Matadors Host UC Santa Barbara on ESPN3

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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball returns home for its final two games of the regular season beginning with a Saturday evening match up with UC Santa Barbara on The Blacktop @ The Matadome. Tip off is slated for 5 p.m. and the game will be aired on ESPN3. An audio only broadcast will be available on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call. Live stats, video and audio links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at GoMatadors.com.

The Matadors currently find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the Big West Tournament. CSUN has dropped to ninth place with a 3-11 record but are a half game behind UC Riverside (3-10) for eighth. Cal Poly sits in seventh place with a 4-10 record. The Matadors do not currently own the tiebreakers against either team but could change that with a victory over either UCSB on Saturday or Cal State Fullerton next Wednesday. Cal Poly currently has the tiebreaker over CSUN because of a win over UCSB earlier this season, however the Matadors could snap that tiebreaker with a win over the Gauchos Saturday. A similar situation is in place with UC Riverside as the Highlanders have a tiebreaker by virtue of a win over Fullerton but the Matadors could eliminate that tiebreaker with a win on Senior Night over the Titans.

CSUN dropped a heartbreaker to Cal Poly on Thursday night as the Matadors lost 90-86 in double overtime. The Matadors roared back from a 15-point second-half deficit to lead by four with 2:51 left to play. The Mustangs would send the game into overtime where CSUN again took a late lead. The Matadors led 76-72 with 14 seconds left after Carl Brown nailed a corner 3-pointer but Victor Joseph responded with a trey of his own four seconds later. After Terrell Gomez hit two free throws to push the lead to three, Joseph sent the game into a second overtime with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Cal Poly would prevail in the second extra session, outscoring the Matadors 12-8.

Tavrion Dawson posted his sixth double-double of the season, recording 31 points and 12 rebounds while Lyrik Shreiner finished with 15 points and 11 boards for his third double-double of the year. Gomez added 12 points and five assists, and the tandem of Reggie Theus Jr. and Brown had 11 and 10 points respectively.

Registering his second 30-point game of the year, Dawson moved into an 11th place tie with Jerry Joseph (1967-70) on the Matadors' all-time career scoring list with 1,191 points. Dawson now needs just 30 points to enter the Matadors' career Top 10. The Matador forward is also tied for eighth in school history with Frankie Eteuati (2010-12) with 49 career blocks.

In the Big West, Dawson is fifth in the league in points per game (16.8) and seventh in rebounding (6.6). Gomez remains the Big West leader in minutes per game (34.0) and 3-point percentage (45.2) while he is eighth in assists per game (3.5). Missing the last two games due to injury, Micheal Warren is in the Big West Top in free throw percentage (84.7), steals per game (1.2) and rebounds per game (6.1). As a team, the Matadors are third in the Big West in least turnovers per game (12.4).

The Gauchos come in with a 37-19 all-time series lead over CSUN but the teams have split the last six meetings. CSUN has dropped five of the last six at The Matadome. The Matadors defeated the Gauchos in last year's meeting at The Matadome 77-55. UCSB won the teams' first meeting this season, 75-51, despite 16 points and 10 rebounds from Dawson.

A Closer Look at UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos (20-7) are 9-4 in Big West play and are second in the conference standings after falling to first-place UC Irvine (10-4) on Thursday 69-49. UCSB has dropped two-straight games overall after winning eight straight before that. The team's 20-7 start this season is the program's best start since 1987-88. UCSB's turnaround from last season where it won six games is the best turnaround in the nation.

Sophomore Max Heidegger leads the Big West in points per game (20.0) while graduate Leland King II is the conference's top rebounder at 10.6 boards to go with 15.6 points. Seniors Jalen Canty (12.9) and Gabe Vincent (11.9) are also averaging in double figures. UCSB is the top 3-point shooting team in the Big West (37.5) while the team is also first in assists per game (14.5) and turnovers per game (10.6).

Matadors Host UC Santa Barbara on ESPN3

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Players Mentioned

Carl Brown

Tavrion Dawson

Terrell Gomez

Lyrik Shreiner

Micheal Warren