CSUN Posts Best Start to Big West Play since 2007-08 with 89-82 Win at Long Beach St.

LONG BEACH, CA---

On the back of a strong second half, CSUN Men's Basketball (7-9, 3-0 BWC) handed Long Beach State an 89-82 defeat on Wednesday evening at Walter Pyramid. Kendall Smith scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting along with five assists. Playing in his hometown, Tavrion Dawson tallied 18 points and seven rebounds while Darin Johnson chipped in with 20 points. With the win, the Matadors have earned their best start to conference play since the 2007-08 season and their longest winning streak (four games) in four seasons. CSUN also picked up its first victory at Walter Pyramid in nine seasons, snapping an eight-game road losing streak and a four-game skid overall in the series.

"I'm really proud of our guys and happy for our program," said head coach Reggie Theus. "Winning is a learned process. We give up 15 offensive rebounds in the first half; we give up one in the second half. Those are things that we are learning. We get to the line two times in the first half; we get to the line 18 times in the second half. They have to understand who we are in order to keep learning and building as a team. I really believe we haven't played our best basketball yet."

Coming into Wednesday's contest, the Matadors faced a Long Beach State team that was 5-0 at home this season and winners of 11 straight going back to last season. The 49ers also boasted an impressive 45-5 record over the last five seasons at Walter Pyramid. Despite the difficult task in front of them, the Matadors would come away with the victory thanks to an exceptional second half. The Matadors shot a superb 69.0 percent from the field in the second period and finished with a 54.9 shooting percent for the night en route to handing LBSU its first home loss of the season.

In the first half, after the teams went back-and-forth in the opening minutes, the Matadors opened up a seven-point lead with a 7-0 run over a 51 second span to take a 19-12 lead at the 11:19 mark. LBSU though would respond with a 9-2 spurt to even the game at 21-21. Behind 13 first half points from Justin Bibbins, the 49ers continued their momentum through the remainder of the period to take a six-point lead into the final minute of the period.

Kendall Smith cut the LBSU lead in half with a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in the first half to bring the Matadors to within 35-32 heading into the break.

Facing a halftime deficit for the third-straight conference game, the Matadors came out quickly in the second half. A jumper from Smith and a 3-point play converted by Johnson gave CSUN the lead at 36-35.

The fast start was only the beginning as CSUN connected on seven of its first eight shots that turned a three-point deficit into a 11-point lead. Dawson's jumper with 15:29 remaining capped off a 16-2 run that put the Matadors in front, 48-37.

However, as they had done earlier, the 49ers made a run to remain within striking distance. After CSUN built a 57-46 lead, LBSU went on an 8-2 run to pull to within five. Later in the half, LBSU trimmed a 10-point Matador lead to 73-70 with 4:43 left to play.

With its lead trimmed to just three, CSUN received timely baskets and stellar defense down the stretch. Micheal Warren hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead back to six and both Dawson and Smith converted on the next two possessions. Moments later, Johnson connected on a 3-point play after a Dawson steal that again pushed the advantage back to double digits with 2:21 left to play. Another steal, this time from Johnson, led to another fast break layup from the junior guard at the 1:39 mark.

Smith provided a majority of the Matador offense in the second half, scoring 20 of his 26 points in the final 20:00. Dawson also scored 12 points in the period on 6-of-7 shooting and Johnson scored 11 of his own.

Playing 12 minutes, starting center Mahamadou Kaba-Camara tied his previous career highs of four rebounds and two blocked shots in the game. Off the bench, Rakim Lubin scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds and Warren finished with seven points to go along with two assists.

As a team, the Matadors went 15-for-20 (75.0 percent) at the free throw line including 14-of-18 in the second half. Long Beach State finished 18-for-26 from the foul line (69.2) and shot 41.8 percent from the field. CSUN posted a 42-34 edge in points in the paint and the team also outscored LBSU, 20-8, in points off turnovers.

CSUN returns home on Saturday evening against UC Davis on ESPNU. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Edited 1/12/17 9:47 a.m. PT

CSUN Posts Best Start to Big West Play since 2007-08 with 89-82 Win at Long Beach St.

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Team Stats

Kendall Smith

Darin Johnson

Tavrion Dawson

Aaron Parks

Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Darin Johnson

Mahamadou Kaba-Camara

Rakim Lubin

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren