Matadome a season ago as UC Davis outlasted CSUN, 87-83. Parks led CSUN in scoring in the two meetings with UC Davis, averaging 17.5 points per game.

A Closer Look at Long Beach State
The 49ers enter the matchup with an overall record of 6-12 and a conference mark of 1-1. LBSU is a perfect 5-0 at Walter Pyramid this season and have won the last 11 games at home going back to last season. To open conference play, Long Beach State fell at UC Irvine, 82-67, last Wednesday but bounced back with a 70-64 win at home against UC Riverside on Saturday. Voted to win the Big West Conference by members of the media before the season, Long Beach State played a non-conference schedule that included a nine-game road trip and contests against four nationally ranked opponents.

The junior backcourt tandem of Evan Payne and Justin Bibbins have been strong this season offensively, averaging 14.2 and 10.7 points per game respectively. Fifth in the Big West in scoring, Payne is shooting 38.8 percent from 3-point territory and 84.2 percent from the free throw line while Bibbins is tops in the league in steals (1.6) and third in assists per game (4.2). Despite missing the last two games due to injury, junior forward Gabe Levin remains second on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg) and tops in rebounding (6.2 rpg). As a team, LBSU ranks first in the Big West in steals per game (6.9) and second in offensive rebounds per game (11.7).

A Closer Look at UC Davis
The Aggies have posted a 10-7 overall record and an unblemished 2-0 mark in Big West play. UC Davis hosted their first two conference matches at home, defeating UC Santa Barbara, 73-47, and Cal Poly, 68-64. On the road this season, UC Davis has gone 2-4 but the team is 5-7 overall in games played away from the Pavilion. Before making the trip to CSUN, the Aggies will travel to UC Riverside on Thursday.

Chima Moneke leads the Big West in rebounding (8.2) and the junior forward is fourth in points (15.1). Moneke is also tops in the conference in double-doubles this season with six. Second on the team in scoring, senior Brynton Lemar is averaging 13.5 points per game to go along with 3.1 assists. Also scoring in double figures, sophomore Siler Schneider is averaging 10.2 points and 3.1 rebounds along with a 40.8 3-point shooting percentage. The Aggies are first in the conference in assists per game (15.2) and second in 3-point percentage (36.6).

CSUN Faces Long Beach St. on Fox Sports West, Hosts UC Davis on ESPNU

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Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Darin Johnson

Rakim Lubin

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren