Matadors Drop 86-68 Decision at Montana

Sunday, December 3

Missoula, MT

6:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

1-6

Montana

5-3

CSUN

Montana

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

Matadors Drop 86-68 Decision at Montana

12/3/2017 9:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

En Español

MISSOULA, MO---A tough stretch in the final minutes of the second half would be too much to overcome in CSUN's Men's Basketball's 86-68 loss to Montana on Sunday evening at Dahlberg Arena. Seniors Tavrion Dawson and Micheal Warren led the Matadors in scoring as Dawson finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists while Warren went 5-of-8 from the field for his 14 points to go along with two steals. Lyrik Shreiner chipped in with 12 points and three assists.

"We shot 39 percent in the second half after shooting 60 percent in the first half," said head coach Reggie Theus. "So what's the difference? I don't have the answer to that one. I thought we had good shots.

"At the half, we're down five," continued Theus. "If we cut our mistakes down to five, we are up by five in the first half. If we take off 10 mistakes the rest of the game, we win by five but it didn't happen."

Following a red-hot first half where the Matadors shot 61.9 percent from the field, CSUN struggled down the stretch for a 38.9 percent shooting clip in the second half. Overall, the Matadors shot 48.1 percent from the floor. CSUN also shot just 6-of-14 in the second period from the free throw line after an 8-for-9 effort before halftime for a 60.9 percent performance. In contrast, the Grizzlies finished 51.7 percent from the field as well as 80.0 percent (20-for-25) from the free throw line.

Montana also posted a 36-27 edge in rebounding and a 19-7 advantage in second chance points. In the contest, the Matadors were hampered with a season-high 16 turnovers including 11 in the first half.

The two teams battled in a back-and-forth first half with 10 lead changes. CSUN posted its first lead at 7-4 after an old fashioned 3-point play from Warren. Following eight-straight Grizzly points, the Matadors countered with a 10-0 run to take a 17-12 lead. During the run, Mahamadou Kaba-Camara scored on a driving move to the hole and Shreiner knocked down a 3-pointer in transition. Warren capped off the CSUN run with a mid-range jumper.

Later in the half, Montana briefly took a 20-19 lead but Reggie Theus Jr. scored on a layup to give the Matadors the lead once again. Following a missed Theus Jr. free throw, Dawson grabbed the offensive rebound and put the ball back in the hole for a four-point CSUN play.

Terrell Gomez gave the Matadors a 29-28 lead on two free throws at the 5:48 mark of the first half but Montana would bounce back with a late run to take control. Back-to-back layups from Sayeed Pridgett and Ahmaad Rorie put the Grizzlies ahead 32-29. Niko Bevens later nailed a 3-pointer to extend the lead followed by a layup from Pridgett that capped off a 11-2 run.

Trailing 39-31, the Matadors scored five-straight to pull within three but Admir Besovic hit the final shot of the half with a under a minute to play to give Montana a 41-36 edge.

CSUN remained within striking distance in the early minutes of the second half. Zeno Lake cut the Montana lead to 42-40 early on and Dawson again brought CSUN within two with a jumper with 18:12 left to play. The Matadors would pull to within two once more after two made free throws from Warren but in each instance CSUN would not get any closer.

The Matadors fell behind 54-48 before Dawson drove to the hoop. After Shriener picked up a steal on the next possession, it appeared he would get a 3-point opportunity but a Montana foul was called a non-shooting foul, which wiped away a Shreiner bucket.

From there, the Grizzlies scored six-straight points to build a 60-50 lead. Warren hit a 3-pointer to cut into the lead, but another Montana 7-0 spurt pushed the lead to 14.

CSUN went cold from the field down the stretch, giving itself little chance for a second-half comeback. In the final seven minutes, the Matadors connected on three field goals with their final two makes coming in the final minute. Montana led by as many as 22 points before settling for the 18-point victory.

"We're going to find out how tough we are mentally," said Theus about CSUN's next game. "We're going into a situation where we aren't the underdog. We have a chance to beat a team that is struggling just as much as we are. We'll find out how tough we are and how much do we want it."

The Matadors conclude a seven-game road stretch with a Wednesday game at Idaho State. Tip off is slated for 6 p.m.