CSUN Opens Big West Play with UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (4-9) kicks off the Big West season against UC Riverside on Wednesday at 7 p.m on The Blacktop @ The Matadome. The Matadors conclude the week with a road contest at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday's matchup with the Highlanders will be streamed live on the CSUN Sports Network via Big West.TV with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call. CSUN's road game at Fullerton will be streamed live on Big West.TV while an audio only broadcast will be available on the CSUN Sports Network with both Hasan and Zinsmeister calling all the action from Titan Gym.

The Matadors ended a four-game skid last Wednesday with a wire-to-wire 82-61 victory over Morgan State. CSUN held the Bears to 30.1 percent shooting, which is a season low for any Matador opponent. On the offensive end, the Matadors shot 57.4 percent from the floor and outscored Morgan State 60-22 in points in the paint. Coming off the bench for the first time this season, junior Kendall Smith scored a team-high 19 points along with a season-best six rebounds. Tavrion Dawson chipped in with 16 points while Rakim Lubin and Aaron Parks each had 12 points apiece. Darin Johnson recorded a career-best seven assists and three steals while he scored 10 points.

Despite heading into conference play with a 4-9 record, the Matadors have competed in a number of close games as of late. The team has played in games decided by six points or fewer five times with four of those contests coming in December. CSUN also marches into Big West competition 4-2 at home and one win shy of matching its entire win total at The Matadome last season.

Giving up 85.3 points per game during non-conference play, the Matadors have improved their defense in the month of December. Only Bethesda has cracked 80 points against the Matadors in the six games last month and only two of the six Matador opponents (Loyola Marymount and Bethesda) have shot above 50 percent from the field.

CSUN's offense has been the team's strength throughout its 13 non-conference games. Averaging a Big West best 79.4 points per game, the Matadors have scored 80 or more points on six occasions and shot 50 percent or above from the field seven times. Three Matadors are in the Big West's Top 10 in scoring heading into conference play as Smith is third in the conference with 15.3 points per game. Dawson is currently seventh in the Big West with 14.2 points while Johnson sits in ninth place with 13.2 points.

The Matadors have dropped four of their last five conference openers including two straight. CSUN's last conference opening win came at home against UC Davis during the 2013-14 season. Following this week's contests, the Matadors will travel to Long Beach State on Wednesday, Jan. 11 before returning home to meet UC Davis on Jan. 14 at The Matadome.

Facing the Highlanders, the Matadors are 40-35 all-time but the teams have split the last six meetings. CSUN also owns a 21-16 record in home games between the two squads. Last season, UCR and CSUN won on each other's home floor in games decided by three points or fewer. Micheal Warren averaged a team-best 17.5 points per game last season versus UCR as he helped CSUN post a 73-71 win in Riverside with a 25 point performance last February.

CSUN swept Cal State Fullerton a season ago and has won three-straight in the series as well as five of the last seven games. The Titans hold a 20-15 edge all-time at home versus CSUN and a 40-34 advantage overall. Smith enjoyed two strong performances last season against the Titans as he scored a career-high 30 points in a 85-75 win at Fullerton last season and he also led the Matadors with 18 points in a 75-67 victory at home.

A Closer Look at UC Riverside
The Highlanders are 2-9 this season and 0-7 away from home. UC Riverside snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 76-56 victory over Grand Canyon on New Year's Eve. UCR went 14-19 a season ago including 5-11 in Big West competition. The team advanced to the Big West Tournament but fell to Long Beach State in the opening round in 2016.

Senior forward Secean Johnson leads the team in scoring (11.4) and rebounds (5.0) this season. Also scoring in double figures, senior Gentrey Thomas is scoring 10.2 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds while junior Chance Murray is scoring 10.1 points and grabbing 4.5 boards. As a team, the Highlanders are tops in the Big West in free throw percentage (73.4) and steals per game (7.2).

A Closer Look at Cal State Fullerton
The Titans have posted a 6-7 mark on the year including an impressive 6-1 record inside Titan Gym. In its only game last week, Fullerton defeated visiting Bethesda, 99-56. Fullerton finished 10-20 last season and 3-13 in Big West play before falling to Hawai'i in the opening round of the conference tournament. Before facing CSUN, the Titans will open conference play against Hawai'i on Thursday.

Senior Tre' Coggins leads the Big West in scoring with 20.4 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds. Last season, Coggins scored 41 points against the Matadors in the teams' first meeting. Three other Titans are scoring in double figures, which includes sophomore Khalil Ahmad (16.5 ppg), senior Lionheart Leslie (11.8 ppg) and freshman Jackson Rowe (10.0 ppg). The Titans are first in the conference in rebounding (39.8) and in blocks (4.2).

CSUN Opens Big West Play with UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton

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Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Darin Johnson

Rakim Lubin

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren