CSUN Can't Overcome Slow Second-Half Start in Loss to Idaho State

Saturday, December 23

Northridge, CA

3:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

1-11

Idaho State

5-6

Idaho State

CSUN

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

CSUN Can't Overcome Slow Second-Half Start in Loss to Idaho State

12/23/2017 6:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball suffered a 67-55 defeat at the hands of Idaho State on Saturday afternoon at The Matadome. Micheal Warren led the Matadors with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals while Reggie Theus Jr. came off the bench and registered 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Tavrion Dawson nearly posted a double-double as he scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds. After heading into intermission tied up at 33-33, the Matadors were outscored 12-2 in the opening minutes of the second half, which gave the Bengals an opportunity to build a lead and hold on for the victory.

The Matadors finished with a 38.9 percent shooting clip for the game while the Bengals finished 47.2 percent from the floor. CSUN hit 10-of-13 from the free throw line (76.9 percent) compared to Idaho State's 11-of-23 shooting (47.8 percent). The Bengals outscored the Matadors 36-28 in points in the paint and 17-11 in points off turnovers.

CSUN came out rolling in the first half as the Matadors knocked down their first three shots and staked to a 7-0 lead. The Bengals came right back and scored seven-straight of their own before Terrell Gomez hit a 3-pointer at the 15:53 mark to make it a 10-7 game.

Warren gave the Matadors a 15-10 lead on a driving layup but the Bengals closed on an 8-2 run to take a 18-17 lead following a layup from Balint Mocsan. Brandon Boyd later gave the Bengals a five-point edge on a layup at the 5:28 mark (25-20).

Trailing by many as six (31-25) in the half, the Matadors closed the final 1:50 with an 8-2 run to even the game at 33-33 at the break. During the stretch, Theus Jr. scored twice off a pair of feeds from Gomez and the Matadors evened the contest late in the half on two made free throws from Lyrik Shreiner. Warren stole an inbound pass with three seconds remaining in the half but his long 3-pointer just went off the mark.

The two teams scored on their first possessions of the second half before the Bengals scored 10-straight points to go in front 45-35. In the Idaho State run, Boyd knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and Novak Topalovic scored twice in the post.

The Matadors climbed uphill throughout the second half but had a tough time getting over the hump thanks to 56.5 percent shooting for the Bengals in the period. Boyd scored 13 of his game high 19 points in the second half to lead the Bengals. The Matadors were able to shave off five points to make it a 50-45 game at the 8:47 mark but Boyd hit another 3-pointer and Kyle Ingram nailed a jumper to extend the lead back to 10.

CSUN trailed 57-47 with 6:11 left to play but made a push down the stretch. Theus Jr. got the Matadors started with a driving layup and Dawson brought CSUN closer on a layup of his own. Theus Jr. worked his way to the free throw line and connected on both attempts to cut the deficit to 58-53.

After Topalovic went 1-for-2 at the free throw line, Theus Jr. scored again off an assist from Gomez to bring the Matadors within four (59-55). However, the Matadors went scoreless over the final 3:26 of the game. In contrast, Idaho State went 3-for-4 from the field in the final minutes as Boyd sealed a Bengal victory with a late jumper.

The Matador bench scored 21 points on the night led by Theus Jr. Jonathan Guevara scored seven points off the bench while Anthony Swan tallied two. Starting at point guard, Gomez dished out a game-high five assists and totaled six points.

CSUN continues its homestand on Wednesday (Dec. 27) against San Diego Christian. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. at The Matadome.