CSUN Opens up Homestand vs. Idaho State

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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball kicks off a four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against Idaho State on the Blacktop @ The Matadome at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.

During the Matadors' longest homestand of the season, CSUN will also host San Diego Christian on Dec. 27 and Morgan State on Dec. 30 to close out the calendar year. The Matadors ring in the new year with their Big West Conference opener against Hawai'i on Jan. 6 at The Matadome.

The Matadors fell on Tuesday evening at Sacramento State, 66-61, to close their non-conference road schedule. CSUN took a 59-57 lead with 4:24 left to play after Terrell Gomez knocked down a jumpshot. However, the Matadors missed their final seven shots and committed two costly turnovers to give the Hornets a chance to close on a 9-2 run.

Tavrion Dawson led the Matadors in scoring once again with 14 points to go with seven rebounds against the Hornets while Micheal Warren filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. CSUN's bench gave the Matadors a lift in the first half after a slow start to the game. The second unit totaled a season-high 22 points on the night. Jonathan Guevara, Anthony Swan and Jalon Pipkins all had five points to lead the reserves.

In the Big West, Warren enters this weekend as the only player in the conference to average at least 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists this season. Warren is seventh in the league in rebounding (6.5) and third in defensive rebounds (5.9). Dawson is the seventh in the Big West in scoring with 14.8 points. Gomez sits in second place in the conference with a 52.4 3-point shooting percentage. As a team, the Matadors are tops amongst Big West teams with the fewest turnovers per game (11.5).

Behind Dawson in scoring, Warren is averaging 12.1 points per game followed by Gomez with 11.0 points. In the rebounding department, Warren leads the team on the glass while Dawson is grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game. Gomez is the team's top distributor with 2.5 assists with Warren a close second at 2.1 assists. Warren is also stealing a team-best 1.0 a game.

The Matadors are 10-8 all time against Idaho State but the Bengals claimed a 74-66 decision earlier this month on Dec. 6 in Pocatello. The Bengals have won three of the last four meetings but all three victories have come in Idaho. CSUN has won the last five meetings in The Matadome dating back to 1998. The Matadors own a 7-1 record against Idaho State in CSUN with their only loss taking place on March 1, 1997. Dawson scored a career-high 28 points and hit a game-winning 3 pointer in the Matadors' 79-76 win over the Bengals last season.

A Closer Look at Idaho State
The Bengals (4-6) had won four-straight games before their loss at BYU (85-71) on Thursday. Other than CSUN, Idaho State's only other Division I victory this season came against Youngstown State (86-62) on Dec. 18. As a team, Idaho State averages 72.4 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting.

Sophomore Jared Stutzman leads the team with 13.3 points per game on 56.1 percent shooting from the field. Also averaging in double figures, sophomore Balint Mocsan is scoring 12.6 points this season. Junior Novac Topalovic is team's top rebounder at 5.3 per game to go with 9.5 points. Mocsan led the Bengals in scoring with 23 points in 8-of-11 shooting against the Matadors earlier this month.

CSUN Opens up Homestand vs. Idaho State

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Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Terrell Gomez

Jonathan Guevara

Jalon Pipkins

Anthony Swan

Micheal Warren

California State University Northridge Athletics