Dawson Reaches 1,000 Career Points in CSUN's Win Over UC Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif.---Senior forward Tavrion Dawson reached 1,000 career points and posted his ninth career double-double in CSUN Men's Basketball's (4-14, 1-3 BWC) 66-57 victory over UC Riverside (5-14, 0-5 BWC) on Wednesday evening at the SRC Arena. Dawson finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Terrell Gomez nearly posted a double-double of his own as he registered 13 points and a career-best nine assists.

"I made no bones about what [tonight's game] means," said head coach Reggie Theus. "Everybody wants to win the league, the truth is you can't win the conference tournament unless you get into the conference tournament. We have a lot of new guys [this year], and I believe that our best basketball is ahead of us.

"I spoke to TD [Dawson] before the game because he had been struggling offensively, and I told him that he had to stop worrying about points," continued Theus. "I told him tonight that if he tried to go out and get 15 rebounds, he'd be amazed with how many points he would score. He says it's his haircut, I told him that it's his mindset. Reaching 1,000 points is a tremendous accomplishment at any level, and I'm proud of him."

After a poor shooting first half, the Matadors shot 50.0 percent in the second half for a 40.7 clip for the game. CSUN knocked down 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) of its shots from 3-point range. In contrast, the Highlanders were held to 32.1 percent shooting including 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) shooting from downtown. The Matadors posted a 15-11 edge in assists and 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

Both teams struggled in the first half as neither squad cracked 30 points. Dawson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give CSUN a brief 10-8 lead before the Highlanders went on a 10-2 run to lead 18-12 at the 12:49 mark.

The Highlanders rebounded the ball early, pulling down seven offensive rebounds in the first half. With a little over 12 minutes to go in the half, Mahamadou Kaba-Camara was inserted into the game and provided a spark on the defensive end and on the glass. Kaba-Camara also scored on his first field goal attempt off a pass from Micheal Warren to cut into the UCR lead.

UCR led for most of the first half and took a 29-24 lead with 1:52 left before halftime. However, CSUN closed the period in strong fashion as Dawson hit a free throw and Reggie Theus Jr. hit a last-second tear drop shot to bring CSUN within 29-27 at the break.

In the second half, the Highlanders scored the first shot of the half but the Matadors scored five-straight points capped off by a jumper from Kaba-Camara to go in front 32-31. Alex Larsson gave the Highlanders the lead right back on the ensuing possession but it would be his team's last lead of the night.

Dawson went to work offensively and scored five-straight points to put the Matadors ahead again. CSUN would build its lead on the defensive end, forcing seven Highlander turnovers in the second half. After Theus Jr. knocked down a shot from the corner, he forced a steal on the other end. Theus Jr. would hit another mid-range jumper at the 9:43 mark to put CSUN up by six. Moments later, after another Theus Jr. steal, Gomez hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead to 49-40.

Needing 18 points to reach 1,000 points on Wednesday, Dawson hit the milestone on a traditional 3-point play with just over seven minutes to play. Off a pass from Gomez, Dawson would drive the lane and finish through contact. He connected on the free throw to complete the 3-point play and reach 1,000 points.

Gomez gave the Matadors their biggest lead of 14 points (55-41) after another 3-pointer from the top of the key. The Highlanders would trim the CSUN lead to as little as nine, but the Matadors hit seven free throws in the final five minutes to hold off any late rally.

Theus Jr. finished with 10 points and three rebounds on the night while Warren had nine points and Lyrik Shreiner finished with eight points. Kaba-Camara posted four points, three rebounds and a block in 18 minutes.

In the game, Warren hit his first five free throws to extend his streak to 18 consecutive makes. He finished 5-of-7 at the free throw line. This season, Warren is shooting 86.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Dawson becomes the 19th Matador in team history and 11th in the team's Division I era to reach 1,000 career points. Up next, Dawson could move into 18th place on the Matadors' career scoring list, occupied by Ollie Carter (1964-66), with four points.

The Matadors return home Saturday to take on Cal Poly on ESPN3. Tip off is at 4 p.m. The game is the first of a CSUN Basketball Doubleheader as the women's basketball team will follow with a matchup against UC Riverside at 7 p.m.

Dawson Reaches 1,000 Career Points in CSUN's Win Over UC Riverside

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Team Stats

Tavrion Dawson

Terrell Gomez

Reggie Theus Jr.

Micheal Warren

Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Terrell Gomez

Mahamadou Kaba-Camara

Lyrik Shreiner

Reggie Theus Jr.

Micheal Warren