CSUN Travels to UC Davis, UC Irvine in Big West Showdowns

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (11-14, 7-5 BWC) embarks on its final road trip of the season this week, beginning with a pair tough tests. Facing the top two teams in the Big West Conference, CSUN visits UC Davis on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. followed by a Saturday evening match-up with UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN3. Both games will have live audio available on the CSUN Sports Network with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.

In its only game last week, CSUN suffered an 85-71 setback to Cal Poly last Wednesday at The Matadome. Hampered with poor shooting throughout the first half, the Matadors dug a 23-point hole at halftime as well as a 30-point deficit in the second half. CSUN trimmed the Mustang lead to as little as 14 points but never got any closer. Four Matadors scored in double figures led by Kendall Smith and Aaron Parks who both scored 18 points apiece. Tavrion Dawson added 13 points and eight rebounds while Darin Johnson collected 12 points and five boards.

In the Big West standings, the Matadors are in a fourth-place tie with Cal State Fullerton. However, CSUN is just a half game behind Long Beach State for third place (8-5) and one game behind UC Davis (8-4) for second. First-place UC Irvine (9-3) is two full games ahead of the Matadors. With one more CSUN win or one more UC Riverside (5-8) loss, the Matadors would secure finishing no lower than sixth in the conference.

The Matadors' offense continues to be one of the most potent in the Big West. The foursome of Smith, Dawson, Johnson and Parks are all in the Top 15 in scoring averages in the conference. Leading CSUN in scoring, Smith is second in the conference with 16.2 points per game while Dawson is eighth (14.6), Johnson is ninth (14.0) and Parks is 15th (11.1). The Matadors are also first in points per game (78.4), field goal percentage (46.3), 3-point percentage (36.8), assists per game (14.4) and steals per game (6.8).

Parks can continue to the climb the Matadors' all-time scoring list this week. Currently at 1,037 points, Parks can move ahead of Todd Bowser (1986-91) for 17th place with five more points. Should he maintain his scoring average for the season, Parks could move as high as 15th on the scoring list, which is currently occupied by Pat Bolden (1984-88) who has 1,081 points. This season, Parks could become the sixth player in the team's Division I history to reach 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals with seven more assists this season. In his career, Parks has already grabbed 342 rebounds and recorded 111 steals.

CSUN still leads the all-time series with UC Davis, 19-18, but the Aggies have won the last seven meetings. However, six of those seven games have been decided by seven points or less including earlier this season where UC Davis posted a 71-68 victory. In the loss to the Aggies, Smith had 21 points while Parks had 14. Winners of seven-straight at home in the series, UC Davis has not lost at home to CSUN since a 99-72 loss in March 2009.

Owning a 33-24 lead in the all-time head-to-head series, UC Irvine has won the last five meetings with CSUN. Earlier this season, the Anteaters posted a convincing 105-73 victory at The Matadome. Both Rakim Lubin and Smith scored 13 points to lead the Matadors in the loss. The Matadors have not one a road game in the series since a 68-62 win in January 2011.

A Closer Look at UC Davis
Second in the Big West standings, the Aggies are 16-11 overall this season and 8-4 in conference play. UC Davis is also a perfect 8-0 at home this season. The Aggies are coming off consecutive losses to Long Beach State, 78-69, and Cal State Fullerton, 79-72, last week.

Senior Brynton Lemar leads the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game to go along with 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists. The Big West leader in rebounds, junior Chima Moneke is pulliing down 8.9 rebounds while also scoring 14.7 points. Sophomore Siler Schneider is scoring 10.9 points per game and shooting 38.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. As a team, the Aggies allow 69.7 points per game, which is the third fewest points in the conference.

A Closer Look at UC Irvine
The Anteaters (16-12) own the top spot in the Big West Conference with a 9-3 mark in league play. Defeating UC Riverside last week, the Anteaters have won three-straight games overall. At Bren Events Center, the Anteaters are 9-2 as well as 5-1 against conference opponents. UCI holds the top spot in the conference in rebounding (39.6) and blocks (4.1).

Three Anteaters are scoring in double figures led by Luke Nelson who is averaging 14.9 points per game and shooting 48.1 percent from the floor. Top distributor on the team, Jaron Martin is dishing out 3.3 assists to go along with 13.6 points. Shooting 53.5 percent from the field, Ioannis Dimakopoulos is scoring 11.4 points and bringing down 4.2 rebounds per game. Jonathan Galloway is currently second in the Big West Conference in rebounding with his 7.4 rebounds.

CSUN Travels to UC Davis, UC Irvine in Big West Showdowns

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Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Darin Johnson

Rakim Lubin

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith