Tuesday, November 20
Northridge, CA
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
1-3
80
vs
77
Tennessee State
2-3
1
2
F
Tennessee State
38
39
77
CSUN
48
32
80
Team Stats
TSU
CSUN
FG%
.394
.528
3FG%
.364
.381
FT%
.684
.571
RB
35
39
TO
15
17
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
CSUN Tops Tennessee State, 80-77, to Notch First Win
11/20/2018 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (1-3) held off a late charge from Tennessee State to collect its first win under head coach Mark Gottfried by the final of 80-77 on Tuesday evening at The Matadome. Freshman Lamine Diane registered his second-straight double-double, finishing with a game-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with 12 rebounds. Sophomore Terrell Gomez knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 22 points while junior Rodney Henderson Jr. made his CSUN debut, adding nine points off the bench.
Much like their game against Portland last Saturday, the Matadors led by double-digits in the second half before the opposition mounted a late rally. However, unlike their 80-77 loss to the Pilots, the Matadors made the key plays down the stretch to flip the script and notch the victory.
"I thought we figured out a way to close out a game," said Gottfried. "When you've got so many young guys, it takes some time to learn how to win. Hopefully, tonight was a step in the right direction. They learned how to finish it at the end. We had to get a few defensive stops, we did. We had to execute a little bit offensively, we did. Disappointed we lost the lead but the most important thing is when you've got a young team. they've got to get over the hump a little bit. Tonight they did."
In the first half, the combination of Gomez and Diane scored the Matadors' first 12 points as CSUN led by five at the 15:31 mark (12-7). However, Tennessee State would catch fire from 3-point land to take the lead. Tripp Davis hit four-straight 3-pointers in the period to lead the Tigers while Dave Morris sank two 3-pointers of his own. Tennessee State capped off a 10-0 run on a dunk from Emmanuel Egbuta that pushed its lead to 26-21 at the 7:28 mark.
Needing a spark, the Matadors would turn to their bench. Blair Orr came into the game and helped lead the comeback charge, scoring four points and picking up a steal. The Matadors orchestrated a 7-0 run, reclaiming the lead after two free throws from Gomez. Orr later stretched the lead to 34-29 on a mid-range jumper. After consecutive layups from Orr and Diane, Cameron Gottfried knocked down a late 3-pointer to push the lead to 12 points. CSUN though would go into intermission leading 48-38 after a last-second jumper from Kamar McKnight.
CSUN remained in control in the early minutes of the second half. After Armani Chaney pulled the Tigers to within seven points, the Matadors went on a 12-4 run to build a 61-45 advantage. Henderson Jr. sank a 3-pointer at the 10:55 mark then Diane crashed the boards with a putback layup that increased the lead to 68-48.
However, the Tigers would fight back as they scored six-straight points to quickly cut into the lead. Davis caught fire again, hitting consecutive 3-pointers, making it a 70-64 game with 6:39 on the clock. Chaney would also score five-straight points before Gomez scored a crucial 3-pointer to put CSUN on top 75-69.
The Tigers later pulled to within two points on a layup from McKnight with 39 seconds left. After Gomez missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, the Matadors went to work on defense, holding the Tigers without a shot for 20 seconds until the ball went out of bounds back to Tennessee State. Diane then intercepted the inbounds pass with two seconds left to seal the win for the Matadors.
Gottfried finished with a career-high nine rebounds to go with seven points and four assists. Off the bench, Orr had six points on 3-of-4 shooting in a career-high 15 minutes.
CSUN will be off for the next week before returning back to action on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Washington State. Tip off is slated for 8 p.m.
Much like their game against Portland last Saturday, the Matadors led by double-digits in the second half before the opposition mounted a late rally. However, unlike their 80-77 loss to the Pilots, the Matadors made the key plays down the stretch to flip the script and notch the victory.
"I thought we figured out a way to close out a game," said Gottfried. "When you've got so many young guys, it takes some time to learn how to win. Hopefully, tonight was a step in the right direction. They learned how to finish it at the end. We had to get a few defensive stops, we did. We had to execute a little bit offensively, we did. Disappointed we lost the lead but the most important thing is when you've got a young team. they've got to get over the hump a little bit. Tonight they did."
In the first half, the combination of Gomez and Diane scored the Matadors' first 12 points as CSUN led by five at the 15:31 mark (12-7). However, Tennessee State would catch fire from 3-point land to take the lead. Tripp Davis hit four-straight 3-pointers in the period to lead the Tigers while Dave Morris sank two 3-pointers of his own. Tennessee State capped off a 10-0 run on a dunk from Emmanuel Egbuta that pushed its lead to 26-21 at the 7:28 mark.
Needing a spark, the Matadors would turn to their bench. Blair Orr came into the game and helped lead the comeback charge, scoring four points and picking up a steal. The Matadors orchestrated a 7-0 run, reclaiming the lead after two free throws from Gomez. Orr later stretched the lead to 34-29 on a mid-range jumper. After consecutive layups from Orr and Diane, Cameron Gottfried knocked down a late 3-pointer to push the lead to 12 points. CSUN though would go into intermission leading 48-38 after a last-second jumper from Kamar McKnight.
CSUN remained in control in the early minutes of the second half. After Armani Chaney pulled the Tigers to within seven points, the Matadors went on a 12-4 run to build a 61-45 advantage. Henderson Jr. sank a 3-pointer at the 10:55 mark then Diane crashed the boards with a putback layup that increased the lead to 68-48.
However, the Tigers would fight back as they scored six-straight points to quickly cut into the lead. Davis caught fire again, hitting consecutive 3-pointers, making it a 70-64 game with 6:39 on the clock. Chaney would also score five-straight points before Gomez scored a crucial 3-pointer to put CSUN on top 75-69.
The Tigers later pulled to within two points on a layup from McKnight with 39 seconds left. After Gomez missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, the Matadors went to work on defense, holding the Tigers without a shot for 20 seconds until the ball went out of bounds back to Tennessee State. Diane then intercepted the inbounds pass with two seconds left to seal the win for the Matadors.
Gottfried finished with a career-high nine rebounds to go with seven points and four assists. Off the bench, Orr had six points on 3-of-4 shooting in a career-high 15 minutes.
CSUN will be off for the next week before returning back to action on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Washington State. Tip off is slated for 8 p.m.
Texas State vs. Eastern Washington
Saturday, November 20
Texas State vs. Dixie State
Friday, November 19
A Conversation With Mark Gottfried
Friday, June 19
Preseason chat with Terrell Gomez
Thursday, October 03